Well this has been another busy week. Our celebration of Irish language and culture culminating with the various céilí that we had in school today.
The whole school moving to the beat of a hAon, Dó Trí. It’s exhausting but it always makes me smile to think about afterwards. Today we had the opportunity to come together for the junior infants assembly on kindness. The parents got to see the show yesterday which is not always possible but lovely when it does work out.
Seeing the group of parents standing waiting in the yard yesterday made me think how lucky we are to have a community to lean on. I think community and a sense of belonging is one of the things that is missing from our modern world. We have our digital worlds and connections but they’re not the same as being connected and standing next to people and working together for a common goal and being interested in and caring about those people around you. In this case it’s the joy of watching the infants coming together to perform their assembly. But in Rang a 6 it’s the parents coming together to support Neysa in her preparations for the musical. So many parents have come to me to offer support and help with the musical which from the sounds coming from the hall promises to be the best one yet.
Our founding principal Joan (who still reads these) used to say that we should aspire to be a beacon and when she said it I remember teasing her about it but as I step back this week to reflect, I do see what she means. In a world where community is not always there; I see the different people and committees in the school pull together. From small but huge things where a child is enabled and supported in doing something new with their class to bigger things like the Executive’s work on updating our admission policy and supporting our teachers. The BoM working on supporting vulnerable children within the school which in turn benefits the whole school. The PA creating opportunities for people to come together and just be.
In the next term the PA and the teachers are going to shine our light a little wider where we will be a leader school in a community of local schools St Mary's NS, St Columba's NS, St Laurence O'Toole's NS, St Patrick's BNS, St Patrick's GNS, Our Lady of Mercy, Rutland St NS, Star of the Sea NS and us. We are going to lead these schools for the first ever Run Kids Run event in Dublin. Check out the PA section for more details.
As part of this run kids run event we are receiving a donation of 5K for the development of our roof garden into a sensory/garden. What it looks like is as yet undecided. The student council have ideas as have the teachers but we haven’t finalised a design yet. Already this year we have changed how we use it. Rang a 1 love to spill out there and make use of the extra space.
We are going to try and direct our fundraising for the rest of the year towards this initiative. We received a donation of almost €800 from Tesco as part of their community fundraising initiative so we are already off to a good start.
Next week we have a parent coming in to facilitate a coding workshop in Rang 4 agus a 5. Rang a 3 who are working on the Junior Juries have invited News2day to come with their cameras to talk about it. The work on Write a Book continues. Editing is the focus this year as we try to distill stories to those key elements of setup, conflict and resolution.
If the pictures from the céilí have left you with some FOMO. You can create your own craic at the Céilí Mór this Sunday.
Bain sult agus taitneamh as an deireadh seachtaine fada,
Paul
The Executive are looking for new board members. While not essential some building/architectural skills or financial/corporate governance skills would be useful. Let Paul know if you are interested.
The BOM appreciates the attention that has been paid by the parent body to the recent Voluntary Contributions reminders. Thank all those who have responded positively - the VCs are vital to be able to continue to run RMDS as heretofore.
As part of its remit, the BOM is charged with ensuring that policies are reviewed; updated and fit for purpose. Both the Acceptable Use and Mobile Phone policies will be circulated out to the school community in the coming weeks. A lot of work is also being done on the new anti-Bullying policy ‘Bí Cinéalta’ by the Student Council and the teachers- thank you to all involved,
The hall is available to rent by any local groups looking to do so on a repeat basis- please contact a member of the BOM for further information.
Last but not least, the BOM would like to thank the PA for running another very successful Cinema night last month.
Lá Fhéile Padraig sona daoibh go leir.
A Busy and Exciting Few Weeks!
The PA and our school community have been buzzing with activity over the past few weeks! A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Movie Night – it was fantastic to see so many parents and children enjoying a fun-filled evening together. A special shoutout to Orla Gilmore and Eleanor McGuinness for their hard work in making it such a success!
Following that, parents took a well-deserved break with a Sound Bath session in the school hall. We’ve heard amazing feedback, and due to popular demand, we’ll be scheduling another one soon – watch this space!
Looking Ahead – Exciting Events on the Horizon
As we move towards the second half of the year, we have plenty to look forward to:
Thanks, as always, for your support, and we can't wait to see you at these upcoming events! Any questions reach out to pa@rmds.ie
Eimear & Lorraine
