As we hit peak spring time the children have been exploring the signs of spring all around them. The bulbs that were planted in Autumn are looking their absolute best, particularly the ones at the gate and thankfully we have convinced the children to stop picking them. Coming up to Mother’s Day as they want to show all the special mums their appreciation, the gift of flowers right in front of them seems an obvious choice. Senior infants were telling me all about spring animals and the signs of spring. They were also telling about their display of the lamb and rabbits they made during their art lesson.
Our first ever RMDS babies, are the absolute highlight of the week throughout the school. When Anna in rang a 2 came to ask if she could try and hatch some eggs, I thought it was a wonderful idea. I did not expect that the whole school would become enthralled with the little chicks. On Tuesday when the first crack on the egg appeared, the children were beyond excited as the chicks started to come out and explore their new world, and developed into the fluffiest cutest little things. The whole school, staff included were obsessed and no one walked past the door of Rang 2 without popping in to check on them. Their cheeps are a very new and special sound in the building.
The whole exercise has been a lesson in patience as the children were watching those eggs for 21 days and once the eggs cracked there was almost a full day before the first chick emerged. That is the joy of nature and highlighted to me why we shouldn’t forget it in our busy worlds. We sometimes try and make the world bend to us and our busy schedules but sometimes we have to just wait and be patient and then wait some more. That is not a bad thing, learn to sit with the discomfort of waiting and boredom.
This week we also had our first warm up run in preparation for Run Kids Run. On Monday I saw blue skies and panicked that it couldn’t last all week. I brought the school out to Dartmouth park minus the infants to announce the event to the children. We took a baby step and each class ran/walked a little more than half a kilometre. It worked really well and so many of the children were trying to run more and more laps of the park so we’re going to try and have a few more events like this. I love getting the whole school out into the open mixing with each other. Rang a 5 took it a step further and were there yesterday. They jogged and sprinted over 2 kilometres, they are already ready for the distance of Run Kids Run. They are actually working towards a different target. A 5km run along the canal. Emily will be in touch looking for volunteers to join in and make that happen.
Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to the event. I’m looking forward to running with Kelly Harrington who has agreed to join the schools on the run.
For any of you who walk through the hall in the mornings. I’m sure you have noticed the slow change of the space. They are not finished yet. The big top tent has yet to appear! Rang a 6 have taken a short break from their rehearsing to take a visit to Glasnevin cemetery today. The class deserve it as they have been incredibly busy as they are all pulling together to make the show the best it can be. I was so impressed with them this week, particularly on Monday. Sally was in the hall painting with a group. The rest of the children were on the balcony preparing for different parts of the backdrop and there was no messing, just busy industriousness.
Neysa has pulled all of this together in an incredible way. In fact we have never had the backdrop up and ready a full week before the performance which will be on the 9th for the whole school and the 10th for parents of the performers. Hopefully it will remain intact all next week and that no one will fall through it.
Rang a Sé have one last match to organise for the Football World Cup. The final will be held on Monday. New Zealand versus Japan. We had another first this week when a granny came to see the semi final match, luckily her grandson won.
Next week Cycle Right will be back on Monday working with Rang 5. Infant parents will have to be a little careful at pick up time to stay in the quiet area up by the steps or in the green space to avoid getting run over.
Some of the classes have already been working on the Non Reading Intelligence test this week and more will be doing it next week. We always talk about not taking the Drumcondra Tests in May too seriously and these give us a different viewpoint that moves away from the narrower focus of literacy and numeracy that we get from the Standardised Tests.
Next Wednesday the Senior Infant parents will be meeting Claudia, our Forest School leader and getting a taste of what Forest School in RMDS will be like. The meeting will be in the Seomra Spraoi at 08:45. Forest School will be starting the week we return from the Easter break. Starting that first week will allow us to give Rang a 6 to have a final session in the Forest before they head on to greater things.
The Extra Curricular schedule will also be starting back after the Easter break so I will be asking everyone to enrol before the break. The enrollment window will open on Monday the 7th at 15:00. Some of the classes are oversubscribed and it will be on a first come first served basis, most classes will give priority to anyone who was enrolled in the previous term.
Have a lovely weekend and I hope all the mothers enjoy their day, your job is a very special one - if often under appreciated,
Paul
The extra curricular term will be for 7 weeks. It will run from the week starting on the 28th April to the week starting on the 9th June. Classes on Monday will run for 5 weeks due to Bank Holidays and Tuesday classes will run for 6 weeks due to a school closure on the 3rd June. The enrollment window will open at 15:00 on Monday the 7th April. Applications prior to this time will not be considered.
Thank you to everyone who has been able to contribute to the Voluntary Contributions which help fund the work of the school. If you haven’t but would like to; recurring payments can be made using this link and once off contributions can be made using this link.
Thank you to everyone who has already registered for the Run Kids Run event. If you can make it we’d love to see you on the 10th May in Clanna Gaels GAA pitch. We will be helping out with another warm up event before the Easter break. If you are available to help in any way please get in touch with Orla in person or via the school office.
RMDS School Age Childcare Easter Camp
14th - 17th April 2025 (4 day camp)
Camp 9.30 – 1.30pm
15 places Left
1 Child €80
2 Siblings €150
3 Siblings €225
Please fill in your child’s details below. DO NOT PAY UNTIL YOU HEAR THAT YOU HAVE GOT A PLACE.
All enquiries can be directed to,
childcare@rmds.ie
085-1156506
| EASTER CAMP ENROLMENT FORM |
|---|
| CHILD’S NAME: |
| CLASS: |
| AGE: |
| ALLERGIES/ Additional Needs: |
| PARENTS Phone: |
| Guardian/ Minder Phone: |
From the Lunch Bag….
The lunch bag are going to start delivering fresh fruit to the school in addition to the regular options. Children will have the option of an apple or a satsuma to choose from. You do not need to do anything to avail of the fruit. It will operate in a similar way to the way ‘bainne’ is distributed to the classes.
I’m leaving this here for a second week just in case anyone missed it last week.
Just a reminder that we have a healthy eating policy in the school. We don’t eat crisps, biscuits or sweet snacks except on very rare occasions. The children can justifiably get annoyed when they see someone with snacks that they consider to be a treat.
