Notices
Enrolment
Enrolment is now open for all prospective students for the academic year 2025-2026. Parents wishing to enrol their daughter in junior infants or mainstream can fill in application form below.
Parents wishing to enrol their daughter in our special class can download and return the application form below.
Deputy Principal
Congratulations to Ms Laura Shiels who has been appointed our new Deptuy Principal. Ms Shiels also assumes the role of deputy designated liasion person (DDLP) for all matters pertaining to child safeguarding.
Parent Teacher Meetings
School will finish at the slightly earlier time of 2pm next Wednesday 29th January and Thursday 30th January for students in 1st-6th class.
St Brigid's Day Bank Holiday
Please note school closure for the bank holiday on Monday 3rd February.
Chaperones
As we gradually approach Spring, classes will be looking forward to tours/outings/events and we will be asking available parents to chaperone. If this is something you may be interested in, please email Paula at info@stbrigidsgns.ie with your details for Garda Vetting.
Parents Association AGM
The Parents Association AGM will take place on Wednesday 26th February 2025 at 8pm. The PA would like to invite all parents to come along to the AGM. This is a great opportunity to see exactly what's involved in being part of our wonderful PA.
Wellbeing
Phone Free Pledge & Debate
Internet Safety Week runs from February 10th-14th this year. We are excited to use this opportunity to engage students in learning about smartphones and technology. We will be having a poster competition on the pros and cons of smartphones (some very spirited entries have already been dropped in!)
During Internet Safety Week, project maths will be replaced by fun and educational challenge for families to complete together. These challenges will be posted on our Instagram page and focus on key themes such as online privacy, screen time management, and recognising trustworthy information.
Finally we are hoping to organise a debate on Thursday 13th February to explore the topic of phones in primary school. Each team will consist of two students, a teacher/ member of staff and a parent/grandparent. We are looking for any parents/grandparents who are available and would like to take part in the debate to email their expression of interest to parents@stbrigidsgns.ie.
Rainbow Themed Wake Up Shake Up
Get ready to move and groove! As part of our Wellbeing Week celebrations next week, we’re hosting a Rainbow-Themed Wake Up, Shake Up on Friday, January 31st. Students and their families are encouraged to dress in their favorite rainbow colours and join us for a morning full of music, and movement. We can't wait to see you there!
Sixth class students are taking part in an emotional intelligence workshop with Motus this week. The girls are learning all about how to take care of their mental health and cultivate a pro-social mental health environment. Thank you to the PA for funding this important workshop.
Motus are facilitating a follow up webinar for 6th class parents which will take place on Wednesday 29th January at 7pm. Please find link to the webinar below:
School News
Athletics Programme
Students from Ms. Dempsey's Class have been working with Shane from Athletics Ireland on an exciting program to develop their fundamental movement skills. They’ve been practicing running, jumping and balancing while having lots of fun along the way. Thank you to Shane and John from DCC for organising this amazing initiative. Well done to all involved!
Junior Entrepeneur Programme (JEP)
Our 5th class students are taking part in the Junior Entrepreneur Programme! Before Christmas, they showcased their creativity and business skills by designing, crafting and selling their beautiful knitted items. Their hard work and teamwork truly paid off, as they made an impressive €1837.10. This fantastic achievement reflects their effort and commitment! Well done to all involved!!
Handball & Volleyball
Following the success of our handball blitz in December, students from 5th and 6th classes are gearing up for two exciting tournaments in the National Indoor Arena, Blanchardstown. The volleyball competition takes place on February 10th, and the handball tournament follows on February 12th. To prepare, students were fortunate to train with professional coaches who guided them through the rules and strategies of both sports. Everyone is buzzing with excitement to represent our school in the Dublin competition and compete for a top spot. Best of luck to all our players. Bring your A-game!
Swimming
First and fourth classes have commenced swimming lessons in Westwood, Clontarf. They will be covering skills from the Aquatics strand in the PE curriculum e.g. buoyancy and propulsion & stroke development. Thank you to our parent volunteers for chaperoning.
