Today is a big day for celebrating the children and their achievement. We had our write a book assemblies today. Where we celebrate the fact that each child has written a story with topics as varied as the children themselves. It wasn’t easy as the children struggled with getting the idea, developing the character, the introduction, the settings, the illustrations, the covers and the editing. I love how proud the children are of their work and today some of the children read parts of their stories for us which is ultimately the reason we write stories so that we can share them. I also love watching the children when they return to the classrooms after the assembly where they show their books to their friends and acknowledge and appreciate each other's efforts. I need to acknowledge the extraordinary effort that the teachers have made to support the children in this project because it can be hard for lots of children but with support and encouragement we all achieved success not because we got a certificate or medal but because we worked at something that was difficult and didn’t give up. The student councillors were incredibly helpful and ended up taking over the hosting duties. I ended up with very little to do which made me equally proud that the children are so capable and willing to take the initiative.
We have a number of student teachers working in the school for the next few weeks. Jennifer who was with us in Junior Infants is back working with Anna in a Learning Support role finished up with us today. Laura is working in rang a 6 and Saorise and Emma are working in rang a 4. We are benefiting from having extra adults in the building and the new teachers who are at various stages of their training are getting the opportunity to learn from our teachers. We have also had a visiting Erasmus student working in Rang a 1. Sarah has been working on some language presentations and has brought some lovely french weather with her.
This week we really had to hit the ground running with Forest School and the extracurriculars starting straight away which is unusual but has gone really well. Senior Infants have a lovely season to engage with Forest School. The trees are green, the flowers are in bloom and they get to disappear into the forest and play and learn in the magical and wonderful way that children do. Sarah, our Erasmus student, heard about Forest School and was really curious about what it was so went with the Wednesday group to the forest and was so impressed with it as an approach to education.
We also had a past pupil of ours return to teach yoga to the infants. Shauna will be working with all the classes in the coming weeks which we are very excited about.
Rang a hAon have been busy planting and learning a new word as they propagated some spider plants.
The week’s are not going to get any less busy as we get ready for a very busy term. Our athletes will be in full training mode for the Santry event on the week of the 19th May. Junior Infants are inviting their grandparents to visit the school on Friday. We will also be looking forward to having our first ever Run Kids Run fundraiser on Saturday, May 10th. I have been hearing stories of incredible fundraising with some children needing extra pages and some with some very large amounts already donated. Remember just by turning up the corporate businesses will donate €5000 to the school. When we add this to all the children’s donations. This amount will go a long way to develop our roof garden space, transforming it into a greener sensory space for all the children to enjoy.
We are also getting ready for our Creative month where we try to bring creativity into every area, not just the arts. If you have a talent or particular skill you would like to share with your child’s class or the school please talk to your class teacher, Aoileann or myself, because our children did not lick their creativity from the stones, you have it too and we’d love to see it being shared.
And believe it or not we will be inviting our brand new junior infants to the school on the following Friday the 16th May. Junior Infants parents please remember there will be no school for your child on that day. Where has the year gone? It does not seem like that long ago I was meeting our current infants and seeing all their excited and nervous faces and now they are nearly senior infants.
Enjoy the long weekend everyone. I almost forgot about it myself and I was trying to organise a meeting for Monday.
Paul
Welcome back everyone. We hope you all had a restful and enjoyable Easter break. As we head into the final term, we’re excited to remind you about two upcoming events:
Run Kids Run on May 10th
Sports Day on June 8th
Be sure to mark your diaries!
We’re also on the lookout for volunteers to help make these events a success. Looking ahead to next year, we’re especially keen to find parents to lead some of our much-loved events like the Christmas Fair and Movie Night. Volunteering is a fantastic way to get involved, meet other parents, and be part of the vibrant school community. If you're interested, we’d love to hear from you, reach out to pa@rmds.ie or speak to Eimear and Lorraine directly.
Dear Parent,
The Ranelagh Community Games local trials take place on Friday 9th May at 6pm (registration from 5.30pm) in the Church of Ireland grounds (beside KPS school) on Upper Rathmines Road. The trials will consist of running races for children aged 6-16, and is usually a fun day for the community of Ranelagh and surrounding areas. It is important to note that children must reside within the Ranelagh Community Games map boundaries (see on entry form link below) to compete in the trials.
Please complete an entry form at the following link before noon on Thursday 8th May if you wish to enter your child:
https://forms.gle/HhgFCb7QmMBrdGny9
We look forward to seeing you at the Games!
Kind Regards,
Conn and Tara
Ranelagh Community Games Organising Committee
Email: ranelaghcommgames2024@gmail.com
