Bunscoil Bhríde Fortnightly Bulletin – 16th January 2025

Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope you are all well. Our news is as follows:

Concern Primary Debating Competition: The Bunscoil Bhríde debating team will travel to the Kildare Education Centre on the 30th of January to compete in the semi-final of the Concern Primary School Debating Competition. We will take on St. Patrick’s N.S., Newbridge in our first face-to-face debate. The girls are proposing the motion that ‘We should only buy Fairtrade products’. The team are putting in immense efforts in preparation for the upcoming debate. We will also hold a preparatory debate for all classes from Third to Sixth in the halla, in which all children will hear the speeches and will get the opportunity to challenge the girls on the points made, in an open debate. We wish the debaters and their mentors, Ms. Costello and Ms. Banks the very best of luck!

Welcome: I want to warmly welcome Ms. Cronin to our staff. Ms. Cronin is a permanent member of the staff of Kildangan N.S., and has joined our Special Education Support Teaching team. She will remain with us until April 1^st.

Catholic Schools Week: Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated in our school next week, from 20^th to 24^th January. This year’s theme is ‘Alive in Christ’. Because we are a Catholic School, this is a very special week in our calendar and it will be celebrated in many different ways in each classroom.

Grandparents’ Day: On Friday 24^th January all grandparents are invited to visit their grandchildren’s classrooms. Grandparents Day is an initiative of Catholic Schools Week and it has been celebrated in our school for almost twenty years. This invitation to grandparents affirms and values their place not only in the lives of their grandchildren, but in the community in general. This annual visit has become a highlight of Catholic Schools Week at Bunscoil Bhríde. Grandparents are invited into all classes and are encouraged to share their memories of school in the past and stories of the past with the children. Please note that Grandparents’ Day is for grandparents ONLY. For health and safety reasons we do not have space for extra adults in classrooms. We are also conscious that many of our grandparents are vulnerable and do not wish to put them at risk of infection in overcrowded classrooms. We ask that no parents / guardians come into the school on Grandparents’ Day, except in circumstances where grandparents need assistance due to mobility issues / special needs. Please let us know in advance of any accommodations that need to be made for such grandparents. The Bunscoil Bhríde Parents’ Association have kindly volunteered to provide tea/coffee for the visiting grandparents in our school hall. This will hopefully facilitate some banter and reminiscing among our visitors. Any donation of baked goods for our grandparents would be greatly appreciated and can be dropped to the school on the morning of Grandparents’ Day. While we hope lots of grandparents will visit our school for Grandparents’ Day, we are very conscious of the fact that not all children have grandparents living and also that not all grandparents will be able to make it to our school. Every year there are a number of children in every class who do not have a grandparent attend and, as always, there will be arrangements put in place again this year in all classrooms for the sharing of available grandparents, so all children will be included and will get the chance to learn about life and school in the past. It will be a fun, warm and welcoming day for all grandparents and children.

Timetable for Grandparents’ Day

Friday January 24th

Time	Class	Classroom
9am – 9.30am	Junior Infants – Ms. Ruttledge Senior Infants – Ms. Choudhury	Room 1 Room 2
9.30am – 10am	Senior Infants – Ms. Costello 1^st Class – Ms. Feeney	Room 5 Room 3
10am – 10.30am	1^st Class – Ms. Gleeson 2^nd Class – Ms. Ryan Bluebells Class – Ms. Rowley	Room 4 Room 6 Bluebells Class
10.45am – 11.15am	3^rd Class – Ms. Coughlan 3^rd Class – Ms. Brogan	Room 8 (upstairs) Room 11 (upstairs)
11.15am – 11.45am	4^th Class – Ms. Geraghty 4^th & 5^th Class – Ms. Freeborn	Room 9 (upstairs) Room 10 (upstairs)
11.45am – 12.15pm	5^th Class – Ms. Banks 6^th Class – Ms. Marrinan 6^th Class – Ms. De Faoite	Room 15 Room 12 (upstairs) Room 3

Rushes wanted: All classes will begin to make St. Brigid’s crosses in the coming weeks. We are in need of rushes to make the crosses and will need a large number. We would be really grateful if you were in a position to gather rushes for us and drop them into the school. Our Parents’ Association will also be making crosses, which they will sell to raise money for our school.

