Newsletters Archived
Wednesday 14th December 2016Christmas Holidays
The school closes on Thursday 22 December, at 11.30am for the Christmas Holidays.
For Health & Safety reasons, it is necessary to stagger the exit times. Children from the ground floor will exit the building first. The remaining children will follow.
The school will reopen on Monday 09 January 2017 at 08.30am.
Edmond Rice College Carpenterstown/Castleknock
An Information Leaflet with an Application Form for First Year 2017 has been given to all 6th Class children re the Edmond Rice College Carpenterstown/Castleknock. An Information Evening for Parents will take place on Monday 16 January 2017 at 9pm in the PE Hall in St Patrick’s N.S. Diswellstown.
Fire Safety Week Art Competition
We would like to congratulate Darragh Finnigan (overall winner in category) and Rachel Sinnott (runner-up in category) on winning prizes in the Fire Safety Week Art Competition. As well as the children winning their individual prizes, the school also won €500! Both winners will have their pictures included in 2017 Dublin Fire Brigade’s Community Fire Safety Calendar.
Sick Children at School
Please do not send sick children to school for the following reasons:
- Children are unable to cope with the demands of school when they are unwell.
- Infection spreads rapidly in the confinement of the classroom.
- There is no indoor supervision for sick children during breaktimes.
Absences due to illness
Whilst there is no need to telephone the school if your child is sick, we would greatly appreciate if you would contact us if your child contracts a contagious illness e.g. measles, mumps, rubella, etc. There are children in the school who are at increased risk of contracting these illnesses. Parents must acknowledge their child’s absence from school, in writing, at the back of the child’s School Journal (Education Welfare Act). Parents of Infants children should speak to the teacher at the class line on the morning of their return.
Headlice
Headlice is an unfortunate part of school life. In order to stop the spread of Head lice it is essential that, if you receive a text or emailing informing you that there is a case in our child’s class, you immediately start treatment. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Upcoming Events
15 December - 11.00am Ms Nolan’s Christmas Concert
16 December - 11.00am Ms Rothwell’s Christmas Concert
19 December - 11.00am Mr Thomas’ Christmas Concert
20 December – Goal Mile (see note below)
22 December – School closes at 11.30am for Christmas Break
23 December – 06 January 2017 inclusive – Christmas Break
16 January – Communion Parent Meeting 8pm
16 January – Information Evening for Parents re Edmund Rice College Carpenterstown/Castleknock 8pm PE Hall St Patrick’s N.S.
10 & 12 January 2017 – First Faith Friends Session
13 February – First Penance & Reconciliation 7pm
17 February – Choir Performance with “The Three Tenors” - Draíocht
20-24 February inclusive – Mid Term Break
07 March – Confirmation Retreat (during school hours)
07 March – Confirmation Service of Light 7pm
27 March – Communion Parents Meeting
Upcoming Sporting Events & News
20 December – Goal Mile (during school day).
14 February 2017 – Cross Country – venue Porterstown
14 March 2017 – Cross Country – venue Porterstown
27 February – 03 March – Active Week 2017
04 April – Cross Country – venue Morton Stadium, Santry
Goal Mile
We hope to hold a charity run for Goal on Tuesday 20th December. The children will run for 'Goal' during the school morning (distances will be differentiated for class levels). As this is a charity run, we would be grateful for any small donation on the day. Donations will be collected from the classrooms. The children may wear a Santa hat or any festive hat during the run!
Active Week 2017 – Volunteers Needed
We will be holding an Active Week from 27/02/2017 - 03/03/2017 and are looking for volunteers to come in and talk to our children or give some mini-skills workshops during the week. Our hope is to open the children's minds to some new sports or activities that they would not otherwise have participated in.
Perhaps there might be some coaches/experts amongst the parent body that would be willing to give some time to our school during this week. All sports welcome and encouraged! Maybe some local coaches might like to give taster classes to encourage children to try out some new after-school activities.
We are aware that many parents are swimmers/GAA players and marathon runners, to name but a few. If any members of the school community are available to come in and talk to the children about their training/sporting experiences, we would love to have you in.
Please email info@stpatricksns.ie with 'Active Week Volunteer' in the subject bar to register interest. We will be relying heavily on the wider-school community to make our Active Week a success and so, your help and time will be very much appreciated.
Parents Association News
Christmas Raffle Winners
First prize L. Guillou - Acer Notebook - kindly donated by Tantech.ie
Second prize Sarah Plunkett- €150 One 4 All voucher - kindly donated by Mischief Makers Montessori.
Third prize Eamonn Curran - Afternoon Tea in the Shelbourne Hotel kindly donated by Parks Medical Centre.
Fourth prize John O'Mahony - Superfood Hamper and Christmas Tree kindly donated by Get Fresh Superfoods, Laurel Lodge.
Fifth prize Sinead O'Reilly - €100 Voucher kindly donated by Branagan Meats.
Christmas Art Competition Winners
The Parents Association would like to say a big thank you to everyone who entered for their beautiful and wonderful entries. We would like to extend our congratulations to the winners of this year’s Christmas Fair Art Competition.
