Blog

9^th January 2012       

Dear Parents,

All the teachers and staff join me in wishing you every blessing in this New Year. It was lovely to see all the happy, rested faces coming into school this morning, ready for new adventures in learning.

 Many of you will know that Eileen O’Donnell has been appointed Principal of our Secondary School. Eileen brings experience, energy and clear vision to the school, and we wish her all the very best as she takes up her new post at the end of February. As you know, Mark Fennell, the outgoing Principal of the Secondary School, is on our own Board of Management and I am grateful that he will continue to serve on our Board.

I have been asked to attend the Chapter of my Order, which takes place in Rome from January 30^th until March 14^th. The Board and the Department of Education have kindly given me unpaid leave of absence for this six week period, and Maria Doheny will be Acting Principal during that time. Sr. Mary Lawless will be Acting Deputy Principal. I feel very confident in leaving our school in such capable hands.

 I have two heartfelt wishes for this New Year and they are wishes that you can help me realise. My first wish is that our school car-park becomes a safer place for our children. Rory Burke, Chairman of the Board of Management, will be writing to you shortly, outlining some new initiatives which we will be launching with this in mind. Please drop your child in the drop-off zone, and do not park on any double yellow lines. Please note that the area alongside the school hall is for staff parking only. If parents wish to come into the school, the lower car-park is usually empty and is always available.

 My other wish is for us as a school family to work together to improve standards in Literacy and Mathematics at all class levels. The Department of Education has launched a new initiative asking teachers and parents to focus particularly on Maths & English for the next few years in order to increase our children’s skills, competence and confidence. We as a school will take our first steps in responding to this by creating a development plan which I hope you will contribute to and help us realise. The Department have highlighted the importance of parental involvement as an integral part in this process. I would like to work on Maths first, and I’m asking you to fill in the attached evaluation form, and return it to me. I will, of course, get back to you when we have had time to review your evaluation and our test results for each class over the last few years. This promises to be an ongoing dialogue and a very necessary initiative in our children’s learning. Further details of this initiative are available on the Department of Education website (www.education.ie) under “National Numeracy and Literacy Strategy”.

 Thank you again for all your help and support,

 Sr. Mary Corr

Principal

Parent_Survey_Nat_Numeracy_&_Literacy_Strategy              

St. Raphaela’s Primary School                                                                                                                                                                                                                   19^th December 2011

   Dear Parents,

Thank you all so very much for your wonderful support for our cake sale on Friday last. The sale raised over €2,000, which will be used to provide teaching resources for each class. In these very difficult economic times, such a wonderful result speaks volumes about your support for our school. There was such a lovely festive, happy atmosphere pervading the whole cake sale – thank you so much for making that possible. A special thank you to all the team from the Parents’ Association who stayed on their feet from early morning until late evening – you were truly wonderful!          

I look forward to seeing many of you at the plays later on today, or at carols at 11am in the Badminton Hall on Thursday.

Many of you have been asking about our collection for Joey, Pat and Carmeli, our caretakers and cleaner. Jill has a little box in her office and it would be great if everyone could put a small donation in it. Thank you!

All the staff join me in thanking you for your support, and wish you every blessing at this Christmas Season and in the New Year!

With Kindest regards,

Sr. Mary Corr

Principal

 Christmas at St. Raphaela’s:

1^st December 2011

Dear Parents,

St. Attracta’s School in Meadowbrook, Ballinteer, were kind enough to host a wonderful inter-schools Maths Quiz for Sixth Class children last night, in which fifteen local schools took part. It was a wonderful evening and St. Attracta’s themselves were deserving winners. The scoring was neck and neck up to the last round, and our team did us proud!

Well done to Sorcha Mellon-Whelan for winning 1^st Prize in all of Dublin in the Slip Jig section of the Irish Dancing Competition. Éabha Maher and Aisling MacKenna also won very special awards in the Feis.

Fourth & Fifth Class have been busy making wonderful Christmas decorations with Rachel Leonard and Sarah Craddock. Lorraine Monahan Hanlon and Jenny Nolan will be helping First and Second Class to make their decorations over the next few days. All the decorations will be on display and many for sale at our cake sale on Friday 16^th in the Badminton Hall.

5^th Class are busy preparing for their first Inter-School Debate 0- our team will meet Our Lady’s Grove, Goatstown, on December 12^th, and we wish them all the best!

I have had several parents express very serious concerns about safety in the car-park. The Board of Management will discuss car-park safety at its next meeting. Could I ask you please not to park in the drop-off area and to use the lower car-park if you wish to come into the school building.

Christmas seems to come sooner every year and sometimes life at this time gets very hectic! If you need a little time for inner nourishment, come to “Winter Solace” in St. Teresa’s, Mount Merrion at 8pm this evening. Nóirίn Nί Chinnéide will be  leading the evening and I know it will be very special.

With kind regards,

Sr. Mary Corr

Principal

15^th November 2011

Dear Parents,

The theme of this week’s annual Science Week is “The Chemistry of Life”.  We are learning that living things are constantly changing and that when certain elements interact, exciting things happen! Miss Corbett’s room is a base for our Science experiments and we are enjoying making fair tests. 

Special thanks to Marian Palmer of I.A.D.T.  who is taking our Assembly tomorrow, and to Anton Wigley, who is making a weather station with 4^th Class and rockets with 6^th. Anton will also make custard pies with 1^st Class. Dr. Verbe is going to show 5^th Class how the human heart functions, and Eavan Maher will bring a skeleton into 3^rd Class, as they are learning about the human body. Last but not least, Bogdan Svyrydenko will talk to 6^th class about the materials we use in construction and Sarah Hipwell will explain how the digital camera works. Very many thanks to all these busy parents for volunteering their time and energy to the school!

Thank you for your generous response to Operation Christmas Shoe Box. Boxes will be collected this Friday, 18^th November. This year we will not be making Christmas cards or calendars but we will have a Christmas Fair and cake sale on Friday 16^th December in the Badminton Hall from 12.30 to 4.00 pm. We hope you will all support us!

Each child will be making a Christmas decoration for sale at the fair. Olga Maher has kindly agreed to co-ordinate this huge operation. If you have ideas for decorations and would like to work with a class group please contact Olga (087 7995068) or Gilly (086 2739391).

A big “Get Well Soon” to Noreen O’Gorman who is recovering from a broken arm. We all miss her presence in the Library!

Kind regards,

Sr. Mary Corr, Principal

                                                                                                                                    24^th October 2011

Dear Parents,

Celebrating Hallowe’en at St. Raphaela’s

Just a little reminder that our Parents Association are once again hosting a Hallowe’en Disco in our school Hall this Thursday from 7 till 8pm. Children from 3^rd to 6^th Classes and their parents are invited to attend. Fancy Dress only! Admission is €2 per child to cover costs.

Please note that there is an Open Evening in the Secondary School for parents of girls from 3^rd Class upwards from 7pm till 9pm, also this Thursday. The girls in 5^th & 6^th Classes are invited over to the Secondary School on Friday morning, where they can do some Science work in the Labs.

All our younger children (Junior Infants to 2^nd Classes) may wear fancy dress to school on Friday.

The school is closed all next week for mid-term, and re-opens on Monday 7^th November. School closes at the normal time this Friday.

With kind regards,

Sr. Mary Corr

Principal

 October 6^th 2011

Dear Parents,

If you noticed a lot of little people and indeed a few teachers arriving to school in their pyjama’s this morning we have not been napping on the job! Well done to Junior & Senior Infants who enjoyed a very happy “cheerio” breakfast in school this morning and raised over €500 for child line in the process.  Thank you parents for supporting such a worthwhile cause!

Could I ask the parents of children in 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes to please keep the evening of Saturday October 22^nd free?  Our Senior Choir will be singing with the Palestrina Choir and the Pro – Cathedral Choir in a very special concert to take place form 7.30 – 9.30 pm in our Parish Church of St Laurence O’ Toole Kilmacud.   This very special evening is in aid of the new National Children’s Hospice in Leopardstown and also in aid of a forthcoming tour by the children of the Palestrina Choir. I will send out a letter giving further details in the next few days

Congratulations to Allanah Birmingham in 2^nd Class and to Aisling and Niall on the birth of Naoise last week.  Congratulations also to Laoise Kiernan of 2^nd Class and to her parents on the birth of her little sister Rua.

Catie Davie, Aisling Mellon Whelan and Eabha Maher all excelled in the recent South County Dublin Irish Dancing Competition.  Well done to them!

Our school library is up and running again.  Thank you to all those who volunteered to man it on Tuesday and Thursdays! Your help is greatly appreciated.

With kind regards,

Sr. Mary Corr

Principal

29^th September 2011

Dear Parents,

I asked the children in assembly this week what do parents talk about when they meet friends, and they replied immediately; “they talk about us becasue we are important to them! ”.  That gave me the opening I needed to discuss how each one is unique and  special, and then to go on to focus on how in God’s eyes the truly important person is the one who serves others.  Maybe you could look for chances in your home this week to point out simple opportunites for service in the family and to applaud your child when you see him or her doing some kindness or service without having to be asked to do it.

For our younger children who go home at 1.30pm a great service they could offer our school is to go home straightaway!!   The climbing frame should only be used by children when there is a member of our school staff present. Fifth and Sixth Classes are hard at work directly above that play ecquipment, and they find it hugely distracting and not a little frustrating to listen to the sound of play outside their window.

Our Senior Choir which is made up of children from 4th, 5th and 6th Classes, have been invited to take part in a concert in our Parish Church of St. Laurence O’Toole on Saturday October 22nd from 7.30 – 9.30 pm. The concert will be hosted by the Palestrina Choir and by the Pro-Cathedral Choir. Proceeds from the evening will go towards the new National Children’s Hospice in Leopardstown, as well as to the forthcoming Palestrina tour.  Please keep this date free in your diary!

