The West Side Story Scoil Bhríde Newsletter

ISSUE 18

Principal’s Letter

June 2008

News 2

Curriculum Areas 3

Thank you 4

Inside this issue:

Scoil Bhríde

Shantalla

Galway

Tel/Fax. (091) 525052

Email. Sns.ias@eircom.net

Dear Parents,

Another action packed school year has come to a close. I would like to take this

opportunity to congratulate our sixth classes on their Graduation and wish

them continued success in Secondary School..

So many school trips and outings have taken place this month – I would like to

acknowledge how well the children represented the school on these trips.

Amid all the extra-curricular activities that have taken place this year, our fo-

cus has been on literacy and numeracy . We are delighted with the huge im-

provement in standard this year and sincerely thank the teachers who have

worked tirelessly implementing new programmes to make this possible.

Pupil attendance has also improved this year – well done to all the parents who

have made a concerted effort to get their children to school every day. The At-

tendance Awards will be presented at a special assembly on the last day of

term. Finally, I wish you all a very enjoyable summer and look forward to see-

ing you all in the Autumn.

Scoil Bhride Swirl

Day. A huge thank you to Kay,

the children, parents and

local businesses for their

help and support. Especial-

ly Paul and his team from

B+Q for sending down six

of their staff for the day to

help us out along with a

huge amount of gardening

equipment. Sponsorship

from B+ Q, Woodies,

Dunnes Stores and Hig-

A few memorable moments in second class this year.

Congratulations

to Sr. Margaret O’Brien whose application to

the AIB Better Ireland Programme has won

C10,000 for Scoil Bhríde. Many, many

thanks to all the parents, teachers and mem-

bers of the local community who texted their

vote to ’vote for the children of Scoil Bhride‘.

This is a huge sum of money to have won

and we are delighted . Thank you Sr. Marga-

ret !

PAGE 2 THE WEST S IDE STORY ISSUE 18

First Holy Communion Class 2008

Special thanks is due to this year’s Parents Council for all their work. They held four cake sales to fund-

raise for children’s activities throughout the year, eg. Santa and Easter treats. A cake sale was also held

in aid of the RNLI. The Council organised the Christmas Crib and beautiful Red Christmas Tree dis-

plays in the lobby which were admired by all this year. The Council contributed to the development of

two school policies this year. They sponsored the after-school Art programme, they helped to promote

‘text voting’ for the AIB grant and finally the council provided the catering for events throughout the

year eg. Graduation Ceremony and Sports Day. Thank you ladies. Your work is very much appreciated.

The Council is looking for new members for September. Please consider joining the Parents’ Council –

it’s not all hard work – their social nights out are legendary in Galway!

Parents’ Council

Scoil Bhríde was full of music this year. After a very successful venture in the Scór competition, our School

Band consisting of 140 pupils , marched around the local community last month. They had practised very

hard and were excellent on the day. Well done to all! A big thank you is due to the school Choir who sang

beautifully for the Communion and Confirmation recently. They made both celebrations very special. Pupils

also attended two shows recently:- ‘Back to the Eighties’ and ‘High School Musical’ which they enjoyed tre-

mendously. Our pupils also received an Award from NUIG for this year’s Christmas Pageant. Congratula-

tions to all those who participated. Pupils attended the ‘Early Music Festival’ in April and learned all

about early musical instruments. They also attended a classical music workshop in The Galway Teachers’

Centre recently. And finally, to round off the year, a group of our students are being recorded singing tradi-

tional melodies as a backing track to our school DVD which will be available next term.

Well done to all the children who gave so much to music this year and to all the teachers ( a very talented

bunch!) who bring music alive in the school. Thanks also to the parents who provided music workshops for

our pupils this year and a very special thanks to Ms. Moran for organising it all.

Our recent Book Fair was another resounding

success. We raised C1,200 towards new books for our

school Library.

Work on our brand new school Library will commence

during the summer holidays and we hope to have it

ready for the start of the new school year in Septem-

ber . A huge thank you to Ms. O’Loughlin and Ms.

