Newsletter: Wednesday 25th February 2026

School Calendar 2025/2026

The 2025/2026 calendar is available on www.hollyparkgns.ie

Key Dates: Term Two

6th Class Movie Night	Friday 6th March	6th Class
Féile na dTeangacha	An Luan 9ú - An Aoine 13ú Márta	Gach rang
Book Fair	Monday 9th March - Thursday 12th March	All classes
St Patrick's Day School Closure	Monday 16th March & Tuesday 17th March	All classes
PA Table Quiz	Friday 20th March	All parents
Live Art Exhibition: Celebrating 60 Years!	Wednesday 25th March	All classes
Open Evening	Wednesday 25th March 6:00pm - 7:30pm	All welcome
60th Celebration Day	Thursday 26th March Mass @ 11am	All classes
Last Day Term Two	Friday 27th March	All classes
First Day of Term Three	Monday 13th April	All classes
Staff Inservice School Closure	Wednesday 13th May	All classes

Knowing if your child is well enough to go to school

Use this page

https://www2.hse.ie/babies-children/parenting-advice/caring-for-a-child/knowing-if-your-child-is-well-enough-to-go-to-school-or-childcare/

to find out:

• When it's OK to send your child to school or childcare

• When to keep your child at home from school or childcare

  
  

Please note these key points to keep our school (and wider) community safe and well:

High temperature

If your child has a high temperature, keep them off school or childcare until their temperature:

• goes back to normal

• stays that way without taking paracetamol and ibuprofen

In children, any temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or above is considered high.

Vomiting and diarrhoea

• Children with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from school or childcare until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 48 hours.

Follow advice from your GP 

If your child has been diagnosed with an infection such as:

• impetigo

• measles

• mumps

• scarlet fever

• slapped cheek syndrome

• chicken pox

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Celebrating 60 Years!

Live Art Exhibition: Wednesday 25th March

Classes	Parents are invited
Junior Infants, Senior Infants, 1st Class	9:00am - 9:45am
2nd Class, 3rd Class, 4th Class	9:45am - 10:30am
5th & 6th Class	6:00pm - 7:30pm

Open Evening: Wednesday 25th March

All are welcome to visit the school on the evening of Wednesday 25th March 6:00pm - 7:30pm. Please let past pupils know - we would love to welcome them back!

Celebratory Mass: Thursday 26th March

Mass will be celebrated in Foxrock Church on Thursday 26th March @ 11am. Children from 3rd to 6th Class from both schools will attend on the day. All parents and families are welcome to join our schools in this celebration.

60th Anniversary Book

We have compiled a beautiful keepsake book for our pupils. This 148 page commemorative book is packed full of photos and facts about our school and its 60 year journey.

Thanks to generous sponsorship from parents, local businesses and school suppliers we are able to offer this book to our families for the price of only €15. There are limited copies available and so initial orders are limited to one per family. An Aladdin link will issue shortly for ease of payment.

Draft image of the front and back cover of our book

Fun Day: Friday 12th June

And we look forward to a special Fun Day for our two schools when we celebrate 60 years on Friday 12th June!

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Well Done!

Well done Sadhbh!

I went to the Dublin Championships with my Athletics Club, Cabinteely. I ran in the second leg with my relay team. We came first in our heat and we won the finals!

Well done Genevieve!

On holidays, during the February mid-term break, I participated in a skiing competition in Switzerland. It was a speed race and I came second. The course was steep and there were about 200 people watching!

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Féile na dTeangacha 9ú - 13ú Márta

Lots of exciting events to look forward to during Féile na dTeangacha, our celebration of languages, incorporating Seachtain na Gaeilge!

Nuacht an Lae - gach lá

Ceilí leis na buachaillí

Cluichí ar an Astro

Seó Faisin

Lá Mór Glas

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School Choir: Córfhéile

Our School Choir are looking forward to performing at Córfhéile na Scoileanna on Wednesday 4th March @ 7:30pm.

All parents and families are very welcome to attend. Admission to Córfhéile is €10 for adults, accompanying children are free. (Girls who are singing in the Córfhéile do not pay admission).

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Book Fair: 9th - 12th March

We are looking forward to the return of Tara Books for our Book Fair which will run from Monday 9th - Thursday 12th March.

