|
Sacraments
Second Class
First Confession on Monday
12th March, 2012 at 7pm.
First Holy Communion on
Saturday 28th April 2012 at 11.30am.
Sixth Class
Parents/Guardians Information
meeting on Wednesday 8th February at 7pm.
Ceremony of Commitment on
Tuesday 28th February at 7pm.
Ceremony of Light and Promise
on Wednesday 14th March at 7pm.
Confirmation on Wednesday 16th
May at 11.30am.
Visitors to the school
In the interests of Child Protection all parents
and guardians calling to the school should firstly call to the office.
If your child is leaving school early you will need to sign out your
child from the office. The same applies to those who arrive to school
during the school day after a medical/dental appointment, i.e. you will
have to sign in your child.
School Absences
We would ask that all
parents/guardians would send in a note to explain all absences
from school. This note can be written in your child’s homework journal
or on a separate piece of paper. The note should be sent to the
classroom teacher on the next day your child is in school. The school is
obliged to report unexplained absences to the National Education Welfare
Board, if there is no written explanation.
Junior Infants
Ms McGonigle, Ms Gaughan and
Philomena are working with junior infants on their language development.
They are using the LDA Chatterbox programme to develop the oral language
skills of the class. The themes they are exploring at the moment include
clothes, household objects and things that go together.
Senior Infants
Ms Laird’s Senior Infants
enjoyed Science Week. They worked as scientist and carried out various
experiments in their classroom. They had great fun testing out their
sense of smell. They smelt curry, onion, orange perfume and vineagar.
First class
Ms Ginty’s 1st
class are now Seatbelt Sheriffs! They have earned their badge and a
certificate. 1st class have opened a recycling centre in
their class. They are lookinf forward to finding out what fun things
they can make! Well done to Daniel Synnott, Lauren Farrell, Seánie
Whelan, Joe Meehan and Holly O’Neill on becoming Stars of the Week
during the months of October and November.
Second Class
Ms Meehan’s 2nd
class went to the V&W Recycling Centre in Drogheda and Balrath wood in
Co. Meath. The children really enjoyed the trip and learned lots of tips
about recycling and care for the environment. We are currently doing a
project on the Human Body and the children are being encouraged to bring
in any books from the library or at home.
Third Class
Ms Watters’ 3rd
class would like to thank Andrew Colins (Justin’s brother) for bringing
in his birds. We learned a lot about them. They eat broccoli to keep
their feathers bright and healthy!. For Science Week 3rd
class experimented with dry ice. There were plenty of bubbles and even a
pop (film can explosion!). On Thursday 17th November all work
in the class came to a halt when Harry Hedgehog walked by our classroom!
Fourth Class
Ms Falvey’s 4th
class are starting to learn the tin whistle. We would like to thank Ms
Murray for sharing some of her dry ice during Science Week. We really
enjoyed the experiments.
Fifth Class
Ms Murray’s 5th
class are doing a science project on fitness and a healthy heart. They
are also involved in an etwinning video project with a school in Sweden.
Science Week
Thanks to Ms Murray for all
her work on National Science Week. Ms Murray organised the Science Live
workshop on ‘Water in our World’ for 5th and 6th
classes. She also ordered the Dry Ice (solid carbon dioxide) which was
shared around 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th
classes who did experiments on the characteristics of solids, liquids
and gases.
Garda talk on safety
The Gardaí came in on 26th
October to speak to 5th class about safety. This annual talk
is always beneficial to the children’s safety at this time of year.
6th Class
Ms Donnelly’s 6th
class learn a proverb of the week every week, Seanfhocal na Seachtaine.
This week’s is ‘Is binn béal ina thost’. 6th class
performed a dance to ‘Thriller’ for the school during Halloween week,
well done! As part of the World War II theme that they are exploring at
the moment, the pupils of 6th class are studying the novel
‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’.
Gaelic Football
The children from 4th,
5th and 6th classes enjoyed their recent
inter-class football league organised by Ms Donnelly and Ms Falvey. We
are now all set for the Fingal Schools’ League training that will
commence after Christmas. Congratulations to all who took part.