Overall Winner Pearce Mooney
Winner of 10-12 category Ava Buttner
Joint winners of category 8-10 Grace O'Grady and Megan Stacey
Winner of Category 4-6 Aoife McDonagh.
Reminders
No Presents Please
The staff at St Patrick’s do not expect presents at Christmas time. You may wish to make a donation to St Vincent de Paul instead.
Cards/Presents
We celebrate festivals such as Halloween, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter as part of the
overall school curriculum. However, we discourage the practice of exchanging cards and/or gifts
in school. Those who do not receive cards/presents and those who may not celebrate some of
the festivals can feel upset and isolated.
Choir date for your diary!
The choir have been invited to sing with The Three Tenors in Draíocht in the New Year. The concert will be on Friday evening, the 17th February. Tickets can be bought at Draíocht. Hope to see you there!
Ms Meade and Mr Heneghan
Lost Property
There are a large number of Lost Property items hanging inside the DISWELLSTOWN (TIGERS) DOOR,
including uniform items, hats, scarves, gloves, etc., etc. If your child/children are missing any items,
please take a look at collection time any day before Wednesday 21 December. Any unclaimed items after
this date will be donated to SVP.
The Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme
The Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme is continuing at St. Patrick's and the feedback has been very positive. Phase 1 of the programme finished on Tuesday 6th December for the senior classes. In addition to the useful rewards that they have received to date, these children will now receive a lunch box to encourage them to bring in their own fruit and vegetables for the rest of the year. Vegetables can be included in a sandwich or in a pasta salad for example, if an individual portion is not available. Also, unsweetened tinned fruit can be used if fresh fruit is not available. Each time the children eat their portion of fruit and vegetables in class, it is recorded on a Wall Chart and certificates will be awarded to those who fully participate in this healthy eating initiative. Thank you for your co-operation with the Food Diary and please encourage your children to keep up their good work.
Phase 1 will continue as normal for the junior classes until 16th December. The combinations are carrot sticks and grapes, cucumber and oranges, mangetout and apple slices, sweet peppers and bananas which are rotated over the course of the programme. Further information is available on www.fooddudes.ie.
St Vincent’s Castleknock College
The closing date for receipt of Application Forms for First Year 2018 is 31 DECEMBER 2016.
Applications for their Scholarship Scheme 2017 are available on their website, their Admissions Office and we have copies in Reception. Four scholarships are on offer for First Year 2017. The closing date of receipt is 30 December 2016.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Tennis
Tennis will recommence in the New Year.
Badminton
Badminton will recommence in the New Year.
Chess
Chess will recommence on 19 January 2017.
Art and Crafts classes
A new 10 week term will commence on Monday 28th November for Monday class and on Friday 2nd December for the Friday class. The classes will be at the usual time from 2.10pm to 3.45 pm. There will be 3 classes before Christmas and the remaining 7 classes in the New Year.
For further details please contact Blathnaid on (087) 4123247.
Spanish for Children (La Jolie Ronde)
Spanish for Children (La Jolie Ronde) after-school classes, offering 4 courses for 5 - 12 year olds in St Patrick’s NS and locally on Tues/Weds/Thurs (1.15PM to 5.30PM), finish up this week. Please note, starting back week beginning 9th January (17 week term). Muchas gracias, Mary Galvin ***** Winner of La Jolie Ronde Regional (Ireland &; N. Ireland) Licensee of the Year Award, 2016 – 2017 *****
BA Mod Hons (TCD), H Dip Ed Hons (UCD), MA (TCD) Applied Linguistics Hons (TCD). Fully registered with Teaching Council of Ireland.
M: 087 267 4809 E: marygalvinspanish@gmail.com
Diswellstown Community & Recreation Centre and Local Community Activities
Luttrellstown Community College presents “GREASE”
Luttrellstown Community College presents the musical "Grease" from Tuesday 13/12-Friday 16/12. Tuesday's show starts at 6 pm with all tickets only €8. Wednesday's through Friday's shows start at 7.30 pm with tickets €8 and €12, family ticket available also. Ticket sales start this Friday. More information on www.luttrellstowncc.ie
Touch-type, Read and Spell
Touch-type, Read and Spell is a computer based literacy course for children with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia and other learning difficulties. Due to continued demand I am pleased to announce details of a new class starting soon – Thursday, 2.45-3.45 pm.
I continue to run classes in the following venues and there are a limited number of places available as other students have now successfully completed the course.
Tuesday Luttrellstown Community College 3.10-4.10 pm and 3.20-4.20 pm
Wednesday Castleknock Community College 2.50-3.50 pm and 3.55-4.55pm
To reserve a place and for details of a FREE TRIAL, please contact Carol on 087 2868910 or send an email to castleknockttrs@gmail.com for further information on how this course might benefit your child.
Aspergers Support Group
Free Aspergers Support Group & Youth Club. Sat 11am - 1pm. Castleknock Community Centre. 0868204663