Frasaà na Seachtaine #8
"Is breá liom OÃche Shamhna"
See below to listen to the girls from Ms O'Sullivan's Rang a Dó.
showing us how to pronounce our Frásaà na Seachtaine!
Labhair Gaeilge linn – sa bhaile agus ar scoil!
Admissions for School Year 2024/2025
The process for admission to Junior Infants 2024 opened on Monday 2nd October and will remain open until Friday 27th October @ 3pm.
All details including relevant dates/forms/policy etc are now available here.
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.
Annual PT Meetings
PT Meetings for 1st to 6th Class will take place in the week beginning Monday 20th November. Further details have been sent to all parents today via Aladdin.
Children Accessing Learning Support
Our Learning Support Team will make direct contact with parents/guardians with specific arrangements for these PT Meetings.
School Calendar 2023/2024
The 2023/2024 calendar is available here.
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 à an mhúinteoireacht a mhúineann na proifisiún uilig eile'
Lost Property
Many coats, tracksuit tops and school jumpers are being mislaid each day. Please check your daughters' uniforms this weekend, to ensure that they have their name and class on each item. Many of the items being found have no names, or names from children who are no longer in the school. Don’t forget to label their jackets and raincoats too.
STEM Week in HP: 16th - 20th October
A New Primary Maths Curriculum has been launched by the DE. This is the first change since 1999 and marks an exciting development in your children’s education. The aim of the new curriculum is that children see maths as important and useful to their everyday lives. Over the next two years schools will undertake CPD on the curriculum with a view to implementation in schools from September 2025.
Last week we celebrated STEM Week in HP. During this special week we enjoyed Maths Trails during our PE lessons with Mr. Oreo and we gave our beleaguered principal, Ms Gunning, fantastic support with her Daily Principal's Problems!!!
On Thinking Thursday ......
6th Class hosted a wonderful and informative 'Science Expo' for 1st to 5th Classes in the hall
1st & 2nd Classes tackled their STEM Challenge with gusto
4th - 6th Classes competed in a very challenging and closely fought STEM Quiz
On Fun Friday we
Enjoyed Fun STEM games in all classes
All prize winners were announced and presented with their prizes
And the winners are....!!
Principal's Problems
Junior Infants
RoisÃn Whelehan, Rosie Ryan, Sadhbh Sweeney
Senior Infants
Zoe Byrne, Holly Dillon, Clara Lanigan Ryan, May-Anne O'Shea
1st Class
Clara Hoffler, Ciara Flanagan, Ali O'Neill Hyland
2nd Class
Lauren Barrett, Juliet McGuinness, Isabella Cronin
3rd Class
Claire Darcey, Eleanor Whelan
4th Class
Sophia Kelly, Eloise Ó Faoláin, Aoibhinn O'Herlihy, Isabella Heraghty
5th Class
Ava Conlan, Holly Spillane, Lingxi Sun, Alanna Mae Cronin
6th Class
Kate Marie Batten, Julianna Toole, Sophia Cleary
Guess the Jellies in the Jar
Junior Jar: Melaniia Dziuma, Elize O'Connor
Senior Jar: Lydia Lawlor
Queen of the Tables
1st Class: Erin Mulligan
2nd Class: Alexa Power
3rd Class: Kate Wang
4th Class: Jane Sun
5th Class: Aoife Holland
6th Class: Emma Drury Byrne
STEM Table Quiz
Team 24!
Emily Whelan
Anna Rose Marron
Helena Murphy
Zoe Burke
Hannah Maria Vincent
Sophia Cleary
Lexi Rose Murphy
Juliana Toole
See below for additional maths resources JI/SI: https://www.mathsweek.ie/2023/junior-senior-infants/ 1st/2nd: https://www.mathsweek.ie/2023/1st-2nd-class/ 3rd/4th: https://www.mathsweek.ie/2023/3rd-4th-class/ 5th/6th: https://www.mathsweek.ie/2023/5th-6th-class/ |
PWC: Chromebooks
We are very grateful to PWC who, through parents Stephen and Mary Merriman, very kindly donated three Chromebooks to our school.
Tarah O'Sullivan, a proud past pupil of Hollypark, who now works for PWC, visited our school on Tuesday and formally presented the Chromebooks to our 3rd Class pupil Anna Merriman. Past meets present and passes on the future.
Tarah stayed to chat with our 5th & 6th Classes and inspired our 5th & 6th Classes with a Q&A session on future careers in science and technology and the importance of sport and friendship in our lives.
Registration for Sacraments
Registration Opens: Wednesday 1st November Registration Closes: Wednesday 29th November |
Foxrock Parish Family Mass Group
Foxrock Parish Family Mass Group (FMG) 2023/24 is back, following the Summer break. Choir practice is on Thursday evenings in TÃr na nÓg room, Parish Centre, 7-7:45pm for 10am Mass on Sunday.
We will also encourage children to take part in Prayers of the Faithful and/or acting out the Gospel reading (but only if they would like to participate), which is great for their confidence in public speaking.
Come along to the Parish Centre any Thursday evening to try it out without any commitment or contact davypaula@icloud.com/0868449509 for further information.
Hallowe'en Dress Up Day: Friday 27th October
Friday 27th 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.
We have not forgotten about our annual Cake Sale. Tt was felt that there are a lot of 'asks' of parents in this busy first term and it would be better to reschedule this very popular event until later in the school year.
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 27th October. School will re-open on Monday 6th November. |
PA: Christmas Card Fundraiser
Christmas Cards have been completed and sent to the printers. Further details to follow shortly on how to order your cards for Christmas. Thank you to our PA for organising this traditional fundraising endeavour.
Folens Christmas Annuals
Folens Christmas Annuals are now available to order through our school's Aladdin System.
The annuals cost €4 each. Last orders - 13th November 2023.
Junior & Senior Infants: Súgradh 1st & 2nd Class: Spraoi 3rd & 4th Class: Siamsa 5th & 6th Class: Sonas |
Budding Artists!
Thank You to our 6th Class Leaders
By way of saying thank you to our 6th Leaders for their contribution to our school, I was delighted to welcome the members of our Active and Amber Teams to my office for Morning Tea with the Principal during the week.
With Mrs Marnell, Ms Healy and Ms Flanagan we chatted about what worked during our recent Active & Wellbeing Week and what we would change or do better next year. We also chatted about transitioning to secondary school and enjoying the girls' final year in Hollypark.
I look forward to meeting all our 6th Class Teams over tea in the coming months.
Respect for Our Neighbours
As a Green School we actively encourage our girls to walk, cycle and scoot to school. As 80% of our pupils live within 2km of the school, this is very doable for many.
Walking, cycling and scooting not only provide a wonderful opportunity for chats with friends, improving our physical and mental health and caring for our environment, but these methods also help to reduce traffic, making the area around our school a safer place not just for our pupils but for all our neighbours. Unfortunately, but quite justifiably, our neighbours frequently complain of inconsiderate parking on the roads close to our school.
Please use the Church car park if it’s on your route to school: parking at the Church is free to all families at drop off and collection times.
Birthdays this Week and Next in Hollypark!
Isabella Cronin
Grace Russell
Matylda Szmagara
Kathleen MacDermott
Caoimhe Higgins
Sarah O’Shea
Lucy O’Shea
Aoife Maher
Amelia Browne Laird
Anna Lynn
Amy Tuite
Charlie Carnus
Hailey Murray
Yilei Shao
Chloe Collins
Olivia Martin