Newsletter: Wednesday 27th May 2026
- May 27
- 8 min read
School Calendar 2026/2027
School Calendar 2025/2026
The 2025/2026 calendar is available on www.hollyparkgns.ie
Key Dates: Term Three
Thursday 28th May | Confirmation | 6th Class |
Friday 29th May | PA Golf Classic & BBQ | Parents |
Monday 1st & Tuesday 2nd June | School Closure | All classes |
Wednesday 3rd June | Photos: Confirmation | 6th Classes |
Friday 5th June | PA Cake Sale | All classes |
Tuesday 9th June | Violin Concerts | Senior Infants - 3rd Class |
Thursday 11th June | Sports Day | All classes |
Friday 12th June | 60th Fun Day | All classes GNS & BNS |
Tuesday 23rd June | 6th Class Graduation | 6th Classes |
Friday 26th June | Final Day Term Three | All classes |
Thursday 27th August | School reopens for new school year | All classes |
School Tours
Junior Infants | Glenroe Farm | Wednesday 27th May |
Senior Infants | Festina Lente | Monday 15th June |
1st Class | Lullymore | Tuesday 16th June |
2nd Class | Astro Park Tallaght | Thursday 4th June |
3rd Class | Fort Lucan | Wednesday 10th June |
4th Class | Clara Lara | Wednesday 17th June |
5th Class | Russborough House | Tuesday 9th June |
6th Class | Alive Outside | Thursday 18th June |
A Summer Serenade
Well done to the School Choir for their tremendous performance at the Summer Serenade Concert on Monday night! They truly pulled out all the stops, raising the rafters (and over €2000!!!) for their chosen charities: Barretstown and LauraLynn.
I was hugely touched by their surprise tribute at the end of the concert and for the beautiful sentiments throughout. Thank you girls: I have enjoyed every moment singing with you. I am delighted that you are in the safe and capable hands of Ms de Fréin as you progress into a continued bright future.
Thanks as always to the Foxrock Parish Team - to Fr Philip, Jos, Tom to Paul Markey and to Gay in the Parish Centre. We are so lucky to be given the opportunity to sing in such a beautiful venue.
Sports Day: Thursday 11th June
We are delighted to invite you to the Hollypark GNS Sports Day 2026. This special day will take place on Thursday 11th June. All events will take place on the school astro.
Parents will access Sports Day through the girls’ school pedestrian entrance only. A one-way entry and exit system will be in place. Our Student Council and Active School Flag Team will act as stewards on the day and direct parents as required.
The Astro will be divided into two tracks. Track 1 will be the competitive track with the focus on sprint races, cup races and whole class relay races.
Track 2 will have stations at which the girls will experience fun, collaborative, active activities with the focus on participation and teamwork.
There will also be a designated viewing area for parents.
Our Sports Day will consist of 4 track sessions with the first session starting at 9am:
Class | Time Slot | |
Session 1 | Junior & Senior Infants | 9:00am - 10:00am |
Session 2 | 1st & 2nd Class | 10:15am - 11:15am |
Session 3 | 3rd & 4th Class | 11:30am - 12:30pm |
Session 4 | 5th & 6th Class | 1:00pm - 2:20pm |
The ice cream van will be stationed in the yard just inside the main gates. These gates will be closed on the day ensuring the area is safe to linger and chat.
Parental cooperation is essential to ensure it is a fun, positive experience for all. Therefore, we would ask that all parents please respect the following requests:
For health and safety reasons no hot drinks please.
No food is permitted on the Astro. This is to protect the surface.
Judge’s decision is final. We are promoting good sportswoman like behaviour among our girls. We can model this too!
A gentle reminder that no dogs are permitted on the school premises.
The podium and medal presentations will be on the Astro too. Please be mindful not all parents have given consent for photos or videos to be taken of their child. We are appealing for parental cooperation regarding camera use. Photos of the day will be shared with parents on the school website and in the newsletter following the event.
Several local sports clubs have been invited to provide coaching sessions for the girls throughout the day.
Parents will not be permitted to take their girls home early on the day as all pupils will return to class for a fun, active day with their friends.
We look forward to seeing you on Sports Day. Let’s hope the sun shines!
Great Success in Santry for our Athletics Squad!
