September 2014 Newsletter

Mercy Primary School Newsletter

September 2014

Welcome to the first newsletter of the new school year. It is hard to believe that we have a month over us already – time is flying. Things started with a bang this year and we have already learned lots and have taken part in lots of activities.

Here’s a flavour of what has been happening.

Our Junior Infants have settled in very well and are a great addition to our school community. We had a lovely Welcome Ceremony and Blessing on Thursday 25^th September.  The girls sang for their parents and were great!

4^th class were very lucky to be invited to Birr Theatre and Arts Centre on the 10^th and 17^th to take part in a contemporary dance workshop. The girls had great fun. They were invited back on the 19^th to a performance by the dance tutors and this was a very interesting and different experience for them.

Our music lessons have started again and lots of singing and tin-whistle playing can be heard around the school.

Emer Feehan spent a few days with us, reminding us of all the different yard games that can be played. The yard is now a hive of activity with all classes active and involved.

Chess has started in 4^th and 5^th classes and we We held the first Fire Drill of the year on Tuesday 30^th and everyone responded calmly and responsibly. Well   done to all!

Monday 29^th September to Friday 3^rd October was a very important week for us in Mercy Primary. It was Friendship Week. There were lots of great activities going on all over the school. Friendship Week is a very important aspect of our Anti-Bullying Policy and we were thrilled with the way the girls responded to it. It was wonderful to see the lovely way in which they took care of each other, talked to each other and were so nice to each other.  Next month’s newsletter will be all about our week and watch the website to see all the activities that happened. We also held a drawing competition and the winners will be posted up throughout the school. The week ended with our annual mass in St. Brendan’s Church on Friday October 3^rd. The theme of the mass was friendship and it was a beautiful ceremony.

We are delighted to announce that we plan to open an ASD class in September 2015.  ASD stands for Autistic Spectrum Disorder and the class will be for girls who have been diagnosed with Autism and have been recommended a placement in a special class.  Mercy Primary School has a long history of catering for children with different needs and we are looking forward to welcoming new students to the school. The class has been sanctioned by the National Council for Special Education and we await sanction from the Department of Education.  We will keep you informed of any developments throughout the year.

Dates for your diary:

• Vision and hearing screening for Senior Infants and 6th class – Monday 13th October.
• Rosary Rally involving 6^th class Wednesday 22^nd October.
• Parents’ Association Disco – Wednesday 29^th October
• Scholastic Book Fair – 20^th-27^th November
• Mid-Term Break – Monday 27^th – Friday 31^st October
• Parent/Teacher meetings for 1^st – 6^th classes – 25^th November