Brogan for their excellent work in organising the

Music

PAGE 3 THE WEST S IDE STORY ISSUE 18

A very enjoyable Sports Day was held on 25th June this year where our senior pupils took part in a

range of exciting activities in Westside Community Centre and our Junior pupils had a great day in the

school which included face painting, bouncy castles, lots of games and some very healthy refresh-

ments prepared by our hard working Parents’Council. Thanks to all involved in the organisation of a

great day.

Congratulations to Bleriot Lele (6th class) and Heather O’Connor (5th class) who were chosen to repre-

sent the school and county at the Football Exhibition skills at the Ladies Gaelic Football Connacht Final

on Sunday 6th July in McHale Park, Castlebar. We wish them the best of luck on the day.

Ms. Kenny and Mr. O’Connell wish to thank all the girls who took part in the Cumann na mBunscoil ca-

mogie and football competitions this year. They played brilliantly, they were so well behaved on all oc-

casions and were a credit to the school. They trained very hard all year, every Thursday evening after

Art

Sports

The art work in the classrooms and around the corridors has been stunning this year – it gets better and

better every year! Thanks to our wonderful teachers for providing lots of opportunity for the children to

explore their creativity and display their beautiful work. Thank you Mr. Ferguson for organising our art

projects so well. The recent after-school Art Club was a great success – twelve very enthusiastic pupils

worked very hard and showed a lot of talent. Thank you to the art teachers/facilitators for their time and

generosity in working with us on our after-school project. Finally, congratulations to Shannon O’Brien,

first class, who received a Certificate of Commendation for her work in the Texaco Art Competition.

Books Early Start

Mary and Bernie wish all their Early Start chil-

dren the best of luck in ‘Big School’ in Sept.

They would like to thank the children for being

so well behaved on their three outings this year –

Cinderella and the Lambert Puppet Theatre in the

Town Hall and their summer trip to Truro Pet

Farm.

Thank You for your work in 2007 –2008

To all our class teachers who have worked so hard with the children all year and

kept the show on the road .

To all our support teachers who provide expert, individual and caring attention to

our pupils in need of extra help.

To our visiting teachers who provide art therapy and woodworking skills.

To the Parents’ Council for all their hard work and support, particularly with policy

development, fundraising and catering for various events throughout the year.

To Fr. Malachy and Fr. David for their continuing support of and dedication to the

children of Scoil Bhríde.

To Sr. Labore for her craft classes which the pupils enjoy so much.

To Sr. Margaret for her great work in developing our after school clubs, especially

the very successful homework club.

To Sr. Bríd who organised the excellent ‘Challenge to Change’ Project in school

with our International Pupils this year.

To Sr. Mary for her excellent work with English classes for our International Parents.

To Ms. Fahy and Mr. Carey for tremendous work organising the Green School Com-

mittee and developing the Westside Organic Garden on school grounds.

To all our subject co-ordinators for their commitment to the continued develop-

ment of their subject areas.

To Helen Connelly, who looks after everybody – staff and pupils alike. Whether it’s

a cup of tea or a cut knee, some lovely buns or just a cheery chat, Helen is there

to brighten your day. Thanks Helen.

To Una, our school secretary, for all her hard work in the office.

To our lovely lollipop lady Kathleen, for keeping our children safe.

To all our teachers involved in sports activities in the school – organising training,

teams, matches and events in all weathers, for the children throughout the year.

To our care takers and cleaners who look after our school so well.

To our link organisations : Galway University, Neighbourhood Youth Project and

Galway Youth Federation who have provided extra curricular activities and valua-

ble learning experiences for our pupils.

To Mr. Brendan Smith from the Digital Enterprise Research Institute, who helped us

develop our school DVD and provided computer classes for parents.

Finally, thank you to all our pupils for their work and politeness during the year.

Wishing you all a happy and relaxing Summer Holiday.

See you all on 1st of September 2008