Newsletter Thursday 20/10/22
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Non-Uniform Day Fundraiser - Pupil Walkathon with Blue HeroesAoife Mc Quillan parents, Mark and Bridget would like to thank you all for supporting this worthy fundraiser. All children participated in the Walkathon and had lots of fun dancing and walking with their friends. 2750 Euro was raised and money is still coming in. Congratulations to all prize winners and to all the organisations who sponsored prizes. Proceeds will go to the Childhood Cancer Foundation and the Coombe Hospital Neonatal Unit (NICU). Aoife certainly is our Blue Hero! Well done Aoife and we all wish you every success in the years ahead.
Grandparent’s Day We are so pleased to finally celebrate Grandparent’s Day again in St. Thomas’ JNS with our 2nd class children today. Grandparents as we know play such a special role in young children’s lives and the school wanted to recognise and celebrate this role with a coffee morning. It was great to see a big crowd in attendance and the children really enjoyed showing their grandparents around their classrooms. A big thank you to Ms. Morrison and the Parents Association who helped organise the event which we hope was an enjoyable and memorable experience for all.
Mid Term Break The school will close on Friday 28th October and will reopen on Monday 7th November. All children can dress up for Halloween on Friday 28th October. There will be no fundraiser on this day as we recently fundraised for children who are sick.
Admissions 2023/2024 Junior Infant enrolment for 2023/2024 will open on Monday the 7th November 2022. The Expression of Interest form will be available on our website from this date.
Parent Teacher Meetings This year parent teacher meetings will take place on Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd of November. They will take place face to face. Teachers will be in contact with arrangements.
Primary Language Curriculum In-Service The school will close at 12 noon on Friday 25th November to facilitate staff training on the Primary Language Gaeilge Curriculum. Junior Infants and Senior Infants will finish school at 11.50am while 1st and 2nd class will finish school at 12 noon.
DJ for a day: DJ Abbie and Luke We are delighted to learn that our very own Abbie Kennedy and Luke Coleman were radio stars last weekend when they joined together and became DJ for a day on 98FM. You can listen back here to their wonderful showcase of their favourite tunes. https://www.rte.ie/radio/rtejrradio/dj-for-a-day/
First Holy Communion The sacrament of First Holy Communion for children in our 2nd classes will be held on Saturday 13th May. Times of masses are tbc. Parents must register via the parish website https://www.stpatrickslucan.ie/ . The parish will invite parents who have registered to a meeting in the coming weeks. Any queries, please contact the parish.
Sports Club Sports Club offers children the opportunity to learn some new games and skills for many different sports, including GAA, football, tennis, uni-hoc, basketball, and athletics to name a few! This takes place in the safe school environment, and promotes fitness, well-being and mental health.Sports Club takes place on a Tuesday and Thursday, and a new block of classes begin on Tuesday 8th November. It is for 1st and 2nd classes. It will run for 5 weeks until the Christmas holidays (there will be a break week on November 22nd and 24th).The cost for 5 sessions is €45 (either Tuesday or Thursday) or children can participate both days for €80 which is 10 sessions.Please register your interest by using the email address below, or contacting Ms O’Reilly (room 18) or Ms Finnegan (room 16).Email: stthomassports@hotmail.com.
Coding Club afterschool coding classes will take place after the Mid Term Break on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a 5 week block. Please email coolcodingclub@gmail.com for more information.
Please be aware that clubs are not organised by St. Thomas’ JNS and so St. Thomas’ JNS holds no responsibility and bears no liability arising out of the running of clubs.
Celebration of Diwali We wish our pupils who are celebrating Diwali good wishes over the celebratory season which begins on 24th October.
Clothing Collection fundraiser A clothing bank has been installed inside the yard gates beside the bins. We welcome all kinds of unneeded clothes (clean and wearable), shoes (in pairs), hats, scarves, bags, belts, bed linen, towels and curtains. Please note that pillows and duvets cannot be re-used and therefore cannot be placed in the bank. You can drop bags of clothing into the bank in the morning and afternoon when dropping or picking your child/children up from school. If the clothing bank is full, one can drop the bags of clothes into reception. If you are doing a clear out of your wardrobes, we would be delighted to take any unwanted clothing off your hands. All money raised will go towards buying resources for the pupils of St. Thomas’ JNS. Many thanks for your support.
Kind regards,
Teresa Moynihan
Principal