Newsletter 16/06/2022
School tours Our junior infants had a fantastic day in Newbridge house and farm last Friday. They were excellently behaved and were a credit to St Thomas’. There was singing on the bus and chat about all the animals spotted on the farm. One cheeky horse even stole the cap off a little boy’s head!!! Thank you to all our teachers/snas and parent volunteers for making the day so special for the pupils. Our second classes visited Tayto park on Wednesday and were equally well behaved. That brings our school tours to an end for 2022. We were very grateful to be able to facilitate tours again this summer.
Ruaille Buaille: We also had the pleasure of a novel musical performance for our senior infants and 1st classes last Friday via the Rualiile Buaille festival. ‘Songtales sa Spéir’ performed via their visiting musical bus and the children really enjoyed the music created during the outdoor performance. Sincere thanks to parent Genny Wynne for organising this for our pupils. We are so fortunate to have such supportive parents and our pupils have been nothing short of spoilt by all the treats of late.
Sport’s Day: Our trial 2 day Sport’s week went off without a hitch. It was great that the pupils were afforded extra interactive time. Thank you again to all our helpers and especially to our support teachers who designed and facilitated the stations. Great fun was had by all.
Sensory Garden- our sensory garden is nearing completion and is already a firm favourite in supporting sensory regulation for some of our pupils. A very special mention goes to parent Paul Curtis for painting the pallets and giving freely of his time and resources to create a colourful fence. The colour really adds life to the area. Thank you also to local businesses Lucan Garden Centre (Peamount) and to Core Builder providers Clondalkin who donated plants, sleepers and decorative stone which will help to add texture to the space. Thank you to Coghlan’s bakery for donating the many pallets and to Amit from JBC deliveries for organising free delivery. The generosity of others is really astounding and really very much appreciated. A final thanks to Denis our caretaker who has put a lot of work into bringing the whole area together.
Communion festivities: A huge big thank you to the PA yet again and to all the parents who gave a helping hand to host the Communion parties in Scoil Áine’s hall. Thank you also to the staff of Scoil Áine for the use of their hall for the day. The children had a super day and at this point are all partied out. Balloons, music, party poppers, goodies and disco dancing galore. Check out some snaps below!
We are very proud of how all our second class pupils behaved and want to congratulate all the Communicants on receiving the sacrament. It’s the end of an era for our 2nd class pupils and we wish them all the best as they venture across to the senior school. You have done your parents, teachers and school proud and you will be missed by all in St. Thomas’
Summer Holidays: The summer holidays begin on June 29th @ 11:50 am for infants and 12pm for 1st/2nd classes. Next year’s calendar is available to view on www.stthomasjns.com if you wish to plan ahead.
Great news: we have been awarded our Amber Flag. All the hard work has paid off and we hope to celebrate on Monday 20th June with a visit from the ice-cream van. What better way to celebrate than with ice-cream? We will raise the flag with pride in knowing we are supporting all who have been or will be affected with mental health challenges during their life. A special thank you to Ms. Finnegan, Ms. Doherty, our wellbeing committee and pupil reps. You have done a fantastic job.
Familiarisation Week/Meet and greet for Junior Infants is next week 😊. We are looking forward to meeting all our new pupils and parents. If you cannot make the day, please contact the office to arrange another time to meet the teacher.
School reports: will be posted out tomorrow Friday 17th June along with the booklist and class teacher for 2022/2023. In some cases the teacher is yet to be confirmed and parents will be informed of the teacher’s name at the nearest available opportunity.
Is your child moving to another school during the summer months? If so please contact the school as soon as possible so that we can offer the place to a child on our waitlist.
Outstanding School fees ‘21/’22: if you have outstanding school fees from the 2021/2022 school year please finalise the payment with Maureen at the office (cash/card) or via the class teacher. Fees for 2022/2023 should be paid on the school website via the easy payments tab if you have not already done so. If you are having difficulty making payments please contact the school office on 01 6282691.
Goodbye to Denis Mc Cooey. You may have heard a whispering that our fabulous long serving caretaker Denis is retiring. Unfortunately however, it is not a rumour. After 22 year’s service to our school, Denis is hanging up his boots and putting away his toolbox.Denis, a native of Monaghan has been such an asset to our school and an institution in St. Thomas’. His sunny disposition means that he is loved by all, pupils, staff and parents alike and will be dearly missed. We wish to extend our deepest thanks to Denis for doing such a fantastic job over his many years with us and wish him the best of health and happiness on his retirement. Over the last week or so Denis has been showing the ropes to his successor Philip Doyle. We also wish to extend a warm welcome to Philip and I am sure he will be just as happy as Denis was in St. Thomas’. Go raibh mile maith agat Denis agus is fearr na sláinte duitse.
It’s been a very busy few weeks in St. Thomas’ and I wish you all a restful weekend.
Ms. Murray,
Acting Principal