Category: Newsletters

School Closure: The school is closed on Monday November 11^th and again on 12^th November for Teacher Training.

Lego Club: Continues this Thursday 14^th November.

Flu Vaccines: Will be administered on Wednesday 13^th November. Any outstanding consent forms can be returned by that date.

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 as follows:

• Families with three or more children 12pm Monday
• Families with two or more children 3pm Monday
• All other families 9am Tuesday

Christmas Cards: Christmas Cards are available to order via Aladdin €10 for a pack of 10 – must be ordered by Tuesday 12^th.

Science week: Science week takes place next week. There will be a range of science activities taking place during the week. First and Second class will travel to the Discovery Park in Castlecomer on Thursday 14^th November. More details to follow.

Anti-Bullying Week: Due to a clash with Science Week and an already shortened school week, we have decided to postpone Anti-Bullying week until the week of 18^th November.

During this week, we aim to empower children to understand their own behaviour, to recognise bullying, to develop an awareness of online safety risks and to be confident in how to report and seek support when they need it.

Pupils from 4th, 5th and 6th will take part in the FUSE Anti-Bullying and Online Safety Programme, supported by the Department of Education and referenced in the Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying. FUSE is a research-based Anti-Bullying and Online Safety Programme developed by DCU Anti-Bullying Centre.

All other classes will engage with specific Anti-Bullying lessons as advised by the Dept of Education.

Christmas concert: All children will participate in a Christmas concert on the evening of Tuesday 10^th December in the school. Details to follow.

Infant Nativity: Nativity play involving Junior & Senior Infants will take place on Thursday 12^th December. This will take place during the school day. More details to follow.

 Parking: Now that building work is complete, and with child safety in mind, we will revert to the original arrangement for parking. The overflow carpark to the side of the school will only be in use for the 3pm collection. Please do not lift the bollards for morning drop-off or the 2pm collection.

David Coleman: The Parents’ Association of Ballyfin NS (R32 N920) have been in touch to inform us that they have arranged for Dr David Coleman to give a talk in their school on Thursday November 21st at 7.30pm on the topic of ‘Helping children and teenagers build resilience and self-esteem’. Tickets cost 25 euro and are available at https://buytickets.at/ballyfinnspc/1384603.

 Survey: Inspectors in the Department of Education are carrying out a survey of parents, pupils and teachers on the work of schools in preventing and tackling bullying. This survey will be released to parents and pupils (for competition at home) on Monday 11^th November. We would appreciate your input.

Newsletter 10^th September 2024

Cumann na mBunscol: The football season begins with away matches against Ratheniska for both boy’s and girl’s teams tomorrow. There is a charge of €7 for the bus, payable via Aladdin please. A separate communication will issue to parents / guardians of players, later today.

Music Generation: We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Music Generation Laois this year. Juniors, Seniors and First class will take part in the Early Years Music Programme, with music specialist Kim Melia. This will involve weekly session beginning on Thursday of this week. Plans are in the pipeline to include some of our senior classes, later in the term. There is a small charge per pupil, which we hope to spread over two payments, details to follow.

Ploughing Traffic: As you know, the National Ploughing Championships will take place in Ratheniska next week. Garda Traffic Management advises us that there will be a noticeable increase in traffic through Ballylinan on the mornings of Tuesday 17th, Wednesday 18^th and Thursday 19^th September. The school will open and close at the usual times. We will be understanding and ask that you be patient; there is no need to rush to avoid being late.

Parental feedback: Your feedback helps to shape future planning for our school. If you did not get the opportunity to complete our Parental Feedback Survey at the beginning of the Summer, you might like to do so now.

Flu Vaccination:  We are very fortunate to have Ballylinan Pharmacy come onboard to offer the Nasal Flu Vaccine to our pupils this winter. The vaccine is offered free of charge to all children who wish to avail of it. More details, including parental consent forms, will follow in due course.

Newsletter 2^nd September 2024

Welcome back: Welcome back to all school community and especially to our new pupils.

Arrival time: School starts each morning at 9:15pm. Please note that the Board of Management provides supervision for pupils as they wait in line (at the rear of the school) from 9:05am, but not before then. On wet mornings, children can enter the school through the front door and are supervised in the sports hall from 9:05am.

Aladdin: Please check that we have the most up to date details for your child on Aladdin, including contact details, medical information etc. Please ensure that you have the most recent version of Aladdin installed on your phone and that you have notifications enabled. In the coming days, you will be asked to give your consent for a range of scenarios via the Aladdin App.

School Tracksuits: There was a slight delay with the delivery of our school tracksuits. These will be given directly to your child in the coming days. PE days will be notified by the class teachers in due course.

Lunches: You can continue to update your choice of school lunches via https://irishschoolmeals.ie/ using the login in details from the last school year. It is important to begin by choosing meals that you know your child will eat. You may provide a small healthy snack for morning break. NO NUTS PLEASE!