As you know, our school will have a new Board of Management in place by next November. The Board includes two parent representatives, a mother and a father.  At the AGM of our Parents Association on October 12th, Mr John Noonan, outgoing Chairman of the Board, will seek nominations from the parent body to these roles.  A person must agree to have their name go forward, and each nomination must be seconded. If there is more than one nomination in either category we will proceed to a postal ballot between those nominated. I look forward very much to seeing you at the meeting.

Kind regards,

Sr. Mary Corr

Principal

22^nd September 2011

Dear Parents,

Just a little reminder that the closing date for registering for 24 hour Personal Accident Insurance cover for your children is Friday 30^th September. The cost is €7 per child, and I really feel that this is something every parent should avail of. Please just put the €7 in an envelope marked Personal Accident Insurance, and with your child’s name and class on the front and drop it into the school office – no form is required.

There are about 15 un-named school coats in the back of the hall. If your child has lost a coat in recent months, maybe you would check that her’s isn’t among those in the hall.

I am trying to plan some fun activities to help us celebrate Maths Week (October 17^th to 21^st) and Science Week (November 14^th to 18^th). If any of you parents have an interest in Science or Maths and would be prepared to be involved, please do let me know.

May I remind 6^th Class parents that there is a meeting for those of you whose children are preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation next April, in our Parish Church next Monday at 8pm.

With kind regards,

Sr. Mary Corr, Principal

September 15^th 2011

Dear Parents,

Our focus in Assembly this week is using our gifts and talents well. We are trying to help children be more aware of the very special gifts and talents they all possess, talents for listening, talents for friendship, talents for helping, talents for sports as well as academic talents.  These talents develop and grow as soon as children take ownership of them and use them consciously.  Please do help your child to recognise the unique gifts she has and talk to her about how she might use these precious gifts more and more frequently.

Last Saturday morning, many of our former pupils gathered in our Parish Church of St. Laurence O’ Toole to pay tribute and bid farewell to Elaine O’Leary who died last Thursday.  Elaine was a young woman who lit up the lives of those who knew her. The theme of Elaine’s funeral Mass, at her request, was “sparkle, sparkle” and she really did sparkle in her short thirty years.  Our sympathy goes to Elaine’s parents and to her five sisters.

Could I remind those of you who have not yet sent in the €7 for 24 hour insurance cover for your child, that the closing date for sending it in is Friday next. Please could you pop it in an envelope marked “Insurance” and with your child’s name on it and hand it in to us in the office.

Many thanks to Sarah Fitzpatrick, Janice Kelly, Noreen O’Gorman, Gilly Taylor and Magdalena Bryla as well as to Bogdan Svyrydenko and Bill Cullen who have helped set up our new library. If you are interested in helping us out in the library once a month on a Tuesday or a Thursday morning, I would love to hear from you.

Thank you to those who returned the consent form for altar serving. The rota is now available.

Finally our first inter- school match in Cumann na mBun Scoil took place yesterday at 3pm against Mount Anville School. Our team lost by a very small margin but had a throughly enjoyable game! Well done girls, and thank you to Laura & Stephen who give so much time to us!

After school Spanish for Fifth Class resumed on Tuesday 13^th September in Senior Infants classroom from 2.30 until 3.10 pm.

Kind regards.

Sr. Mary, Principal

2^nd September 2011

Dear Parents,

It gives me pleasure to welcome you all back to St. Raphaela’s for this new academic year. A special welcome to those of you who are new to our school family.

Many of you will have met our new teachers, Gwen Ryan in 1^st Class and Áine Rooney in 5^th.   Jane Coyne will take over P.E. for children from 3^rd Class upwards, from Ciara Clarke who is now working full time in the Secondary School. Marina Douglas will still take P.E. with the younger classes. I hope to send you all a calendar for this term by the end of next week when dates are finalised. Meanwhile, please do look at our new website: www.straphaelasns.ie which we launched yesterday! We will shortly receive codes and passwords for the content management system so that each teacher can update their own class page, which we hope you will enjoy!

Our school library is in the process of moving to the ground floor opposite Miss Toner’s room. We urgently need parent volunteers to help us set up and manage the library – if you have a morning free and are willing to be part of this vital team, please would you let me know, thank you!

After-school swimming for girls from 2^nd to 6^th Classes will re-commence on Friday 9^th September at Glenalbyn Swimming Pool at a cost of €130 for the year. Registration will take place on Monday next, 5^th, from 2.15 till 3pm in our school hall. Please make cheques payable to St. Raphaela’s Parents Association. Thank you.

After-school Gaelic Football for girls from 3^rd to 6^th Classes will re-commences on Monday (5^th September). Football for 1^st & 2^nd will start soon – we will keep you informed. We urgently need parent volunteers to help with coaching – if you can help, please would you contact Laura (087 2138589) or Stephen (087 2861661). Thank you.

After-school Hockey for 3^rd to 6^th Class girls starts next week also, on Thursday at 2.30pm. We will send out application forms shortly.

When I master the Content Management System of our new website, I hope to keep a regular “blog” from the school office – do bear with me… I’m getting there!

With every kind wish,

Sr Mary Corr aci,  Principal