Dear Parents & Guardians,                                                                                                                                                                                          

We hope your child is well settled back to school by now and looking forward to the Mid-Term break.  Welcome to all our new pupils and we hope you are enjoying life in Milford School.  

Halloween Costumes: Children may wear Halloween costumes or their school tracksuit  to school on Friday, October 28th. 

Cake sale:  Many thanks to our Parents’ Council members for organising the Cake Sale that is scheduled to take place on Friday.  If you wish to donate baked goods, you may bring these to the gym from 8:45am onwards this Friday. Parents’ Council members will be on hand to receive any goodies that you have to offer.  Please label all boxes / trays / tupperware or other containers with your child’s name and class.  Please remember that our school is a Nut Free Zone.  Thank you very much for your support.

Mid-Term: School will close tomorrow for our mid-term holidays at the normal times. School will re-open on Monday, November 7th.  The present arrangements for morning drop-off and afternoon collection will continue after the mid-term break.

Junior Infant Enrolments 2023: The Application Process and Admission’s Notice for Junior Infants 2023 has been published on our school website.  

Reminder to Label: Please label all your child’s clothing and belongings.  The MNS Lost and Found was recently sorted and over 30 school jumpers with no names were counted. Other items such as athletic tops, coats and football boots were found. Ms Murray calculated recently that the lost and found items collected since September is worth roughly €900 between uniforms and coats! Please ensure that all school items are clearly labelled with your child’s name.   If your child is missing an item of clothing you may check the Lost & Found Box which is located near the After School Facility.

Attendance Policy: The school is legally obligated to report to the National Education Welfare Board (NEWB) any child who misses more than 20 days in the school year.  Please remember to explain all absences in writing (Aladdin App and/or by emailing the class teacher) and to also complete the Back to School Declaration Form (Aladdin App or  School Website).

Parent / Teacher Meetings: Parent / Teacher Meetings will take place this year during the week starting 21st November.  The meetings will be held in the school or by Google Meet.  Your child’s teacher will circulate further information in relation to the meeting after the mid-term break.  

Early Closing Notice:   Our next Staff Meeting will take place on Friday, 2nd December. As a result, the school will close early for pupils on that day.  The staggered times are as follows:

• 11:55am closing for Junior & Senior Infants.   Noon closing for First to 6th Class. 

Milford National School Choir:  Choir practice for 4th, 5th, and 6th Classes takes place in the staffroom every Thursday from 2:45pm – 3:45pm. A big thank you to our choir leaders Ms. Angela Reidy, Ms. Linda O’Meara, Ms. Hannah O’Sullivan for dedicating so much of their time to the school choir activities.

Music Generation:  Past pupil, Seán O’ Meara is visiting the three Sixth Classes every Thursday afternoon as part of the Music Generation initiative.   Many thanks to Ms. Reidy for coordinating the music programme in our school.

Maths Week: We had lots of fun last week celebrating Maths Week in Milford NS. There was great participation from all classes. Some of the activities included Maths trails, quizzes, coding, peer learning and looking at Maths in our environment. Well done to everyone involved! Many thanks to Ms Sarah Griffin for organising Maths Week activities.

Student Council: Many thanks to Ms. Yvonne Newman, Ms. Laura Hynes and Ms Gemma Ryan for coordinating the student council in our school.  A new council has been elected and they have twice already this term.  They are presently looking at the weight of pupil school bags and hope to present their findings shortly. 

Christmas Shoebox Appeal: The Student Council would like to thank everyone who has brought in a Team Hope Christmas Shoebox to date. You are going to put a smile on the faces of so many children this Christmas. The last date for collection in our school is Monday the 7th of November. 

Parents’ Council: The Parents’ Council AGM will take place in the school on Wednesday, 9th November 2022 at 8pm.  All parents are invited to this meeting.  If you do wish to attend the AGM please let us know via  parentscouncil@milfordns.ie by Wednesday, 9th November 3pm so that we can prepare an appropriate space in the school  for the meeting.  The Parents’ Council members are always happy to meet new parents who would like to help out at school events.

If you would like to nominate a candidate to a position on the Council (Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer) please consult with the person first.  Nominations should be submitted by Wednesday 9th November 3pm via the dedicated Parent’s Council email address (parentscouncil@milfordns.ie).

First Communion:  Congratulations to our 2nd Class who celebrated their First Communion Enrolment Ceremony last week.  Sincere thanks to Ms Claire Quinlan and Ms Maggie Kinnerk for all their efforts in preparing the children for the ceremony.

College Placements: During this term, we have been very pleased to welcome college students Siobhán Shinnick, Katie O’Dwyer, Rachel Hinchy and Emma Newe.  Róisin and Katie are completing their college placement whilst Rachel and Emma are completing their final teaching practice.

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT NOTIFICATIONS: 

1) Our First Notification is regarding the Board of Management’s review of the Child Safeguarding Statement in Milford Grange N.S.

To: Milford Grange N.S. School Community

The Board of Management (BoM) of Milford Grange N.S. wishes to inform you that: 

• The Board of Management’s annual review of the school’s Child Safeguarding Statement was completed at the Board meeting on 24/10/2022. 
• This review was conducted in accordance with the ‘Checklist for Review of the Child Safeguarding Statement’ published on the Department’s ‘website www.education.ie

Signed: Liam de Búrca Chairperson of BoM       Date: 24/10/2022

Signed: Diarmaid Moore Principal/Secretary to the BoM     Date:  24/10/2022

2) Our Second Notification is regarding the Board of Management’s annual review of the Anti Bullying Policy in Milford Grange N.S.

To: Milford Grange N.S. School Community

The Board of Management (BoM) of Milford Grange N.S. wishes to inform you that: 

• The Board of Management’s annual review of the school’s Anti-Bullying policy and its implementation was completed at the Board meeting of 24/10/2022.
• This review was conducted in accordance with the checklist set out in Appendix 4 of the Department’s Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools. 

Signed: Liam de Búrca Chairperson of BoM       Date: 24/10/2022

Signed: Diarmaid Moore Principal/Secretary to the BoM     Date:  24/10/2022

Important Dates:

• Hallowe’en Events: Children may wear Halloween costumes to school on Friday, October 28th. There will also be a cake sale that day. School will close at the usual times of 1.40pm and 2.40pm on Friday.
• Parents’ Council AGM: Wednesday, 9th November at 8pm
• Parent / Teacher Meetings: Monday, November 21st. 
• Early Closing: Friday, 2nd December 2022  (Junior Infants and Senior Infants at 11:55am / 1st Class to 6th Class 12 Noon)
• Christmas Pageants for Junior Infants & Senior Infants: Wednesday, December 7th at 1pm in the Church
• Christmas Pageants for 1st & 2nd Classes : Friday, December 9th at 1pm in the Church
• Christmas Choral Night: Tuesday, December 13th at 7pm in the Church (3rd-5th Classes)
• Sixth Classes Christmas Play performance: Wednesday, 21st December

Wishing you and your family a lovely mid-term break.  

Le gach dea-ghuí

Diarmaid Moore

Principal