Dear Staff,
Subs (€25) and Insurance (€9)
We have decided to revert to the old system of fundraising this year so we are asking parents to make a one-off voluntary contribution of €25 instead of €100 last year. We do hope to match the remaining balance of €75 this year through various fundraising events such as our ‘Bob-a-Job, Christmas Calendar, Readalong, Cake Sale and other events. Please read the attached letter from our Parents’ Association and information sheet on the school insurance. Our school secretary will set up a payment link for this tomorrow.
Bob-a-Job
We have decided to run our successful Bob-a-job fundraiser this year. Thanks to all your efforts over the years, we were able to purchase more resources for the school. This year we are hoping to use any funds raised for new furniture for our school hall and new sports equipment.
We will organise a sponsorship card for every boy in the school next week. We hope that the boys will receive up to €1 for every job that they complete at home such as, washing the dishes, bringing the dog for a walk, hoovering the house, washing the car, etc. The boys will note the completion of their chore on their card. We encourage parents to email photos of the boys as they work on their jobs and we will display them on our school Facebook page. The closing date for all cards and money will be Tuesday 14th October.
Junior Infant Applications for September 2026
We will be accepting Junior Infant applications for September 2026 from the 1st October to the 14th November. Applications can be downloaded from our school website.
Dublin Ladies Senior All-Ireland Gaelic Football Champions visiting St. Mary’s BNS
There was a great buzz in school last Friday with all the boys wearing the Dublin colours to welcome Sophie McIntyre, who was one of the players involved with the successful Dublin Ladies Gaelic Football team, and Paul Casey, who is a past pupil of our school and the manager of the team. Sophie and Paul are both involved with Lucan Sarsfields. Abbey Shields and Siobhán Birnie, who is a sister of past-pupil Alec Birnie, are also involved with the team.
SNA Appreciation Day
We are fortunate to have a wonderful team of SNAs in our school. Fórsa's Education Division is celebrating National Special Needs Assistants Appreciation Day today. The boys have been expressing their gratitude to our SNAs for all their hard work.
Parents’ Association (PA) AGM on Monday 13th October in our school hall at 7.30pm
Our PA AGM will take place on Monday 13th October in our school hall at 7.30pm. This year we are excited to welcome the well-known psychotherapist, Dr. Joanna Fortune.
Dr. Joanna Fortune (see picture below) is an accredited psychotherapist specialising in the parent-child relationship. She is the author of the best-selling 15-Minute Parenting series of books (0-7 years; 8-12 years and the Teenage years) and her 4th book ‘Why We Play’. She is the host of the 15 minute parenting podcast. She has worked with families around a variety of issues. She is a recognised supervisor, trainer and conference speaker in her field. In 2017 she delivered a TEDx Talk on the topic 'Social media – the ultimate shame game?' She has a weekly parenting column in the Irish Examiner. She is also a regular media contributor to a variety of radio and TV shows. She is the parenting consultant on the weekly parenting slot on Newstalk’s Moncrieff for over 7 years.
Tea & Coffee Morning
Thanks to our Parents’ Association for organising a tea and coffee morning for parents of boys in Junior Infants last Friday. This was a good opportunity to get to know some of the parents in your son’s class.
Gaelic Football
Best of luck to our senior A footballers who play St. Mary’s Rathfarnham today in St. Enda’s Park and the senior B team who play Bishop Galvin in Tymon. Well done to our Junior footballers who put up a good fight against St. Mary’s BNS Rathfarnham and St. Joesph’s BNS Terenure on Tuesday. Thanks to Mr. Shanahan, Mr. Walsh, Mr. R. McHugh, Ms. Deeley, Mr. D. McHugh and Mr. Trainor for all the time they volunteer to train the boys at lunch time and take the boys to the games after school.
John Bellew All-Star Hurling Nomination
Well done to John Bellew who received an All-Star nomination in hurling this week. John is a past pupil of our school and plays with Lucan Sarsfields.
Cultural Awareness
Every Friday we invite boys who have parents from a certain heritage to give a few facts about their country and read a poem in that language over the school intercom. This week we were delighted to welcome Ahmad, Hashim, Rayan, Arham, Affan, Mohammad, Moiz, Ali, Ayan, Sanan and Yahya from fifth and sixth class who gave us some interesting facts about Pakistan and poetry in Urdu.
Marcus Webb under 13 boxing
Well done to Marcus Webb from Mr. Clandillon’s sixth class for winning the ‘Robert Burns’ boxing belt in Glasgow last weekend. Marcus is involved with the Monkstown Boxing Club and he won this title in the 33kg weight.
Computer Coding classes after school for Junior & Senior Infants and 3rd & 4th classes
Computer coding classes will be available for boys in 3rd and 4th classes starting next Thursday 2nd October after school. The infant classes will start at 1.40pm and finish at 2.40pm (60 minute classes). The classes for 3rd and 4th class will start at 2.40pm and finish at 4.10pm (90 minutes). Please email eoin@codingclasses.ie or click the following link for more information:
Coding Classes
Coláiste Phádraig Open Night – Thursday 2nd October for fifth and sixth class boys from 7 to 9pm
All boys from fifth and sixth class are invited to the Coláiste Phadraig Open Night on next Thursday 2nd October from 7 to 9pm. All boys in sixth class are guaranteed a place in Coláiste Phadraig. The only condition is that the application must be submitted on time before the 24th October. For more information please call 01-6282299.
Le dea-ghuí,
Dara Burke, Principal.