Basketball: Unfortunately, our journey in the Cumann na mBunscol league has come to an end for now. However, we want to take this opportunity to congratulate our fantastic team of Fifth and Sixth Class girls who showed such dedication by showing up to training each week over the last few months. A special thanks to their coaches, Ms. Gleeson and Ms. Banks, for their time, effort, and guidance throughout the season. Looking ahead, we are hoping to participate in the annual Sixth Class Blitz later this term. We will keep the girls updated on this event and will provide further information on the recommencement of training in the coming weeks.

Dates for the Diary for this term: All important events and dates for the diary for the remainder of the school year can be found by clicking on the calendar icon within the Aladdin Connect app. Please keep an eye on this calendar as events will be added throughout the year.

School Closure: The school will close on Friday 31^st January for staff inservice on the new Primary Mathematics Curriculum.

Relationships and Sexuality Education (R.S.E.): R.S.E. lessons will begin in all classes next week. You all received a letter from your daughter’s teacher via Aladdin this week, together with a Home/School Links sheet detailing the content to be covered with your child’s class. It would be very helpful if you could discuss what is being learnt at school with your daughter(s) at home. Please feel free to contact the school with any queries you may have.

Stay Safe: Senior Infants, Second Class, Fourth Class and Sixth Class will begin the Stay Safe programme in the next fortnight and will continue with the programme over the coming weeks. I would like to remind you again about the importance of discussing the issues covered in class with your child at home. The lessons covered over the course of the programme are as follows: Feeling Safe and Unsafe, Bullying, Touches, Secrets and Telling and Strangers. More information about the programme can be obtained on the website; www.staysafe.ie

January Assembly: Our whole-school assembly for January (marking Catholic Schools Week and St. Brigid’s Day) will take place on Wednesday 29th January and will be led by Ms. Feeney’s First Class and Ms. Freeborn’s Fourth and Fifth Class.

Student Council Bake Sale: A total of €700 for UNICEF was raised by our Student Council at the Bakesale they organised and ran just before Christmas. I want to congratulate our wonderful Student Council and thank you all most sincerely for your support of this fundraising initiative.

School Tours: All teachers have sent a permission request for attendance at their school tours in June. Please ensure you have responded to the permission request on Aladdin Connect. Payment requests will issue next week to facilitate parents paying in instalments over the next few months.

Oral Language: The theme for the month of January is ‘Questioning’. All classes will be focusing on this theme for the month and we would ask that you support us at home, by encouraging your child to pose fully-formed questions and ensuring that they have knowledge of and make use of all the question words (What? Why? Where? When? Who? How? etc.). We would also encourage you to discuss with them what they’ve learnt in school on this topic.

Aladdin Connect app: Please check your child’s details on the Aladdin Connect app (including the numbers you have listed as emergency contacts) and ensure they are correct. Please contact us if you need assistance making any updates to this information.

Names on Uniforms: Please ensure that your child’s name is clearly marked on her uniform and tracksuit jumper, her coat and hat.

Late Arrivals/Early Departures and Absences: Children arriving late to school or leaving early must have their arrival / leaving time recorded on Aladdin Connect. This can be done by parents. If your child is arriving late to school, please accompany her to the front door of the school. All absences must be explained. This can be done by selecting the reason for absence on Aladdin Connect. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Please contact the school if you are having any issues with using the Aladdin Connect app.

Coming to school: School begins at 8.50am and children should be dropped to school as close as possible to this time. The gate will open and supervision will be provided from 8.40am. The church car-park is a public space and children should not be dropped outside the school gate before 8.40am.

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson