MILFORD NATIONAL SCHOOL – 30th May 2019
Dear Parents,
School Choir: Congratulations to our School Choir who secured first place in the Community Games Choir Competition which took place in the Woodlands House Hotel, Adare on Thursday, 2nd May. The children sang beautifully and were a credit to their school. The choir have been invited to join Limerick Sings Closing Gala, which takes place in the University of Limerick on Saturday, 9th June. We wish them every success on the night. Go n-éirí libh! Many thanks to our choir leaders, Ms. Linda O’ Meara and Ms. Angela Reidy. Thanks also to our resident pianist, Ms. Hannah O’ Sullivan, for accompanying the choir on piano.
Scór na bPáistí: The county final of Scór na bPáistí was held in the Askeaton Hall on Thursday, 9th May. Milford N.S. was proudly represented by 5th and 6th class pupils in the ballad group, instrumental music, solo singing and recitation competitions. The children performed superbly on the day. We are very proud of their talents and achievements.
First place – Ballad Group:
Mia Keane, Melissa Do, Caoimhe Hannigan, and Dayna Purcell. Ar fheabhas! Maith Sibh!
Third place – Instrumental Group:
Melissa Do, Grace Field, Kevin Beattie, Joshua Hurley and Niamh Twomey. Maith sibh go léir!
Second place – Solo Singing:
Melissa Do. Maith thú Melissa!
Runner up – Recitation
Cian O’ Hanlon. Maith thu Cian!
Many thanks to Ms. Linda O’ Meara, Ms. Angela Reidy and Ms. Yvonne Newman who were involved in organising and preparing the Scór group so well.
School Tours: Tours are being organised at the moment and most will be in June. Hopefully the weather will be kind as it has been for the past few years. It makes such a difference!
Geoff Hunt: Geoff Hunt, our environmental expert, was back in Milford NS earlier this week working with Fourth Class. Junior Infants will have the opportunity to study our local butterflies in the environs of UL and under the microscope in the classrooms next month.
SCRATCH: SCRATCH will run for the month of June for 6th class pupils during lunch on Thursdays. SCRATCH is an online visual programming language aimed at introducing children to coding skills. Children will have the opportunity to complete projects and create games. Please contact Mrs. Spicer, Mrs. Kinnerk or Ms. O’ Sullivan for further information.
Camogie/Hurling: It has been a very good year so far for our school camogie and hurling teams. At the Gaelic Grounds last week the U13 Girls, U13 Boys and U11 Boys all won their respective finals. The U13 Girls and U13 Boys now advance to the county final stages. Many thanks to the coaches of the teams Ms. Sarah Spicer, Mr. Conor O’Brien, Ms. Yvonne Newman, Ms. Áine Fitzpatrick, Mr. Brian Kelly, Ms. Celine Munnelly and Ms. Maggie Kinnerk for devoting so much of their free time to coach their respective teams. Best of luck to the U13 Boys and Girls teams who now advance to the County Semi-Final Stage.
Summer Uniform: Children may wear their summer uniform to school during the month of June. This consists of plain navy shorts or school games shorts (no denim), the School PE t-shirt and School track suit top. Children should only wear this uniform when the weather is forecast to be warm. On less favourable days, children should wear their school tracksuit.
Aladdin Communication App: We are aware of ongoing problems with parents not receiving notifications and messages via the Aladdin App. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. We have been working on this issue with Aladdin since before the Easter holidays. We received the following advice from their technical team:
- Please ensure that you have allowed Aladdin to have access to notifications, have marked your device as a personal device (if applicable) and have validated your phone number.
- iOS (Apple Devices) has an option to deliver notifications ‘quietly’. This would mean that the notification is visible in notification centre but is never actually displayed to you – unless you go looking for it in notification centre. To disable this, locate the notification in notification centre (swipe down from the top), swipe left on the notification, tap on manage and set notifications to ‘Deliver Prominently’. It may also be worth navigating to your device settings, notifications and choosing the Aladdin app. Within this page just make sure that Alerts, sounds and badges are enabled.
- We have uploaded a link on our school website for a guide for additional troubleshooting tips on notifications in Aladdin Connect.
Attendance Policy: Parents, please note that 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. All absences must be explained in writing (absence note at the back of the homework diary will suffice) by parent/guardian to the teacher on return to school after absence.
Communion: Congratulations to all the boys and girls who made their First Holy Communion earlier this month. The ceremony was beautiful and all who took part are to be commended on their excellence. Well done to 2nd Class! Many thanks to Ms. Maggie Moloney, Ms. Natasha Cosgrave, Ms. Pearl Cross and Mr. Conor O’Brien for helping the pupils to prepare for their Communion. A big thank you also to our school band members and their leaders for playing throughout the ceremony. Thank you to all of the parents who organised the refreshments in the school after the ceremony.
Great Limerick Run: Congratulations to all our pupils, parents and staff who participated in the Great Limerick Run / UL Children’s Run. It is a wonderful initiative which demonstrates the importance of sport and having fun! We received word last week that our school, out of all schools in Limerick City and County, had most participants in the ‘Fun Run’! Well done everyone!
Limerick Primary School Sports: The annual Primary Schools’ Sports in Plassey took place on Thursday, May 16th. The Girls Team finished in 3rd place and the Boys Team finished in 1st place in the A-Division. Many thanks to the coaches, Mr. Nelligan, Ms. Larkin, Ms. Cosgrave, Ms. Cahill and Mr. Gallagher who helped to train the teams each week after school. A word of thanks also to Neasa O’Donnell, Catherine Dooley and Sara Hartigan in the Arena for authorising the use of the Running Track on Mondays for the Milford Athletics Team to train. The University has been, and continues to be, a great neighbour to have!
Primary Game: Congratulations to our pupils Ellie Madden and Matthew Fitzgerald who represented Limerick in the Primary Game played at half-time at the most recent Limerick County Senior Football and Hurling matches. We are very proud of your achievements. Well done to you both!
Leaving: Please inform the school at the earliest possible time if you intend to move to a new location next year.
Standardised Assessments: Standardised tests in English reading and maths are taking place at the moment in classes 1st to 6th. These tests do not define your child but simply give additional information that we can use to help them to learn. Along with this information, teachers in our school also use student portfolios, teacher-designed tests and checklists, documented observations and curriculum profiles to help us to get a picture of your child’s progress and to help inform our teaching going forward. Please see additional information letter from Drumcondra Education Research Centre in relation to the New Drumcondra Primary Tests in Mathematics and English Reading.
Thank you: A special word of thanks to Diarmuid Hendrick and B.D.O. Limerick for their very generous donation of office furniture to our school. Your generosity is very much appreciated.
Other News:
- Congratulations to Ms. Gemma Ryan on the recent birth of her baby boy.
- Sincerest condolences to Ms. Sarah Spicer and her family on the recent bereavement of Sarah’s dad, Mr. Aidan Spicer. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
- It is with mixed emotions that I announce that Mr. Denis O’Connor, Assistant Principal and Classroom Teacher, has decided to retire at the end of this school year. Denis has provided us in Milford N.S. with 25 years of devoted service. I don’t know how we will get along without him! In addition to his incredible competence and skill, Denis has been a friend to all with his thoughtfulness, support and encouragement. His spirit of dedication and commitment to Green Schools initiatives and to the coaching of teams in hurling and football would be hard to surpass anywhere. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Denis for everything and to wish him the very best as he starts a new chapter in his life.
Reminders:
- Staff Inservice – School is closed on Friday 31st May
- Bank Holiday – School is closed on Monday 3rd June
- End of Year School Reports – available to view and download on Aladdin Connect from 17th June.
Le gach dea-ghuí,
Diarmaid Moore
Principal
