Author: Deputy

Condolences to Kitty’s Family

Today we learned that Kitty Smith, our oldest past pupil passed away in her 102nd year. Kitty came to the opening of our new building as our very special guest.  Her 100th birthday in December 2020 was during Covid restrictions but a few of our fourth-class pupils visited her home with a  cake, card and flowers.

We want to extend our sympathies to her daughter Noleen, sons Brian and Paul, her grandson Oisin and all her extended family, neighbours and friends.

Suaimhneas síoraí tabhair dí, a Thiarna

https://rip.ie/death-notice/catherine-kitty-smith-castleknock-dublin/513937

Kitty chats to Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Mary Maher, Kitty and her daughter Noleen

 

Information for New Parents

Read about transitioning to big school here. 

The gate to enter and exit for Junior Infants is Gate D, the large gate in the church car park. 

Day 1  Tuesday, August 30th

Small groups of Junior Infants will come to school for a short visit. They should be accompanied by their parents/guardians. They can wear their new school tracksuits. We will text you the exact time for each visit in late August.

Day 2 Wednesday, August 31st

Junior Infants arrive between 8:40 and 8:50 am and wait in the lines for the teacher to open the doors and bring each child in. Please don’t be tempted to hang around the door or windows peeping in as this may upset your child or other children!!

COLLECTION

Children go home at noon until Monday, September 12th, when the collection is at 1:30 pm. Parents/guardians should wait in a queue outside the external classroom doors at home time.
Please try to be punctual as it really upsets children if parents are late.

 

OTHER POINTS

  • While children are going home at noon, they will only need a small lunch and drink. Please let them practice opening their lunchbox and drink at home before the first day.
  • Remember all the sweatshirts and many coats, schoolbags and lunch boxes are identical, so please label everything.
  • We know your child will settle in very quickly and we hope he/she will enjoy these early days, but if you have any concerns speak to the teacher when collecting after a few days.
  • Any medical issues please chat to the teacher after school during the first week or two.
  • If collecting children early during the year please inform the teacher and enter the school through the reception. We prefer if children are not collected during break time.
  • Any change in the collection routine please inform the teacher in writing. Children will not be released to anyone other than named adults unless you have notified the teacher in writing. This includes dancing, drama, play dates , friends and neighbours.
  • Reminder: We are a NUT FREE SCHOOL . Nuts or nut products allowed. Treat day is on a Friday when a small bar is permitted. We like children to have a healthy lunch. Popcorn is also not allowed as it makes a mess!
  •  We will send a payment link in September for back-to-school collections.

We ask all parents to register for Aladdin connect and download the Aladdin app. This will be our primary communication method. 

Hours
Tuesday, August 30th: class visits
Wednesday, August 31st to Friday, September 9th inclusive 8:50 am to 12 noon.
Monday Sept 12th 8:50am to 1:30pm

See you all on August 30th!

Handball Report from Carlow

Report by Evie McCarthy & Ruth Langenbach

The Cumann na mBunscol Leinster Handball Championship was held in Carlow on Friday 11th March 2022. The boys played in Tinryland GAA club and the girls played in Garyhill Handball club. Games were up to 11 points with each team taking turns to serve five times.

Five girls and six boys represented our school and Dublin on the day. Their names are as follows: Ciara O’Reilly, Evie McCarthy, Ruth Langenbach, Allie Tuthill, Ailbhe O’Grady, Daragh Kehoe, George Leyden, Michael Garry, Daire Walsh, Darragh Delaney & Seán Coyne. Harry Devlin also qualified but was unable to travel on the day unfortunately.
Everyone was told to be up bright and early as the first match was starting at 10 o’clock. Some of the parents drove children to and from the venues. The other teams playing were Kilkenny, Wexford, Laois and Kildare. Everyone was excited and a little nervous before their matches. Before the matches, competitors warmed up by playing a few practice games. We were all told to bring a massive lunch so as not to be hungry. Everyone got on well in their matches with a smile on their faces (and a few handballs!!)
Ciara O’Reilly and Evie Mc Carthy, our U11 girls doubles won their competition and will represent their school and county in the All-Ireland competition next month.
A memorable day all round!

Our U11 Handball Champions

Training Resumes

It is great to see the boys from 6th class out training after school as Mr. Lysaght and Mr. O’Loughlin prepare them for the Cumann na mBunscol 2021/22 season. We know the girls have also begun their training but we didn’t get a picture of them yet! 

Congratulations Alice

Congratulations to past pupil Alice McVey  from 2nd year, Loreto who with  her teammate Heidi, won Social & Behavioural Jnr Group 1st Place with their  project “Are there benefits to reading a book compared to listening to audio books for primary school children” Alice completed part of her research  by interviewing children in 2nd Class.

Prizes for Parents

Unfortunately our annual Christmas fair was cancelled again this year but instead members of our fabulous PTA are running a festive Christmas raffle this Friday. There is one mega adult prize for each class along with several smaller children’s prizes. Any pupil who brings in a donation of €5 or more will be entered into the class draw.  With only 30 pupils in each class, the odds of winning are pretty high!