Newsletter 3rd November 2026
Daly Exercise After-School Club!
Daly Exercise delivers a structured five-day afterschool activity programme for all pupils at St. Patrick’s GNS starting from 1.20pm (Infant Collection Time) – 2.20pm with the option to extend collection until 3.20pm.
BOOKING LINKS
Oíche Shamhna
Dress Up Day!
The children and adults had great fun celebrating on the day before the holidays! Hollypark GNS was transformed into a spooky spectacle with witches, ghosts, vampires and all sorts of wonderfully creative Halloween characters filling the school. There was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the day with plenty of fun, laughter and Halloween spirit! See photos below!
The HPGNS staff were certainly not to be outdone by the children! They embraced the Halloween spirit with great enthusiasm, looking wonderfully colourful and creative in their fabulous crayon costumes. Who knew our staff could be so sharp!
Halloween Disco Best Costume Prize Winners
Elodie Walsh - 6th Class, Ms. Belton
Doireann Lehmann - 5th Class, Ms. Foy
Eve Cooney - 4th Class, Ms. Mannix
Mary-Anne O’Shea - 3rd Class, Ms. Cashman
Each winner received a Nimble Fingers gift voucher and a goody bag.
Congratulations girls!
HPGNS PUMPKIN PATCH
Our 6th Class girls had a spooktacular time guiding the Infant classes through the pumpkin patch! The little ones encountered some spooky characters along the way, making for an exciting adventure filled with Halloween surprises, a few frights and plenty of fun! It was wonderful to see our older girls taking such great care of the infants and helping to create some magical Halloween memories.
OUR VIKING EXHIBITION
Our 4th Class girls had great fun showcasing their learning at their fantastic Viking Exhibition! They shared their knowledge of Viking life, exploring everything from their fearsome warriors and longships to their homes, clothing, food and fascinating customs. The exhibition was a wonderful opportunity for the girls to demonstrate their historical knowledge, creativity and presentation skills.
The 4th Class boys also came along to visit and proved to be a very curious audience, asking some excellent questions about the Vikings and their way of life! It was wonderful to see such enthusiasm for history, with the girls confidently sharing their learning and engaging in some interesting discussions. A fantastic example of history coming to life in the classroom!
Parents' Association Update
At the September AGM, new PA officers were elected for the 2026/27 school year.
A big thank you to Breda Marron (Chair), Sarah Delaney (Co-Chair) and
Orlagh Buckley (Treasurer) for stepping forward to take on these roles.
Thank you also to all the class reps who joined, or remained on the committee for the coming year.
We are truly grateful for all the hard work put in by the Parents' Association.
A message from the Parents' Association about delaying smartphones and access to social media this Christmas.
Halloween is barely out the door and the Christmas lists are sure to start! As parents starting to think about Christmas presents, we have ONE very important ask for parents in our school. If you’re being asked to buy your child a smartphone this Christmas, DELAY. And if delaying isn’t possible for your family, please consider a safer alternative. The good news? Parents in Ireland now have more choices than ever before!
Over the past few months, the Smartphone Free Childhood Ireland parent group led by a Hollypark GNS mum Emer Carty have been exploring a growing range of safer alternatives, including the Balance Phone, The Other Phone, Xplora One, The Phone, Karri, Monk Tag and the recently launched HomeFón in Ireland. These are just examples of what’s available.
Explore more at www.smartphonefree.ie and keep an eye on their posts on instagram over the coming weeks!
The message is simple: Giving your child their first phone does NOT have to mean giving them a fully functioning smartphone. A locked-down smartphone isn’t necessarily a safer option. Effectively blocking pornography, harmful content, gaming and social media require technical expertise- many parents simply don’t have.
We know the pressure is enormous-especially at Christmas and often if your child is in sixth class. We would hope with our No Smartphone Voluntary Code that parents are continuing to hold off, but we know so well children want what their friends have and no parent wants their child to feel left out. But a smartphone does not have to be a Christmas milestone and please don’t make it a milestone this Christmas. Children can have independence, stay connected and contact family without unrestricted access to the online world. This Christmas, let’s give our Hollypark children more time to be children.
CHRISTMAS JUMPER / ACCESSORY SALE....preparation!
If you happen to find any pre-loved Christmas jumpers/ accessories at home please put them aside as they will collect them on Friday 6th November at drop-off time. The sale will take place on Friday 20th November at 8.00am in the school hall.
Well done girls!
Meeting for parents/guardians of children preparing for
Confirmation- Tuesday 10th November 7.30pm -Parish Centre
Holy Communion- Thursday 12th November 7.30pm -Parish Centre.
Industrial Action -
planned nationwide strike action
Thursday 12th November.
We will keep you updated via Aladdin - thank you for your ongoing understanding.
Gaeilge i Hollypark!
We place a strong emphasis on the learning of Irish in Hollypark. Gaeilge is very much a living language amongst our school community!