On Thursday 21st May, 20 girls from 5th and 6th class participated in the Santry Athletics competition in Morton Stadium. To prepare the girls for this big event, there was early morning training on the astro pitch at 8:00 every Friday. They trained hard to achieve their goals and it paid off! In the end, they arrived back with several medals and new PBs across each event. Special shoutout to Amy Hughes for winning second place in sprints, Sophia Kelly for winning gold in high jump, our u14s relay team (Cameron Barron, Chloe Hsu, Milena Gallagher, Kate O’Reilly) for winning silver in the relay and Rena Wu for winning the u14s art competition. Overall, we are very proud of their accomplishments, and they represented the school very well.
by Kate, Milena, Cameron, Sophia & Chloe
A huge well done to this year's Santry Squad who trained so hard in the lead up to their track meet in Morton Stadium. The girls came home with an array of medals and PBs.
Special mention to
• Sophia Kelly who won the high jump.
• Amy Hughes who won a silver in the individual sprint U 12
• Rena Wu who won the art competition
• And our U 14 relay team – Kate O Reilly, Chloe Hsu, Cameron Barron and Milena with super subs Annelise Nolan and Hannah Carty
Huge thanks to Ms Mc Nulty, Ms Henry, Ms Conlon and Mrs Marnell for the early morning Friday training sessions to get the girls ready to compete.
Tennis
Special congrats to our tennis girls - Cara, Isabelle, Chloe, Kate, Rachel and Lara who won the Leinster Primary Schools Division 2 Tennis competition.
Sincere thanks to parents Aine Mc Guinness, Karen Cruise and Carolina Gleeson who have provided guidance and support with our 3 Tennis teams in collaboration with Ms. Sweeney.
Thanks to Steve Landon, coach in Newpark Tennis club for his support and for making courts available for our school team.
Special thanks to Leopardstown Tennis Club for hosting our recent tennis finals.
Golf
Congratulations to our golf team Chloe, Lily, Ellen and Emily who represented our school at the Castle Schools Cup Golf Competition in the Castle Golf Club on Monday. They were so lucky to have such a beautiful sunny day for the game!
The girls teed off at 8.30am and played a scramble on the front nine holes of the golf course. When they finished playing, all of the children in the competition attended a golf exhibition and had a golf lesson from two professional golfers where they picked up lots of tips and tricks from the pros!
In the afternoon, the girls had a lovely meal in the clubhouse restaurant and attended the prize-giving ceremony. They were thrilled to receive runner-up medals at the prize-giving.
We are very proud of the girls for representing the school in the Castle Schools Cup with such enthusiasm, teamwork, and outstanding sportsmanship.
We hope all our girls who play golf continue to enjoy the game over the summer months and into the future!
Violin Concerts: Tuesday 9th June
We are delighted to welcome parents from our Senior Infants to 3rd Class to our Violin Concerts on Tuesday 9th June. Class teachers will be in touch with ther specific class times.
Thank you to Eva for all her work with the girls over the last year.
Cake Sale: Friday 5th June
60th Fun Day: Friday 12th June: Teddy Bears' PJ Picnic Day
All classes are invited to wear their PJs (appropriate for school) and bring a teddy bear (one that they can actually carry…!) to school to celebrate our Fun Day on Friday 12th June.
Fun activities will be ongoing throughout the day!
Hoping the girls will enjoy the relaxed vibe especially following directly on from a hectic Sports Day on Thursday 11th!
Well done!
Well done Eve, Caoimhe, Rhea, Elasia and Olivia!
Well done Gabriella!
Well done Lily!
Well done Zoe!
Well done Alice!
Well done Alana, Laoise, Ciara, Doirean and Ruby!
Well done Aisling!
Well done Grace & Isabelle!
On Sunday, I went to Crusaders Athletics Club in Ringsend with Cabinteely Athletics Club. We had to compete in a number of events. My Relay Team came first in our Heat. Then we moved on to the Finals, where we came first place and got gold medals. We were delighted. Next month, we are going to Nationals where we will compete against all of Ireland and hopefully make our club even prouder.by Grace
At the end of the season, Granada Football Club held an award ceremony to celebrate all the successes in the Club and award some of their members for their achievements. We were awarded “Player Of The Year”. We were very surprised to win this award but also very proud of ourselves. by Grace and IsabelleVoluntary Contributions 2025- 2026
Sincere thanks to the 231 families (that is 59% 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.
PA Update
60th Golf Classic: Friday 29th May
And Raffle.....
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:
[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.
Birthdays this week & next in Hollypark!
Lara O'Halloran
Yinuo Yan
India Daly
Ihdeena Ghariani
Elle O'Connor
Norah Lamandé
Rachele Celeste Vallieri
Mia Pilkington
Zoe Murray
Indie Franklin
Maeve Redmond Kelly
Sophia Moran
Isabella Heraghty
Noorhane Ammouchi
Alanna Byrne
Anastasia Doyle
Ana Moore
Grace Lynch
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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Inclusion does not imply endorsement or recommendation by the school.
HPGNS
United in Friendship, Together We Strive!
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