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Dáta Eisiúna: 24.02.2010 Dear Parents, The
following are the key dates which will take us up to the return to school after
the Easter holidays. Reopening on Monday 12 April at 8.50 a.m. Parents may have noticed in the
national media that St. Colmcille's S.N.S. and J.N.S. were among the schools
named on last week's building list from the Minister for Education and Science.
There have been quite a few developments recently on this matter and a
statement from the Boards of Management will issue shortly concerning these
developments. A number of parents have approached
teachers recently seeking advice on internet related matters and in particular
concerning Bebo sites. I would refer
parents to the website of the Office for Internet Safety www.internetsafety.ie
which provides plenty of material for parents to ponder. At last week’s School Development
Planning Day, Mr. Gerry Groarke of the School of Education in University College
Dublin, led our staff on an exploration of some of the topical issues in
education and society which are impacting on schools.
The exploration focused on the effects of the economic downturn on
education and how schools can withstand these effects.
We also explored the effects on schools of societal change and how to
best equip our pupils to deal with the rapidly changing social and economic
landscape. Comhneartú
: Confirmation The Service of Light for our
Confirmation pupils will be held on this Wednesday evening at 8.00 p.m. in St.
Colmcille's Church. On Tuesday next
2 March 2010 all of our Confirmation pupils will be spending a day on Retreat in
Gort Muire, the home of the Carmelite Community in Ireland.
·
Corfhéile
na Scoileanna, the non competitive Festival of Music for Primary Schools, is a
great musical event held in the National Basketball Arena.
On Tuesday 9 March 2010, our Scoil Roc Group along with Ms. Woods class
and Mr. Brennan's class will be participating 7.30 p.m. – 9.15 p.m.
On Wednesday 10 March 2010, our School Choir along with Ms. O'Connor's
class and Ms. Ní Fhearghail's class will be participating 7.30 p.m.– 9.15
p.m. ·
Ms.
Fahy's 5th class will be competing at the Coirm Festival at the
Amharclann Clasach, Clontarf on Thursday, 11 March 2010 at 3.00 p.m. ·
Our
annual Seachtain na Gaeilge will be held during the week 15-19 March 2010. ·
The
Dublin Cumann na mBunscol Hurling and Camogie League will commence on the second
week in March. Junior
Hurling Games
will be held on Tuesday afternoons. Camogie
Games
will be held on Wednesday afternoons. Senior
Hurling Games
will be held on Thursday afternoons. We
look forward to the start of these leagues and with over 180 boys and girls from
4th/5th/6th classes trying out for the teams we
certainly have plenty of talent available. Cúrsaí Timpeallachta: Environmental Matters On Friday 5 February 2010 we had the
final of our Green School Song Competition.
The final was held in the Community Centre and many thanks to Brendan
Byrne, one of our parents, who provided the P.A. system for the occasion.
The pupils had put a lot of work and preparation into the event and well
done to all who participated at every stage.
Congratulations to the overall winners, "The Jackson 5" from 6th
class. ·
We
are looking forward to the visit of Eamon Ryan T.D., Minister for
Communications, Energy and Natural Resources on Friday 5 March 2010.
He will be speaking to our 6th class pupils and doing a
Question and Answer Session with them. ·
Rarely
have we seen pupils so enthralled as they were for the recent visit of the
storyteller, Niall de Búrca. He
absolutely captivated them and the occasion emphasised again how children and
adults of all ages love a good story. ·
The
Text-a-Parent scheme is now set up. It
will only be for use in very limited situations where there is a pressing need
to pass on information. ·
At
times, parents ask about places in Secondary Schools.
As always, I reiterate the importance of making arrangements at the
earliest date possible. These
matters should have been dealt with before pupils enter 3rd class.
In order to assist parents, we have put up on our school website the list
of secondary schools that last year’s 6th class pupils went to. ·
Mr. Ruddy’s 6th class and Ms. Fahy's 5th
class enjoyed their recent trips to the Institute of Technology, Tallaght for
the Science Workshops. Ms. Maher's 5th
class enjoyed their trip to Giddy's Workshop – their prize for winning the
Nutgrove Shopping Centre Christmas Art Competition.
Our 4th classes
visited Collins Barracks Museum and IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) recently
while the 6th classes visited Kilmainham Gaol.
Our 3rd classes have their Dublin City Tours coming up
shortly. An
Carghas: Lent For the duration of Lent there will be
a special 8.25 a.m. daily Mass for pupils/parents.
Pupils who attend this Mass will still be in time for school!
Our gardening group of enthusiasts is
looking for two parent volunteers to assist with some tasks in our school garden
on the following dates: Friday 12 and 19
March 2010 12.45 p.m. – 1.15 p.m. Thursday 25 March 2010
12.45 p.m. – 1.15 p.m. Friday 16 and 23 April 2010
12.45 p.m. – 1.15 p.m. If interested please contact Mr.
McGowan for further details. Experience
useful but not necessary! On
behalf of the school community sincere sympathy is extended to the family of
Kevin Doherty, a 19 year old ex-pupil of our school, who died tragically last
week. To his parents, Breda and Colm
and his brother Shay, we extend our sincere sympathy.
May he rest in peace. __________________________
Pádraig Ó Néill (Príomhoide) St. Colmcilles SNS, Knocklyon,
Dublin 16. Tel. 4942527 e-mail: colmcillesskl@eircom.net
Web: www.stcolmcilles.org
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