Wednesday letter January 29th 2025
PARENT-TEACHER MEETINGS
A reminder, January 29th (today) & 30th (tomorrow) the school will close @ 2.15 pm to facilitate parent-teacher meetings. The collection time for the 1st-6th class is 2.15 pm.
ONLINE GAMING
During recent Parent/Teacher meetings, it became clear that many of our boys are spending too much time online gaming. Gaming chairs and electronic devices were the number one Santa presents last Christmas. We see firsthand the negative effects that screen time has on the concentration and emotional regulation of our pupils. Now that spring is arriving, it is a good time to remind boys of the benefits of fresh air and exercise.
For safety online resources and tips, please click the link attached.
https://www.webwise.ie/internet-safety-talks-for-parents/
Hollypark BNS will celebrate Safer Internet Day on February 11th 2025.
PEACE PROMS
Best of luck to our 3rd class boys who take to the stage this Saturday for the Peace Proms. Dulcet tones have been wafting through our corridors for the past few weeks in preparation! A huge thank you to Ms. Ryan, Ms. O Dubhagain, Ms. Travers Ms. Fallon, Ms. Feighan & Ms. Conroy for their time and expertise in organising and preparing the boys for this marvellous occasion. Thank you to all teachers and SNAs who will go above and beyond the call of duty and will be in attendance this Saturday in the RDS. I am really looking forward to watching the performance on Saturday night.
For more information on the Peace Proms, please click the link https://peaceproms.com/
STAR OF THE FUTURE
Congratulations to Eanna, 3rd class, who featured on RTE News Junior last week. Eanna was at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) discussiong art by Niamh Mc Cann. The theme of the art piece was ' Take a Breath' and featured this lovely Ogham writing in LED. Eanna has a bright future ahead of himself too!
A MESSAGE FROM THE HSE
Staff In-Service: Bí Cineálta Training
Please note that the school will close early on Wednesday 19th February to facilitate staff in-service on the new Bí Cineálta Guidelines.
We will operate a staggered closure as outlined below:
Staggered Closure | |
Junior & Senior Infants | 11:50am |
5th & 6th Class | 11:55am |
1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th | 12:00pm |
A FINAL CALL TO ALL ENGINEERS
Last year, Engineers Week was a huge success. One highlight was the visitors who came in to talk to the boys about their lives as engineers.
To avoid a clash with Seachtain na Gaeilge in early March, we will celebrate Engineers Week at the end of February (24 - 28 Feb). If you would like to speak to the boys about life as an engineer, we would love to hear from you. Please email Ms. Hynes at stemathollypark@gmail.com outlining the age group you would like to speak to and a little about the topic you would like to talk about. We look forward to welcoming you and enlightening our budding engineers!
If you spoke to the boys last year and would be interested in returning or speaking to another class group, please email the above email address.
UPCOMING EVENTS
I have included some upcoming events from January- June to help in advance of the year ahead. As the weeks go on, I will add future events to the calendar. Any new additions will be included in RED. (January attached here and February- June is attached below)
Uniform Recycling
The Parents' Association is organising a second-hand uniform sale in the school hall on Saturday, February 8th, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
If you have uniform items that boys have outgrown (tracksuit tops, tracksuit bottoms, shorts, yellow polo top, Hollypark school jumpers or coats only), we will be accepting these next week on the following dates:
Wednesday 5th / Thursday 6th / Friday 7th February from 8:30 - 9:00 am in the school hall.
If you have items to donate, we ask that they are clean and in good condition (no rips or tears, zips working etc) and that all personal information is removed (boys name, contact phone numbers).
Valentine's Day Cake Sale
Please save the date for our Valentine's Day Cake Sale which will take place on Friday 14th February from 8:30 am in the school hall! Come and support our school and enjoy some delicious homemade treats. Raffle tickets will be on sale with some amazing prizes on the day. More details to follow next week.
| January 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Mo | School reopens |
| 7 | Tu | |
| 8 | We | |
| 9 | Th | |
| 10 | Fr | |
| 11 | Sa | |
| 12 | Su | |
| 13 | Mo | |
| 14 | Tu | |
| 15 | We | |
| 16 | Th | |
| 17 | Fr | |
| 18 | Sa | |
| 19 | Su | Catholic Schools' Week |
| 20 | Mo | |
| 21 | Tu | |
| 22 | We | Grandparents' Day |
| 23 | Th | |
| 24 | Fr | |
| 25 | Sa | |
| 26 | Su | |
| 27 | Mo | PT Meetings |
| 28 | Tu | |
| 29 | We | PTM 14.15 close |
| 30 | Th | PTM 14.15 close |
| 31 | Fr | |
This week is special for these great boys: JJ Harte, Callum Faulds and Zach Rhatigan.
