MILFORD NATIONAL SCHOOL – 6th February 2019
Dear Parents,
Safer Internet Day (SID): SID is an EU wide initiative to promote a safer internet for all users, especially young people. It is promoted in Ireland by the PDST Technology in Education and Webwise. The Theme for Safer Internet Day is “Together for a Better Internet“. Safer Internet Day 2019 was celebrated on Tuesday, February 5th. To help ensure that children are not put in harm’s way and exposed to inappropriate material, please check all your child’s internet devices regularly. We would also like to direct you to www.webwise.ie for further information and advice on internet safety.
Road Safety: Many thanks to our Community Gardaí Sinéad and Elaine for going around to all the classes to talk to the children in relation to Road Safety.
Lego Robots: Ms. Quinlan’s 5th class had a fantastic day last week building & programming Lego robots with Analog Devices. Congratulations to the winning team in the Analog Devices School Robotics competition today! Juliette, Kevin & Jack move on to face other schools in the Limerick stage of the competition. Many thanks to Ms. Doody for coordinating the event.
Aldi Competition: Our school has signed up for a competition organised by the supermarket Aldi. Aldi are giving away two main prizes of €50,000 and a €2,500 voucher for sports and training equipment to one primary school in each province. Official Irish Rugby stickers will be given out to shoppers every time they spend €30 in Aldi stores throughout Ireland. Parents can get involved by sending the stickers in to the school until the competition poster is filled with 300 stickers.
Dogs: In the interest of Health and Safety, the Board of Management of our school has requested that parents refrain from bringing their dogs (excluding service dogs that have the correct vest / harness / badge) into the school yard.
Swimming: Congratulations to our pupils who participated in the County Community Games swimming event last weekend. Everyone in Milford is very proud of their achievements. It was great to see our pupils doing so well after all the hard work and practice in the pool. They won Gold medals in the team relay races. The pupils who represented our school so brilliantly are as follows:
- Girls: Ellen Flannery, Rhea Murphy, Abbie Yelverton, Olivia Flannery, Emma Hickey and Lucy Greenslade .
- Boys: Rian Horgan , Cillian Flannery, Michael Flannery and Daragh Horgan
Best wishes to our pupils who will representing Milford NS in the National Schools Swimming Gala next Sunday.
Rainbows: After our initial expression of interest forms went out we were unable to form a Rainbows peer support group in Milford NS. Rainbows provides group support for children of a similar age and loss experience. Meeting others in a similar situation can be very supportive for children. We are hoping to send out another expression of interest form this week. If you would like to know anything about Rainbows please do not hesitate to contact one of our Rainbows Coordinators on 061-339123 or visit the Rainbows website www.rainbowsireland.ie for more information.
Morning Line-Up: Infant parents, thank you for your co-operation in helping with the line-up of children in the morning. However we would appreciate if parents could promptly leave the yard at 8.55 a.m. on hearing the bell. It is important that children stand by themselves in their lines, but also, as a lot of children have to enter the school through one entrance each morning, it can get quite congested. In the interest of health & safety please avoid walking through the staff carpark – please walk on the footpath when entering & leaving the school grounds.
Gym Fund-Raising: Milford National School is hosting the Milford NS Community Gym St. Patrick’s Day Fundraiser Raffle in Milford NS on Friday 15th March 2019. This will be our main Gym Fundraiser for this school year. The St. Patrick’s Weekend Raffle provides us with an opportunity to raise much needed funds towards financing our community gym loan. With this is mind the school is looking to our community to support this event in any way you can. If you or someone you know can support our St. Patrick’s Weekend Raffle in any of these ways, please contact the organising committee at (087) 9969531 (Jean Flannery), (086) 8504049 (Elaine Hickey) or at parentscouncil@milfordns.ie Your support is hugely appreciated. We are sure that with your help the St. Patrick’s Weekend Raffle will be another memorable and enjoyable Milford National School event and a successful fundraiser. Tickets will go on sale after the mid-term break.
Great Limerick Run: This year’s UL Sports Kids Run at the Bon Secours Hospital Run for Fun 2019 will be held on Saturday May 4th. The race is open to all age groups, Junior Infants to Sixth Class. Nearly 200 children from Milford N.S. took part last year. For more information and to download kids’ training guides please visit: www.greatlimerickrun.com
Camogie/Hurling: Best wishes to our camogie and hurling teams involved in the indoor camogie/hurling competition on Thurs 14th and also in the mini 7’s competition on March 1st . Best of luck to all involved.