Teachers will be in touch with timings for their individual classes. General Admission for parents will be on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings 8:30am - 9:00am.

The free World Book Day books will be included by Tara books. World Book Day tokens have already been distributed in the school. It's one free book per child on receipt of a World Book Day Token.

Thank you to our Library Ladies and Ms de Fréin for organising this much loved annual school event.

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Library News

Following on from the success of Marita Conlon McKenna as our guest speaker last year, this year will see Sinead Moriarty visiting 4th, 5th and 6th classes at Hollypark GNS on Friday 6th March.

This will be a lovely lead into our Book Fair which commences 9th March.

We will have more of Sinead Moriarty’s books on the shelves shortly, giving the girls a chance to read more of her books before she visits.

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Voluntary Contributions 2025- 2026

Sincere thanks to the 165 families (that is 42% of all our families) who have already made a Voluntary Contribution to the school for 2025-26.

It may interest our families to know that you can choose to make frequent small payments to your Voluntary Contribution via Aladdin at any time during the school year, up to and including 31st August 2026.

Any and all contributions are very much appreciated and make a real difference to your daughter's learning environment.

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Essential Digital Parenting Webinar

CyberSafeKids Essential Digital Parenting Webinar will take place on Wednesday, February 25th 2026.

Alex Cooney, CEO and co-founder of CyberSafeKids, will be joined by Dr. Colman Noctor, child & adolescent psychotherapist, to discuss how parents can be more involved in their children's online lives and the challenges, opportunities and risks facing parenting in the digital age.

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PA Update

PA Pre-Loved Uniforms: Collection

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PA Table Quiz Fundraiser

We are looking forward to another fun fundraising event on Friday 20th March when our quizzing skills will be put to the test. Thank you again to our hardworking PA for organising this fun event.

The continued fundraising efforts of the PA—supported by your generous voluntary contributions and Department funding—are already making a meaningful impact. We are currently working with suppliers to add new painted games to the yard surface, and we have ordered picnic tables to enhance our Outdoor Learning Space.

We are also pleased to share that this year’s IT grant has been received, enabling us to purchase an additional 15 ThinkPads for use across our classrooms.

These resources will make a real difference to our girls’ learning experiences. Thank you!!

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Summer Art Camp

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Health & Safety

From time to time, vapes have been found on the school yard.

Please note that under legislation,

Smoking/Vaping is prohibited on school grounds.

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Traffic Safety

Please note:

It is illegal to park in a way which interferes with traffic flow or obstructs or endangers other road users, for example:

• Opposite a continuous white line.

• On a footpath (either partly or wholly).

• Within 5 metres of a junction.

• Within 15 metres on the approach side or 5 metres on the other side of a pedestrian crossing or traffic lights.

• At a school entrance.

• Obstructing any entrance for vehicles except with the occupier’s consent.

• On a grass margin or median strip.

[Dublin Street Parking Services]

Once again I am reminding our parents/guardians/minders to drive and park with consideration for our children and our neighbours - many of whom are elderly and vulnerable.

One Way Traffic System

When travelling to and from the school please use the one way traffic system outlined below to alleviate traffic congestion.

Traffic Safety

• Please use the church car park at drop off and collection times and walk the last 6 minutes with your child. 

• 80% of our pupils live within 2 kilometres of our school. Please encourage your older children to walk with their pals to and from school. 

• Please ensure that younger children are held by the hand when walking with them to and from school. 

• Please do not block the driveways of local residents when parking. Many of our residents – often elderly - are virtual prisoners in their own homes at drop off and collection times. And when they speak up are often subject to abuse.

• Please park legally and with care.

• As things stand, in the event of an emergency, it is unlikely that a fire tender or ambulance would be able to access the schools, or any homes in the vicinity, at drop off and collection times.

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Birthdays this week in Hollypark!

Lauren Dunphy

Rose Hennigan

Alannah Kenny

Cora MacDevitt

Carrie Molloy

Hiu Lam Chau

Emily Jordan

Amy Moll Mullane

Éabha Chatharoo

Viola Aurilia

Kasey Han Yi Bang

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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.

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HPGNS

United in Friendship, Together We Strive!