The girls in the older classes participate in the Fáinne initiative which focuses on spoken Irish. As well as all of the initiatives which we have embedded over the years we have now been chosen to participate in the CLIL- Content Language Integrated Learning Project. We will be working on completing some orienteering tasks through Irish - very much focused on the language of directions etc. Rang Naíonáin Bheaga (Junior Infants) Rang Naíonáin Mhóra (Senior Infants) Rang a cúig agus a sé (5th and 6th Class) will all be working together on this initiative!
For your interest please see link here to the
Is féidir liom, is féidir linn- Action Plan for Irish in English Medium Schools.
November Nature Spotter Sheet!
Please take the time to spot some of these signs of nature in our
local parks and green areas.
The hot meals are very popular with our children.
However, please check in often with your child about their lunches and if possible involve them in choosing their hot meals.
Please take the time to chat to your child about their hot meals.
Ask the following:
Are you enjoying your lunch?
Are you eating your lunch?
Would you like to try something else/new/different?
Tesco Blue Tokens!
Great news we have been selected for the Tesco Community Fund collection in Tesco Honeypark. Please support this worthwhile cause if you shop in this store!
Thank you to Adrian on the PA for his work on this.
6th Class Subject Leaflets
Department of Education and Youth
The Department of Education and Youth has created new subject and career leaflets
for all 6th class pupils, their families and their teachers.
I shared this with 5th and 6th class families yesterday. These leaflets explain the
subjects your child can choose for Junior Cycle and give short, easy to understand
information on each one. You can find the leaflets by scanning the QR code below.
Parking in the parish centre!
Parents are invited to park in the parish carpark during drop off and collection times. We appreciate the parish facilitating us as we encourage the girls to walk to school.
School Calendar / Féilire 2026/2027
The 2026/2027 calendar is available here.
Dates Term One
Please note extra school closure to accommodate
Curricular Area: STEM Training for teachers 8th December.
SCHOOL CLOSURE | Tuesday 8th December | Whole School |
|---|---|---|
Last day of Term One (early finish) | Tuesday 22nd December | Whole school |
First day of Term Two | Wednesday 6th January | Whole school |
Start & Finish Times
Start Time | Finish Time | |
Junior Infants until 9th September | 8:40am | 11:30am |
Junior Infants from 10th September | 8:40am | 1:20pm |
Senior Infants | 8:40am | 1:20pm |
1st & 2nd Class | 8:40am | 2:20pm |
3rd- 6th Class | 8:40am | 2:20pm |
FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY REASONS...
NO DOGS ALLOWED ON SCHOOL GROUNDS PLEASE!!
Smart Phones and Smart Devices
The Hollypark GNS community strives, in line with best practice, to create a calm and safe sanctuary, free from the distractions and potential complications posed by social media and the use of personal smart devices. To this end, Hollypark GNS is a smart device free campus. Children are not permitted to use phones/smartphones or smart watches whilst on school grounds (including the yard and the astro pitch).
We strongly support our PA No Smartphone Voluntary Code.
5th and 6th Class
Children in 5th and 6th class who need to bring a device to school in order to facilitate their journey to and from school must seek written permission from Ms. de Fréin by completing and signing a Phone Request Form. [Please see our school's Acceptable Use Policy, Appendix A (page 16)]. If given permission, children must hand the device to their teacher at the beginning of each day, and they may collect it when they are going home. The school takes no responsibility for these devices during the day.
Homework/ Obair bhaile
Homework should be within the capability of the attentive child, based on work already done. Homework enables parents to follow their daughter’s progress.
Homework should always be checked, and the journal signed daily by parent/guardian.
Homework is assigned for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday evenings and is not assigned for the weekend.
Recommended Times for Homework
Junior/Senior Infants: Class Teacher will advise.
1st/2nd Class: 20 – 30 minutes
3rd/4th Class: 30 – 40 minutes
5th/6th Class: 40 – 60 minutes.
These are suggested times. In practice, the time taken will depend on each child.
If parents feel a child is taking an excessive amount of time to complete work, they should discuss this with the Class Teacher.
Please click here for Homework Tips.
Headlice!!
PLEASE KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON YOUR DAUGHTER'S HAIR OVER THE COMING WEEKS.
We have had numerous reports of headlice throughout the school.
REMINDER!
One Way Traffic System
After School Activities 2026/27
Please contact providers directly for all update.
Details can be found here
Birthdays this week!
Lá breithe sona daoibh go léir!
From 30th October!
Quinn Murphy
Sarah O'Shea
Lucy O'Shea
Anna Lynn
Amy Tuite
Jiaya Yuan
Hailey Murray
Yilei Shao
Jude McCann
Sophie Jordan
Advertising on our school newsletter
If you would like to place an ad on our school newsletter, please email Suzanne at the office hollyparkgns@gmail.com for further details and pricing.
HPGNS
United in Friendship, Together We Strive!
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