Invitations: We ask that you would not distribute party invitations at school. There is a new feature on Aladdin that allows you to share your contact details with the parents of children in your class. This may help you to arrange those all-important birthdays, playdates etc. Deatils on how to join the class list are availble in your Aladdin notifications.

Parents Association: Our school playground and basketball courts had a facelift over the holidays. Thank you to the wonderful team of parents who refreshed our basketball court markings, made and installed new backboards and nets and added playground games to our yard. Thank you also to our parents who welcomed our new parents with a cuppa on Wednesday morning.

Autism Class: Building work continues on the reconfiguration of our autism classroom. We anticipate that this will continue for a number of weeks.

Communication: Positive home school communication is vital. If you wish to speak to your child’s teacher, please call the school on 059 8625195 to arrange a meeting or phone call. Email is not the appropriate forum through which to raise or discuss concerns about your child.

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

Homework: There will be no formal homework for the month of September.

Free Book Scheme: The Free Book Scheme has been a positive development for our school. Please have a chat with your child about the importance of looking after their books so that books are in good condition for next years class.

School Lotto: The school lotto continues each Thursday. Your support is greatly appreciated. Sign up here.  

Recycling: Our Green School Committee continue to collect your cans and bottles. These are retuned for cash through the Deposit Return Scheme. We are currently saving towards the purchase of sensory equipment for our school.

Calendar: The calendar for 2024 / 2025 is availbel to view on our website. 

Newsletter 3^rd May 2024

School Closure: The school reopens on Monday 13^th May.

School Lotto: We are delighted to announce the launch of our school lotto. The monies raised through the lotto will go directly towards improving the school facilities and resources. We hope that the weekly option of just €2.50 for one line, or €5 for three lines, will allow everybody to contribute via the following link. It would be fantastic if you could invite aunties, uncles, grandparents etc to support our weekly School Lotto. They might just be a lucky winner. Thank you

 St. Abban’s Athletic Club Student Games: Congratulations and thank you, to all who represented our school at the St. Abban’s AC student games on Friday last.

First Holy Communion:  Congratulations to our second-class pupils who celebrated their First Holy Communion on Saturday morning. It was a really wonderful occasion. Thank you to Ms Cunningham & Mrs Moriarty for all their work in preparation for the day. Thank you also to Mrs Connolly and her wonderful choir who really added to the ceremony and to all who joined us on the day.

Classy Kidz: Classy Kids are now enrolling for September – there are a limited number of places available for ECCE. Call Ann 089 2161320

School Tours: It’s that time of year again and we are busy preparing for the end of year tours. The tour is always the highlight of the school year and eagerly anticipated by our pupils. We appreciate that this is an expensive time for families, particularly where there is more than one child in a family. It is no surprise that the increasing cost and limited availability of buses has had a knock-on effect on the cost of our tours. With this in mind, payments have been activated on Aladdin to afford you the opportunity to pay in instalments so as to spread the cost of tours over the coming weeks.

Headlice: There have been a number of reports of headlice in the junior classes. Please be vigilant.

Hurling / Camogie: Our 5^th & 6^th class boys and girls have enjoyed some hurling and camogie recently and have been fortunate to have some extra skills coaching with Frank and Peter.

Thank you for your support in all that we do. Enjoy the break!

Newsletter 22^nd March 2024

Confirmation: Congratulations to the children from 6^th class who celebrated their Confirmation yesterday. It was a wonderful occasion and a great honour to have Bishop Denis Nulty confirm our children. Thank you to all who played a part in preparing for our special day.

Hot School Meals: Each child should have received their login details and additional information ahead of the launch of our hot school meals programme when we return to school on April 8^th. We are appealing to you to select your child’s preferred options for the week, through the website, as soon as possible and ideally by Friday 29^th March. If you encounter any difficulties with ordering please contact Bradbury’s directly.

We don’t want any child to be without a lunch on our first day so please don’t forget to place your order. Children will still require a small healthy snack for little break and a drink.

This is a very positive development for our school community. We really appreciate your support in encouraging your children to try the various options available and to recognise the value of eating a healthy balanced diet.

SETU Carlow: Our children had very interesting visit from Andrew Keppel from South Eastern Technological University Carlow on Wednesday.  Andrew brought along a 3D printer and some very interesting and useful components that were designed and produced by the engineering team at SETU Carlow. Thank you, Andrew.

Congratulations: Huge congratulations to Ms. Kiernan, who won a bronze medal at the European Masters Indoor Championship in Torun, Poland this week. Ms Kiernan ran a personal best on the day and is an inspiration to all of us.

Parents Association: The next meeting of our Parents Association takes place on Monday April 8^th at 7:30pm.

Easter break: School is closed from Monday 25^th March and reopens on Monday 8^th April.