Fitzpatrick Cup: We completed the 10th annual George Fitzpatrick Memorial Cup Competition on Thursday, Jan 17th. Congratulations to the 82 boys and girls from 4th – 6th classes who took part. Consisting of 18 League games and 7 knockout matches, in total it took 25 matches to complete this entire series. Thanks to all of the parents for coming out and supporting us and for taking the time off work to attend the competition. In the end, Aran’s team faced Matthew’s team. Congratulations to Aran Cregan and his team mates on a marvellous victory. A special thank-you to the 12 captains of all 12 teams in this year’s Fitzpatrick Cup. These 12 individuals were picked by the coaches in the school based not just on their football abilities, but also based on their leadership, management and communication skills. To be chosen by your coaches as a Fitzpatrick Cup Captain is a huge honour and it reflects the esteem and high regard in which these 12 players are held by the staff of Milford NS. A huge thank-you also, to the University of Limerick for the use of the fabulous astroturf facility and especially to Neasa O’Donnell, Sara Hartigan and Catherine Dooley of the Sports Department for their ongoing support, dedication and goodwill towards the school. George was tireless in the energy, dedication and service that he put into Milford NS. His influence and example lives on long after him. Many thanks, as always, to Mr. Nelligan for the excellent organisation of this very enjoyable and inclusive sporting event.
Automated External Defibrillator (AED): Many thanks to the parents who offered to help and advise us in relation to the purchase of an AED for our school. We have met a number of companies and hopefully we will be in a position to install our first AED before our mid-term break.
Rugby: Congratulations to William Leonard (past pupil) who recently secured a professional rugby contract in the USA with Rugby United New York. Best wishes also to Seán Cronin (past pupil) and to Keith Earls (parent) who are playing with Ireland in the Six Nations Rugby Championship.
Choir: The boys and girls in Milford National School choir are busy preparing for their upcoming performance in the Redemptorist Church in Limerick on Friday March 1th, as part of the Limerick Choral Festival. The 70 members of the choir are preparing two songs for this event. Parents will be welcome to attend on the morning of the competition. Many thanks to our choir teachers Ms. O’ Meara, Ms. O’Sullivan and Ms. Reidy who work with the choir every Thursday after school.
Band: The School Band will participate in a band spectacular to be held in March. More details will be available soon.
Milford NS Debating Team: Well done to our debating team who won their latest debate last week. A big thank you to Ms O’Meara & Ms Larkin for preparing the team to perform to such a high standard
Don Bosco Mass: St. John Bosco School mass will take place this year on Thursday 14th February at 10:00am (Classes 2nd-6th). If you do not wish your child to attend Mass you may collect him/her at 9:45 a.m. from their classroom. Please remember to sign them out in the school office.
Children’s Mass: There will be a Children’s Mass on Sunday February 10th at 10.30am. Children from First to Sixth Class are invited to participate and all pupils are invited to attend the mass on Sunday.
Stay Safe Programme: The personal safety education programme called Stay Safe is taught in Milford NS during this term. The aim of the Stay Safe programme is to teach children personal safety skills so they can look after themselves in situations which could be upsetting or dangerous. It deals initially with common situations which most children will experience at some stage or other, e.g. getting lost or being bullied. The programme also teaches children the safety skills necessary to protect themselves from physical or sexual abuse and emphasises the importance of telling a trusted adult about any problems they have. The Stay Safe programme is part of the Social, Personal and Health Education curriculum which all primary schools are required to implement. Co-operation between parents and teachers is essential to the success of this programme. It is important that parents are aware of the content of the Stay Safe lessons and are able to discuss the lessons with their children. Your child may bring home worksheets which will inform you on the topics being covered in class and how you can reinforce the messages at home. You can familiarise yourself with the content of the Stay Safe lessons at www.staysafe.ie/teachers/resources.htm. Please contact the school if you wish to discuss the programme further.
Don Bosco Quiz: Children from 4th, 5th and 6th class participated in this General Knowledge quiz on Thursday, January 31st. Many thanks to the Salesian Community for their sponsorship of the trophy and to Ms Newman & Ms. Larkin for their organization of the quiz. Congratulations to all the children who participated in this annual quiz and well to the winning team Stuart Tobin, Orla Purcell and Sean Kerley.
Dates to Remember
- First Confession: Second class will make their First Confession this Thursday at 11:15am
- Mid-Term Break: The school will close on Friday, 15th February 2019 at our normal school closing times. The school will reopen again on Monday 25th February 2018 at 8:55am.
Le gach dea–ghuí,
Diarmaid Moore
(Principal)
