St. Patrick's N.S., Ballylinan

Parents Association AGM: The AGM of our Parents Association takes place on Monday 25^th at 7pm in the school. All parents are encouraged to attend.

Elections: The school is closed Friday 29^th of November as the school is used as a polling station for the General Election.

Christmas concert: All children will participate in a Christmas concert on the evening of Tuesday 10^th December in the school. Children can wear their Christmas jumper or something festive on the night. Details on times, tickets etc will be communicated early next week.

Nativity: Nativity play involving Junior Infants, Senior Infants and First Class will take place on Thursday 12^th December. This will take place in the school at 12:30. More detail to follow.

 Swimming: Swimming continues for 3^rd and 4^th classes. 5^th & 6^th class sessions will begin after Christmas.

Toy Appeal: We are now accepting donations for the Jaydn Kelly Christmas Toy Appeal. Children / families who wish to support the appeal are invited to donate a new toy, gift wrapped, with the relevant age marked on the outside.

Garda Open Day:  Community Policing Unit Portlaoise have advised that the will hold a Community Open Day on Sunday the 1st December 2024 at Portlaoise Garda Station. Specialised Units will be in attendance including the Dog Unit, Mounted Unit, Public Order Unit, Armed Support Unit, Civil Defence, Portlaoise Fire Service, local Ambulance Personnel and the Garda Band. The event will run from 1pm – 3pm, with a sensory friendly hour from 12pm – 1pm.

Cumann na mBunscol: As we draw the curtain on another Cuman na mBunscol season, it’s timely to thank the team of teachers who gave so willingly of their time and talent to allow our children to participate. While there was no silverware this year, there were many little “wins” along the way.

Lego Club: There are still some places available on the infant session of the Bricks for Kids afterschool club. Register your interest.  Queries to ktyrrell@bricks4kidz.ie

Parents Association: AGM will take place on Monday 25^th November at 7pm.

Flu Vaccines: Ballylinan Pharmacy will visit the school during the week after mid term to administer the Flu (nasal) vaccine. Parent consent forms will be distributed tomorrow. If you wish your child to receive the vaccine, please complete the consent form and return to the school before the Mid Term Break.

Halloween Hike: Our annual Sponsored Halloween Hike takes place on Friday 25^th October. Weather permitting, we will leave the school at 10am and walk through to village and back. Sponsorship cards can be returned to the school by Wednesday is possible. Thank you for your generous support.

Swimming: Swimming will take place for 3^rd & 4^th Class after mid-term break. Cost for the term is €65 payable in advance via Aladdin please.

Parent / Teacher Meetings: Will take place on the evenings of Tuesday 19^th and Thursday 21^st of November. Appointments will be available for booking through the Aladdin App. We will notify you once the slots become live.

Christmas Cards: Our Parents Association have arranged the printing of personalised Christmas Cards. Each child will design their own card, and will receive one complimentary card. Additional cards are available to purchase at €10 for a pack of 10. There is no obligation to purchase and any funds raised will go to the school.

Toy Appeal: This year marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of our former pupil Jaydn Kelly. Jaydn’s classmates are now in 6^th class. The children are arranging a Toy Appeal in tribute to Jaydn. Their plan is to collect new toys which will be donated to Aoibheann’s Pink Tie, a charity dedicated to supporting children and families affected by childhood cancer (from birth to 18 years). Children / families who wish to support the appeal are invited to donate a new toy, gift wrapped, with the relevant age marked on the outside. These will be collected at the school in late November and presented to Aoibheann’s Pink Tie, along with Jaydn’s Family, in early December. More details to follow.

Mid Term Break: Reminder that the school is closed for the week beginning on Monday 28^th October for Mid Term break.

Autism Class: Reconfiguration work on our Autism Classroom is now complete and will be in use after the Mid Term break. The outdoor play area will be completed in the coming weeks.

