Newsletter: Wednesday 7th January 2026
- hollyparkwebsite
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 12 hours ago
Welcome back!
Happy New Year and welcome back to our girls for 2026! It is lovely to see the girls looking so refreshed and rested following the Christmas break.
As always we have a busy term ahead including the celebration of our 60th year!
School Calendar 2025/2026
The 2025/2026 calendar is available on www.hollyparkgns.ie
Key Dates: Term Two
Junior Infant PT Meetings | Week beg. Monday 26th January | Junior Infants |
Catholic Schools Week | 18th - 24th January | Whole School |
Laudate | Wednesday 28th January | 4th Classes |
Grandparents' Day | Friday 30th January | Whole School |
St Brigid's Day School Closure | Monday 2nd February | Whole School |
Staff Inservice School Closure | Wednesday 11th February | Whole School |
Midterm Break | School closed Thursday 19th & Friday 20th February | Whole School |
60th Celebration Day | Thursday 12th March | Whole School |
Staff Inservice School Closure | Wednesday 13th May | Whole School |
Knowing if your child is well enough to go to school
Use this page
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
Save the date!
Grandparents' Day 2026: Friday 30th January
We are very much looking forward to this landmark day on our annual school calendar, which will take place on Friday 30th January.
(If for any reason we have to reschedule our Grandparents Day, we have a contingency date of Friday 6th February).
We will be in touch shortly with all details!
Laudate Festival 2026
Our 4th Classes have been working on the 15 song Laudate Repertoire since last September and are very much looking forward to participating in this year’s Laudate Festival as part of Catholic Schools Week.
The Laudate Festival will take place on Wednesday 28th January (7:00pm-8:15pm) in the Church of St Therese, Mount Merrion.
All parents and families are welcome to attend.
Junior Infant Parent Teacher Meetings
We are looking forward to meeting our Junior Infant parents at your annual Parent Teacher Meetings which will take place during the week beginning Monday 26th January 2025.
Parents/guardians will be able to book a ten-minute PT Meeting slot via the Aladdin PT Scheduler which will open for bookings on Wednesday 14th January.
The PT Scheduler will remain open for bookings until Monday 19th January. Parents/guardians will not be able to cancel or change their meeting bookings after this date.
Well done!
Well done Rena!
We are delighted to congratulate our very own Rena Wu from 6th Class, who was awarded first place in the 2025 Young Scholar Writing Competition Primary School Category.
Rena submitted an exceptionally well-researched essay entitled The Greatest Causes and Effects of Global Warming and the Impacts It May Have in the Future. Her work demonstrates a deep understanding of the complex issues surrounding global warming and thoughtfully highlights the challenges our children may face in the years ahead.
We are extremely proud of Rena for advocating so passionately for the environment and proud that the girls of Hollypark are engaging so seriously with the important issues of climate action and climate justice.
Well done Hannah!
Well done to our Drama Girls!
Well done to our pupils who attended the Leinster School of Music and Drama event before Christmas.
Congratulations to:
Aoibhinn O'Herlihy
Aibhlinn Heaney
Laoise O'Donnell
Tess O'Donnell
Isobella Cronin
Sadhbh O'Rorke
Holly Flattery
Isobel Cronin
Rachel Hyland
All the girls got 95% or over and were awarded medals!
School Choir
Lyric FM Choirs for Christmas!
Over 4,000 singers from all around the country grouped together in their local choirs and rehearsed, recorded and submitted their entry to RTÉ Lyric FM as they shared their musical talents with Lyric’s listeners this Christmas.
We were delighted to hear on the 21st of December that the Hollypark Girls’ School Choir were awarded 2nd place in the Primary School Category of the Lyric FM Choirs for Christmas competition.
We now feature on the Lyric FM Choirs for Christmas Winners webpage - see link below!
The Dedication: Remembering Phil Lynott - January 4th 2026 - 3Arena
Ten of our amazing 6th Class choir girls turned up the volume and swapped their traditional choir look for full-on rock star vibes at the Phil Lynott Tribute Concert in the 3Arena on Sunday night!
Sharing the stage with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and legendary musicians such as Richard Fortus from Guns N’ Roses, along with Eric Bell and Darren Wharton from Thin Lizzy, the girls delivered a show-stopping performance. It was an unforgettable night filled with music, excitement and memories to last a lifetime. The girls absolutely loved every minute of it! Well done!!
Hollypark GNS School Choir will be back in rehearsals next Tuesday 13th January as we look forward to preparing for Córfhéile na Scoileanna!
Voluntary Contributions 2025- 2026
Sincere thanks to the 112 families (that is 29% 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 Anniversary Celebrations: Ladies Lunch!
Casanova's Big Pizza Giveaway!
We were delighted that Hollypark GNS was chosen as one of the winners in Casanova's Big Pizza Giveaway!!! Casanova's donated 10 vouchers to our school which we raffled just before Christmas.
And the winners are.....!!!
Lily O’Hagan
Juliette Flynn
Andriya Sobir
Sadhbh Sweeney
Amy Tuite
India Sheridan
Zoe Lyons
Sadie Rhatigan
Isabelle Shields
Ava Lowey
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. |
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
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 in Hollypark!
Georgie Lynn
Alanna McCarthy
Lauren O'Mahony
Sadhbh Kennedy
Grace Grant
Elize O'Connor
Katie Arnott
Mila Cafolla
Gauri Menon
Isla Arblaster
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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