MILFORD NATIONAL SCHOOL – 10th May 2018
Dear Parents,
School Choir: Congratulations to our School Choir who secured third place in the Community Games Choir Competition which took place in the woodlands House Hotel, Adare on Wednesday, 18th April. The children sang beautifully and were a credit to their school. The choir have been very busy preparing for the Midleton Choral Festival which takes place on Friday, 11th May. We wish them every success on the day. 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, accompanying the choir on piano.
Scór na bPáistí: The county final of Scór na bPáistí was held in the LIT theatre on Saturday, 21st April. Milford N.S. was proudly represented by 5th and 6th class pupils in the ballad group, instrumental music and solo singing competitions. The children performed superbly on the day. We are very proud of their talents and achievements.
First place – Ballad Group:
Erica Murphy, Lauren Farragher, Melissa Do, Mia Keane and Laura Southern. Ar fheabhas! Maith Sibh!
First place – Instrumental Group:
Patrick O’ Halloran, Melissa Do, Laura Southern, Grace Field and Erica Murphy. Maith sibh go léir!
Third place – Solo Singing:
Laura Southern. Maith thú Laura!
Many thanks to Ms. Deirdre Taylor for organising and preparing the Scór group so well. Thanks also to Ms. Gemma Ryan and Ms. Angela Reidy for lending their support.
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!
Milford Quiz Team: MQT’s members have been working steadily all year and have built up great skills in general knowledge. Their next quiz competition is the Castletroy and District Lions Club quiz on 30th May. Good luck to all involved.
Debate Team: Last month, Milford Debate Team competed in the quarter final of the Primary Debating Competition. After a robust debate about climate change, Kildimo NS emerged as victors. Ms O’Meara and Ms Larkin would like to wish Paul Burke, Sadhbh Bullock, Sarah Keenan and Keeva Sherry many happy years of debating in secondary school. Congratulations to Alessia Coppola, Caoimhe Hannigan, Rian Altemat and Niamh Toomey who will compete with us again next year. The team made great strides and did the school proud. Many thanks also to their parents who provided great support throughout the year. Tryouts for 4th and 5th classes will take place in June for next year’s debating team.
Junior Infant Meeting: Parents who have a child starting school in September 2018 should note that the Junior Infant meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 29th at 7pm.
Communion: Second class are busily preparing for their big day on Saturday, May 13th at 11 a.m. Best wishes to all the Second Class pupils and their families. We hope you all have a wonderful day!
Geoff Hunt: Geoff Hunt, our environmental expert, will be back in Milford NS later on this term. Fourth Class and Junior Infants will have the opportunity to study our local butterflies in the environs of UL and under the microscope in the classrooms.
Scratch: Well done to Daniel O’ Sullivan from Ms. Munnelly’s First Class whose project “The Super Banana Game” was one of the 32 finalists from over 500 entrants to the National Scratch Coding Competition. This competition was held in the Kemmy Business School, at the University of Limerick, on Wednesday April 25th as part of Tech Week 2018.
Camogie/Hurling: It has been a very good year so far for our school camogie and hurling teams. The U13 Girls have reached the semi-final of their competition. The U13 Boys will contest the Shield Final next Tuesday in Rathbane. The U11 Boys will play their semi-final next Thursday in Rathbane. Many thanks to Mr. John Nelligan, Ms. Yvonne Newman, Ms. Áine Fitzpatrick, Mr. Brian Kelly, Ms. Celine Munnelly and Ms. Maggie Moloney for devoting so much of their free time to coach their respective teams. Best of luck to everyone involved.
Neville Cup & Mackey Cup: Comhghairdeas to Kim Ivory, Laura Southern and to Lily Holloway! The girls were selected by the Limerick City Team Selectors to play for Limerick City in the Neville Cup Divisional Competition. Comhghairdeas also to Mark Field and Paddy Hussey who were selected by the Limerick City Team Selectors to play for Limerick City in the Mackey Cup Competition. As always, the pupils represented their school and their city with distinction! Best wishes to Laura Southern who was picked for the Camogie Primary Game to be played at half-time during the Limerick V Tipperary game in the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday May 20th.