Lotto:  Don’t forget that anyone who has signed up to the school lotto is included in an additional nationwide draw this Thursday 24^th. Prizes include, 2 x Oasis Official Platinum Tickets, €1,000 Cash Prize and €500 Smyths Toystore Voucher. See https://www.ourfundraiser.ie/org/ballylinanns  for more details.

Ms. Lacey:  Best wishes to Ms Lacey and “husband to be” Tom who are due to be married over the mid-term break. We hope you have a wonderful day and a long and happy life together.

Cumann na mBunscol: As we near the end of the season, our boys play away to Stradbally on Tuesday 8^th October at 12pm. As usual the bus costs €7 payable via Aladdin please.

We have one further game for boys and girls – more details to follow.

Training continues on Monday after school.

Lego Club: After the success of the after-school programme last year, Bricks 4 Kidz are taking an expression of interest from parents for workshops for Infants and for 1st- 6th Class. The details of this programme can be seen in the attached poster. The programme runs each Thursday, November 7th, 21st, 28th & December 5th, 12th & 19th (There is no workshop on November 14th). Please click on the following link to the website to register your interest.

N.B. If booking on a mobile device, turn the phone sideways to proceed past the cookies box.

School Calendar: The school calendar is published on our website www.balllyinannationalschool.com

Teacher Professional Learning: The school is closed on November 11^th for Teacher Professional Learning offered to all schools on the opening of their first Autism Class and again on 12^th November for Teacher Training on the new Primary Maths Curriculum.

Parents Association: Committee will meet on Monday 7^th at 7pm. The AGM will take place later this term.

Swimming: Swimming will take place for 3^rd & 4^th class after the mid term break. More details to follow.

SNA Appreciation Day: On Tuesday last we celebrated SNA appreciation day. Thank you to our wonderful team of SNA’s who take such good care of our children.

World Teacher’s Day: Takes place tomorrow Saturday. It’s a timely reminder of how fortunate we are to have such fantastic role models for our children. Thank you for all that you do.

Finally, to our Parents & Guardians, thank you so much for your support. Have a lovely weekend.

Newsletter Friday 20^th September 2024

Aladdin: Please review and update your child’s medical information and family doctor on the Aladdin App over the course of the next week, by visiting “Student Details” on your child’s profile. We would really appreciate if you could include any information on medical conditions and allergies that may impact your child during the school day. This includes asthma, food allergies / intolerances etc. If your child does not have a medical condition or allergy, you do not need to take any action.

Lunches: Please remember to update your child’s choice of hot lunch at  https://irishschoolmeals.ie/

Autism Class: Building works are progressing well. We hope to have our new classroom open in the coming weeks.

Payments: Thank you to all who have paid the back-to-school expenses already. Payments can be made through Aladdin, by instalment if required.

School Lotto: Congratulations to Karen McLoughlin, winner of our recent Lotto Jackpot.  If you haven’t already joined our school lotto, your support would be greatly appreciated.

Recycling: Our Green School Committee continue to collect your cans and bottles. Our collection bin is located at the front door. Thank you so much for your generous support of this initiative.

Cumann na mBunscol: A busy week ahead for our boys’ team. They play away to Durrow at 12:30 on Tuesday and at home to Ballyroan at 12 noon on Thursday. There is a charge of €7 for the bus to Durrow, payable through Aladdin please. Training continues for boys and girls on Monday.

Athletics: A group of children from 5^th and 6^th class will take part in the Primary Schools Cross Country event on Wednesday 25^th September, in Carlow Hurling Club. More details to follow, early next week.

Football Final: Best wishes to Ballylinan GAA Under 13 team, who take part in the Shield Final against Na Fianna Og, tomorrow Saturday, at The Centre of Excellence, Portlaoise.

Halloween: As is tradition, we will dress up for our Halloween Hike again this year (Friday 25^th October). This is a very enjoyable occasion but we ask that children do not wear inflatable costumes or masks this year.

Thank you so much for your continued support of our school. Have a lovely weekend.