Newsletter: 23rd October 2024

Tús maith, leath na hoibre!

Well done to all our girls on a super start to this academic year. Wishing our girls and their families a well-deserved, happy and safe break over Hallowe'en.

Hallowe'en Dress Up Day: Friday 25th October

Friday 25th October, the last day of this half term will be Hallowe'en Dress Up Day.

Any girl who does not wish to dress up on the day may wear her school tracksuit.

Some practical points re Hallowe'en Dress Up Day in School:

No accessories, i.e. nothing a child needs to hold in their hand or things that can be put down for others to potentially pick up and handle.
Be mindful of the length of the costume - avoid costumes that are too long and may be a tripping hazard - bear in mind we have lots of staircases in our school!
Costumes - including shoes - should be comfortable and practical for sitting in the classroom for the day, and for going out on yard at break times.
Be mindful that the costume isn’t going to scare a younger pupil. If you think a Junior Infant will be frightened, then tone it down or reconsider.

General Hallowe’en Safety Tips for Our Girls

Don’t assume that motorists can see you: cross at traffic lights or pedestrian crossings.
Put electronic devices down, keep heads up and walk, don’t run, across the street.
Make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them.
Always walk on foot paths.
Watch for cars that are turning or backing up. Never dart out into the street or cross between parked cars.
An adult should always accompany children under age 12 for trick-or-treating. (Ensure that each child has a parent’s phone number with them in case they are separated from the group)
Avoid dogs, even if you know them, as fireworks can startle even the friendliest dog
Avoid knocking on the doors of elderly neighbours

Costumes for a Safe Halloween

Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colours.
Ensure that fancy dress costumes are flame-resistant (look for the CE mark)
Beware of any small parts on which a child could choke (look for the CE mark)
Make sure that the costume length will not cause the child to trip
Choose face paint and makeup whenever possible instead of masks, which can obstruct a child’s vision. But if choosing a mask double check to ensure that children can see, hear and breath (look for the CE mark)
Have children carry glow sticks or flashlights to help them see and be seen by drivers.

Bonfires and Fireworks

Keep a safe distance from bonfires at all times
Never approach a firework that has failed to go off
Keep pets indoors to avoid them being injured by fireworks or bonfires

School will finish at the normal closing time on Friday 25th October. School will re-open on Monday 4th November.

Admission to Junior Infants September 2025

The process for admission to Junior Infants 2025 opened on Monday 30th September and will close this Friday 25th October @ 3:00pm.

The following are the dates applicable for admission to Junior Infants 2025/2026:

The school will commence accepting applications for admission on	30th September 2024
The school shall cease accepting applications for admission on	25th October 2024 @ 3:00pm
The date by which applicants will be notified of the decision on their application is	15th November 2024
The period within which applicants must confirm acceptance of an offer of admission is*	29th November 2024 @ 3:00pm

All details including relevant dates/forms/policy etc are now available on www.hollyparkgns.ie.

Applications may be posted to the school or delivered by hand. As original documents supporting the application must be included, applications cannot be made by email.

Key Dates: Term One

Hallowe'en Dress Up Day	Friday 25th October	Whole school
Midterm break	28th October - 1st November inclusive	Whole School
PT Meetings	Week beginning Monday 18th November	Senior Infants - 6th Class
Weaving Wellbeing Fiona Forman: Talk for parents	Monday 18th November @ 7:30pm in the school hall	All parents (GNS & BNS) welcome
Christmas Play	Wednesday 11th December	Junior Infants
Christmas Play	Thursday 12th December	Senior Infants
Last day of Term One (early finish)	Friday 20th December	Whole school
First day of Term Two	Monday 6th January	Whole school
PT Meetings	Week beginning 27th January 2025	Junior Infants

School Calendar 2024/2025

The 2024/2025 calendar is available on www.hollyparkgns.ie

PT Meetings: Senior Infants to 6th Class

We are looking forward to meeting you at your annual Parent Teacher Meetings which will take place for Senior Infants to 6th Classes during the week beginning Monday 18th November 2024.

Please note, parents who have already met with their daughter’s teacher and support team do not need to schedule a meeting at this time.

PT Meetings for Junior Infants will take place in January/February.

Parents/guardians will be able to book a ten-minute PT Meeting slot via the Aladdin PT Scheduler which will open for bookings on Monday 4th November.

· From 3pm on Monday 4th November - families with three or more siblings

· From 5pm on Monday 4th November - families with two or more siblings

· From 7pm on Monday 4th November - all families

We respectfully advise that parents leave a gap between meetings when booking for siblings to allow for any delays which may inadvertently occur.

The PT Scheduler will remain open for bookings until 9:00am on Monday 11th November. Parents/guardians will not be able to cancel or change their meeting bookings after this date.

Fiona Forman: Monday 18th November

Voluntary Contribution

Sincere thanks to the 62 families who have already made a Voluntary Contribution for 2024/25.

This week our noticeboards arrived! Thank you!

Your Voluntary Contribution makes a real difference to your girls' learning environment. Thank You.

If you would like to help in any additional way with these improvements (time, skillset, sponsorship) please let us know.

No Smartphone Voluntary Code

We have had a very positive response to our PA's No Smartphone Voluntary Code. The closing date for the return of forms is today - but we will still accept the forms up to Friday if you have forgotten.

This is an ongoing project which we hope will support parents/guardians throughout their daughters' primary school years and will be relaunched annually to our new Junior Infants and any other new entrants to our school.

We recognise that it is not the only solution to this growing problem, but it is potentially one tool which may be helpful to those parents/guardians who wish to avail of it, and we encourage all families to sign up.

Space to be Screen Free

Thank you to one of our parents, Bláthnat Corboy who, as part of our STEM Week activities, visited our Infant Classes to promote an alternative to screen time: Space to be Screen Free.

ZIP! ZAP! ZOOM! SCREENS AWAY!

Hollypark GNS PA Updates

The 6th Class Hoodies have arrived! Thank you to Elaine on our PA for all her work to ensure our girls received their eagerly awaited hoodies. These hoodies are much treasured and a privilege for our 6th Class girls.

TY Students

We are delighted to welcome some of our past pupils to the school this week to participate in our Hollypark GNS Transition Year Programme. These 4th year students have been very busy working in our school, helping teachers for the duration of the week. We hope they get a good insight into the profession and that some of them will go on to qualify as teachers in the future!

'Is proifisiún í an mhúinteoireacht a mhúineann na proifisiún uilig eile'

Author in our Midst

You will remember that Alex recently featured in our newsletter as she has written and published a book: I Belong in a Beautiful World.

On hearing of her accomplishment, Mr O'Donovan kindly invited Alex and her friend Ella to Hollypark BNS last week to read her book to Ms Murphy's Junior Infants. Alex's brother Colman was very proud of his big sister! And the Junior Infants boys should be very proud of their excellent listening skills!