Have a wonderful celebration boys!
Beir Bua agus beannacht,
Principal
29.01.2025
AFTER SCHOOL MINDING SERVICE
I have run a small after-school club in Holly Park for the last six years.
I collect from the school. We have outdoor activities, playgrounds, picnics, lunch, and homework in my house. I drop all students home at 5:30 pm.
I have a space available.
Contact Louise 087 7992306 for more details
SCHOOL CALENDAR FEBRUARY-JUNE
| February 2025 | March 2025 | April 2025 | May 2025 Testing Month | June 2025 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sa | Peace Proms RDS | 1 | Sa | 1 | Tu | 1 | Th | 1 | Su | ||||
| 2 | Su | 2 | Su | 2 | We | 2 | Fr | 2 | Mo | Bank Hol | ||||
| 3 | Mo | Bank Hol | 3 | Mo | 3 | Th | 3 | Sa | 3 | Tu | ||||
| 4 | Tu | 4 | Tu | 4 | Fr | 4 | Su | 4 | We | |||||
| 5 | We | 5 | We | 5 | Sa | 5 | Mo | 5 | Th | |||||
| 6 | Th | 6 | Th | 6 | Su | 6 | Tu | 6 | Fr | |||||
| 7 | Fr | 7 | Fr | 7 | Mo | 7 | We | 7 | Sa | Confirmation | ||||
| 8 | Sa | Uniform Sale 10am | 8 | Sa | 8 | Tu | 8 | Th | 8 | Su | ||||
| 9 | Su | 9 | Su | 9 | We | 9 | Fr | 9 | Mo | Conf. Photos 6th | ||||
| 10 | Mo | 10 | Mo | SNAG | 10 | Th | 10 | Sa | 10 | Tu | ||||
| 11 | Tu | Safer Internet Day | 11 | Tu | 11 | Fr | 11 | Su | 11 | We | ||||
| 12 | We | 12 | We | 12 | Sa | 12 | Mo | 12 | Th | Sports Day | ||||
| 13 | Th | 13 | Th | Paráid | 13 | Su | 13 | Tu | 13 | Fr | ||||
| 14 | Fr | CAKE SALE (PA) | 14 | Fr | 14 | Mo | Easter Holidays | 14 | We | 14 | Sa | |||
| 15 | Sa | 15 | Sa | 15 | Tu | 15 | Th | 15 | Su | |||||
| 16 | Su | 16 | Su | 16 | We | 16 | Fr | 16 | Mo | |||||
| 17 | Mo | 17 | Mo | Bank Hol | 17 | Th | 17 | Sa | First Communion | 17 | Tu | |||
| 18 | Tu | 18 | Tu | 18 | Fr | 18 | Su | First Communion | 18 | We | ||||
| 19 | We | IN-SERVICE 12noon finish | 19 | We | 19 | Sa | 19 | Mo | Communion Photos | 19 | Th | |||
| 20 | Th | Mid-term | 20 | Th | 20 | Su | Easter | 20 | Tu | 20 | Fr | |||
| 21 | Fr | Mid-term | 21 | Fr | 21 | Mo | Easter Holidays | 21 | We | 21 | Sa | |||
| 22 | Sa | 22 | Sa | 22 | Tu | 22 | Th | 22 | Su | |||||
| 23 | Su | 23 | Su | 23 | We | 23 | Fr | 23 | Mo | |||||
| 24 | Mo | Engineers Week | 24 | Mo | 24 | Th | 24 | Sa | 24 | Tu | 6th class Graduation | |||
| 25 | Tu | EW | 25 | Tu | 25 | Fr | 25 | Su | 25 | We | ||||
| 26 | We | EW | 26 | We | 26 | Sa | 26 | Mo | 26 | Th | ||||
| 27 | Th | EW | 27 | Th | 27 | Su | 27 | Tu | 27 | Fr | Final Day of term | |||
| 28 | Fr | EW | 28 | Fr | 28 | Mo | Return to School | 28 | We | New Infant story Day 13.45 | 28 | Sa | ||
| 29 | Sa | 29 | Tu | 29 | Th | 29 | Su | |||||||
| 30 | Su | 30 | We | 30 | Fr | 30 | Mo | July Provision | ||||||
| 31 | Mo | 31 | Sa | |||||||||||