WHAT A TIME TO BE A HOLLYPARK CHILD!
A 5th class boy said to his mother this week:
Mum, our school is just amazing. As well as learning, we get to have Teddy's ice-cream, sports day, meet our senior infant buddies, art and PE all in the one week! I am living my best life in Hollypark.
That 5th class boy was right, Hollypark at the moment is full of fun, events, treats, learning, sports, showcasing talents and lots, lots more. What a time to be a primary school pupil! A massive THANK YOU to our wonderful staff for creating this environment. As the saying goes, 'A happy child learns best'.
SPORTS DAYS
Tomorrow will see the third and final day of Sports Days for 2022. What an incredible few days we have had. The sun shone, boys laughed and fair play was the winner. Many events and talents were on show and tennis with Jana Langford proved to be a huge hit with our senior boys. A huge thank you to Mrs. Regan for organising and coordinating all three days. It was a serious undertaking (in the middle of confirmation preparation, graduation organising, hurling season, standardised testing and report writing) Multi-tasking at its finest, thank you, Mrs. Regan.
I have included some photos of day 1 and day 2. More to follow next week.
SCHOOL TOURS
Most of our classes have now completed their school tours. What fun they had! From petting farms to adventure centres, the boys enjoyed their time immensely. Junior and Senior Infants will attend their tour next Tuesday. The excitement is brewing since last month! I have an array of different photographs to share with you this week.
DID HE MAKE IT?
Not to be outdone by our fit and athletic students, pictured is Mr. Mitchell, trying his best to make it to the top of the Fittest Family ramp! We still have no photograpic evidence if he actually made it or not!!!
ICE- CREAM DAY!
Always the highlight of any year is when the Teddy's Ice Cream van pulls up in the carpark of Hollypark! All classes got to enjoy a '99 on us. Junior and Senior Infants were accompanied by their 5th and 6th class buddies. It was a great occassion. Just look at the smiles on those faces!!
NEW INFANTS, '22-23
Last Monday, we had the pleasure of meeting our incoming Junior Infant classes of '22-23. The boys were introduced to their new teachers, Ms. Kilty, Ms. Dunne and Ms. Ryan. The boys played with toys and listened to stories. They were very at ease in their new surroundings.
The event was managed by our magnificent 6th class pupils and members of our Student Council from 4th class. They made the new Infants and their parents feel very welcome.
We also had three 6th class boys, Charlie Linehan, David ffrench and Seán Tokar spoke to the parents about their cherished memories from Hollypark BNS. To top the event off, we had performances from 6 current Junior Infants students, (Arthur Cullen, Cormac Bentley, Aidan Mc Donagh, Hugo Bowen, Evin Heany Doherty and Gordon Goodwin, pictured below) as well as a cello performance from Oscar Cullen, 2nd class and Rhys Brennan, 5th class, singing When I Grow Up from the musical Matilda. It certainly was a day to remember forever!
Thank you to the members of the Parents' Association who served tea and coffee in the school hall.
BUDDIES
One of the nicest traditions we have in Hollypark BNS is the buddy system. On entering the school, each Junior Infant is given a 5th class buddy. They remain buddies when they move into Senior Infants and 6th class respectively. The boys get to know each other over the course of two years. They go on Teddy Bear Picnics, they read to each other, they show off their art, they help each other at sports day and other events like ice- cream day, minibeast hunting and graduation day. Their bond is never forgotten. In fact, our current 6th class still fondly remember their buddies when they were in Junior Infants 8 years ago.
I have included some pictures from this week's buddy meet-up. Enjoy!
PAST PUPIL AWARD WINNERS
Congratulations to our many past pupils who won prestigious awards in their secondary schools this year. One such past pupil is Oisín Reilly who won Student of the Year at Clonkeen College. Oisín popped in last Monday to thank his former teachers for all their help in his formative years. I couldn't resist getting a photo of Oisín with his lovely trophy. We are all very proud of you!
JERSEY DAY, IN AID OF THE KENYAN CHILD FOUNDATION
The Pupils’ Voice Committee has decided to hold a fundraiser before the end of the year. They are organising a Jersey Day next Wednesday, June 22nd. Each boy will get the opportunity to wear his favourite team jersey to school for the day.
The idea behind this initiative is to raise funds for our twin school in Kenya. We keep in contact with them at all times and need some funds to support the breakfast club/nutrition programme in the school. If each student in our school brings in €2 or whatever they can, it will go a long way to providing food for the pupils in Kawese.
We are delighted to see that the jerseys from Granada Soccer Club made their way down to Kenya. They were donated to an initiative for street boys in Mukuru Nairobi. The local community and this school have always been so charitable and supportive to our projects in Kenya. The Committee are so looking forward to coordinating next Tuesday!
Check out the Home - Kenyan Child FoundationKenyan Child Foundation (thekenyanchild.com)for further details
WOMEN'S MINI-MARATHON
Congratulations to Junior Infant teacher, Ms. Feighan, who ran the mini- marathon in an incredible time of 46 minutes. All the boys in room 2 are very proud of you!
Hayfever
Polllen season is very much upon us. We have many poor, unfortunate boys suffering badly at present with stinging/itchy eyes. Please remember, if boys need medication for hayfever, give it to them before school.
THE LUNCH BAG - FEEDBACK
We are approaching the end of our 8-week Lunch Bag trial. We are looking for feedback in relation to using The Lunch Bag and if it is a service you would be interested in keeping on next year.
DLR PARKS AND RECREATION PLAY SPACES
DLR are looking for input from children regarding recreation & play spaces.
https://dlrcoco.citizenspace.com/parks/dlr-play-and-recreation-survey/
Beir bua agus beannacht,
Barry O' Donovan
Principal
15.06.22
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