School Choir
The school choir are singing
every lunch time in preparation for our Christmas concert. We decided
not to do the Hallelujah Concert this year for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, the cost of the audience tickets and secondly the programme of
music is very long and we wanted to try to devise a programme of our own
this year. Ms McGonigle is delighted to report a huge turnout for the
choir despite the change.
Car Free Zone Days
Ms McGonigle can report that
our Car Free Zone Day was a great success on 26th October,
with only 18 children arriving at the school gates by car. That’s over
200 pupils travelling in a sustainable way! Our Action Day for the
Travel Flag is 30th November, so we’re hoping to have no cars
whatsoever driving to the gates. The arrangements will be the same as
the 26th, with two Walking Buses at 8.35am and 8.45am.
School Choir
The choir will perform at
8.00pm on Wednesday 14th December and Thursday 15th
December. Children must be available for both nights.
Walk to School
Ms Donnelly will continue with
our Walk to School every morning at 8.30am and we encourage all children
to come along, in particular for our WOW days on Wednesdays.
Standardised Testing
Standardised testing, in the
areas of Reading and Maths, of the children in classes 1st- 6th
took place during the month of November. The results will be discussed
at the Parent-Teacher meetings after Christmas. However, if a teacher
has particular concerns about your child you will be contacted earlier.
Parent-teacher Meetings
Parent-teacher meetings will
take place on 25th and 26th January, 2012. These
meetings will take place outside of school time.
Book Fair
There will be a Book Fair in
the school on 1st and 2nd of December from
9.00am-3.30pm on each of those days. Thank you for your responses to the
questionnaires which helped use to choose a time of year that suited the
majority of parents. Parents are welcome to come in and browse the books
in their own time.
The Big Good Wolf
The school will have a visit
from children’s author and storyteller Liam Farrell (as seen on RTÉ
television) on Thursday 24th November. He will tell the true
story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf! We will do a
writing workshop with the older classes. This event is made possible by
the Voluntary Contribution made by parents last year.
Severe Weather
Sub-Committee
Thanks to all those parents
who volunteered to be on the Severe Weather Sub-Committee. This group of
parents will be on hand, in the event of severe weather conditions, to
make every effort to keep the school open and safe. In the event of
inclement weather parents/guardians will be informed through our
Textaparent service of any unexpected closures. Information will also be
available on the school website.
Cúpla Focail ó Ms Faulkner
I would like to congratulate
the Parents’ Association for their fundraising efforts in regard to the
Synnott Wing. Over many years I have seen first hand the drive,
commitment and dedication of various members who have served on the
Association. Their hard work has proved enormously beneficial for all
children attending the school. I would like to thank them for their
courtesy to me personally over the years and making me welcome at their
meetings. Also I appreciate their good wishes extended to me for my
future retirement. I wish them well in the coming years ahead. Go raibh
mile maith agaibh!
Ms Faulkner’s Retirement
We will celebrate the
retirement of Ms Faulkner on the second evening of the Christmas choir
performances, Thursday 15th December at 8.00pm. The Parents’
Association will provide refreshments following the presentations and
speeches at the end of the choir performance.
Vincent de Paul Food
Collection
The annual VdeP food
collection will take place in the school. We will be accepting all types
of non-perishables. Food will be collected every morning by the sixth
class leaders. The collection will continue from now until the week
before the Christmas holidays.
After School Activities
There is after-school soccer
run by NDSL coach Ian Courage (085-1443912) on Friday evenings 2.45-3.45
on the school grounds. You can call Ian if you have any queries. The
school would invite expressions of interest in running an after-school
class in the areas of drama, music, crafts etc. Please call the school
on 01-8412579 or email us on balscadden.ias@eircom.net.
Swimming Lessons for 3rd
Class
Swimming lessons
are offered to the children in 3rd class for a six week
period every year. This year the children will be offered these classes
during February/March. The cost of the lessons is shared between the
Parents’ Association (taken from the Voluntary Contribution), the
Board of Management and a small charge to the parents of the class. The
costs include the rental of the pool and the lifeguard, while Ms Watters
provides the swimming instruction free of charge. |