Climate Literacy
Ms. Costello’s fifth class recently completed an 8- week Climate Literacy Programme with Gavin from Education for Sustainability. The girls learned all about climate change, sustainability and the importance of protecting our planet. They gained valuable knowledge and skills to make a positive impact on the environment!
On the Right Path: Cycling
Our fifth class students have kicked off an exciting 6-week cycling program designed to teach them essential cycling skills and road safety. Throughout the program, students will learn how to handle their bikes with confidence, including starting, stopping, and maneuvering safely in different situations. We're excited to see them out on the roads soon!
Literacy Lift Off
The girls in Ms Flynn's 1st class have started Literacy Lift Off. Literacy Lift Off is an intervention that gives children lots of opportunities to read books at their own level of competency and gradually lift the complexity of what they can do in both reading and writing. The girls get the chance to work in small groups for an hour a day, over a 5 week period. Each group has a different teacher lead activity- reading new text, word work, revising old reading and working on iPads. The girls are really enjoying literacy lift off and it is great to see their reading fluency and confidence improving.
Upcoming Events
Spelling Bee
Students from fourth to sixth class are thrilled to take part in the North Dublin Spelling Bee. The competition kicks off with a series of in-class heats to determine four finalists from each class. These finalists will then compete in the school-wide Spelling Bee, where the top two will move on to represent our school at the final in Sutton Park School. Best of luck to all our spellers!
Bake Sale
Sixth class will be selling treats and cakes next Friday 31st January to the rest of the school. Students can bring in money if they wish. All proceeds will go towards charity-sixth class currently debating the most worthy cause!
Book Fair
The travelling book fair will take place on the days of the parent teacher meetings in the school hall. Although there will be a card machine there, it is advisable to bring cash if wishing to buy books. Students will have had a chance to visit the book fair on Wednesday (29th) morning.
Credit Union
We are delighted to re-launch the Member First Credit Union (MFCU) Schools Savings Scheme. Please find details of how it works and application form below:
Learning to Play an Instrument
Our third classes will begin learning the recorder as part of an outreach programme with the Artane School of Music. Following their six week session, students will be invited to the Artane School of Music to perform with the prestigious Artane Band the week beginning March 31st. Date to be confirmed.
Musicals- save the date!
The incredible duo, Ms Barry & Ms McGrane, are at it again, producing two incredible musicals for the summer term. Swarms of excited students can be seen and heard singing and dancing down yellow brick corridors in the afternoons! Make sure to save the dates.
School Improvement Plan/SIP
Homework
Our Homework Improvement Plan 2 is well underway with the addition of project maths in October last year. Many of our improvement targets in wellbeing, assessment, inclusion, maths, homework and our digital strategy are considered in this plan. This plan takes on board issues arising in discussions with staff, parents, students and the inspectorate in review of Homework Plan 1 and will be reviewed in Term 3.
Why Project Maths?
The introduction of project maths homework aims to address pupil ownership, differentiation, communication of progress and purposeful learning in line with the new primary maths curriculum.
SeeSaw
SeeSaw is being trialled this year predominantly as a whole school mechansim for pupil self-assessment. It is envisaged that SeeSaw will act as an eportfolio of your child's progress throughout her schooling. While it's challenges are acknowledged, particularly in terms of device access, it's facility to enable differentiation, increased ownership, and creativity are proving to be purposeful.
Review
We look forward to hearing parents' perspectives on homework, project maths and SeeSaw in Term 3 when we survey the following:
- Is project maths enabling real-world application of maths skills?
- Is it promoting critical thinking and problem solving?
- Does it connect with your child's interests?
- Is project maths promoting collaboration and communication?
- Is it developing independence and responsibility in your child?
- What changes would you make or suggestions do you have to improve project maths homework?
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Abraham Maslow
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