Referendum May 25th: The school has been requisitioned for use as a polling station for the forthcoming referendum on May 25th. There will be no school for children on that day.
Milford Parents Association: Milford Parents Association would like to say a very big thank you to all families that contributed to both the Lenrec collection of old clothes and shoes in February and also the very successful Easter cake sale. The cake sale is a wonderful event for our children and the excitement on their faces when they see all the beautiful cakes and buns displayed is heartening. Our Lenrec collection in February yielded a total weight of 500kg. We receive 35 cent per Kg, resulting in a total of €175 raised. Please remember our next collection will be on June 15th so when sorting through the old Summer clothes please keep it in mind. Our Easter cake sale raised a total of €992.85. Next cake sale will be at Halloween. At the end of the school year, the lion’s share of all funds raised by these events is donated to the School to purchase necessary equipment and supplies for our children in the classroom. Please continue to support these events. It is your contribution that makes them a success. Thank You
Lotto: Many thanks to everyone who plays the school lotto. The jackpot for our weekly lotto is now at €6,500. BONUS! SPECIAL SUMMER SELLER’S PRIZE: CHROMEBOOK. All April and May Lotto Tickets will be included in the draw on Thursday May 31st. Best of luck!
Summer Uniform: In consultation with our Parents’ Association a decision has been made to allow the children to 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 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.
Milford Summer Camp: Come and enjoy loads of fun with a variety of activities for all children from 5 to 12 years of age. The activities include Slime factory, Kick Darts, Jump for Joy Classes, Disco, Painting, Stopmotion Animation & much more. Camp Times: 9am to 2pm / Week 1 – 2nd July 2018 – 6th July 2018 /Week 2 9th July 2018 to 13th July 2018. For further information please contact Oliver Moloney (061-339138), Monika (087-9040416) or email: milfordsummercamp2018@gmail.com
Aladdin Communication App: An information letter was sent home on Wednesday in relation to a new means of communication with our parent community. The letter is also available to view on our school website. We intend sending the login details via text to parents next week.
Swimming: It has been noted that the attendance at swimming in some classes has been poor of late. Swimming is an important and mandatory element of the P.E. curriculum and we are most fortunate to have a world-class swimming pool on our doorstep. I would ask you to please make sure your child avails of this rare facility which we can offer all year round in this school. Please note that swimming is a compulsory component of the Revised Curriculum for Primary Schools.
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.
Rugby Coaching: 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th Classes are availing of rugby coaching for their PE lessons. Many thanks to Ken Imbusch (Munster Rugby) for his time and expertise and to Paul O’Connell for arranging the sessions.
Confirmation: Congratulations to all the boys and girls who were confirmed last month. The ceremony was beautiful and all who took part are to be commended on their excellence. Well done to 6th class! Many thanks to Ms. Linda O’Meara, Ms. Eileen O’Dea and Mr. Kelly for helping the pupils to prepare for their Confirmation. A big thank you also to our school band members and their leaders for playing throughout the ceremony.
Great Limerick Run: Congratulations to all our pupils, parents and staff who participated in the Bon Secours Hospital Great Limerick Run / UL Children’s Run at the weekend. It is a wonderful initiative which demonstrates the importance of sport and having fun! Well done everyone!
Green Flag: On Thursday May 3rd our school was awarded its 8th Green Flag for the theme of Global Citizenship Marine Environment. On the day the school was represented by Patrick O’Halloran and Eva Bennett from the Green Schools committee and Mr.Gallagher and Mr.O’Connor. The event took place in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Little Island Co.Cork. Ms.O’Meara’s 6th class composed a song for the occasion which has been posted on the Green Schools Twitter account https://twitter.com/GreenSchoolsIre. Pupils have been busy of late planting vegetables in the school garden which we hope to harvest in the autumn.
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.
WOW Days: Concerns have been expressed by parents about children being dropped off at meeting points and left there on their own for others to escort to school. Supervision of children on their way to school remains the responsibility of each individual parent. Parents are expected to walk with their own children as this is a parent led initiative. WOW day generally takes place on Wednesdays from Unigolf and is proving very popular with children and parents alike. Hopefully more children & parents will regularly walk some or all of the way to school, especially during the summer term.
Birthday Invitations: From September 2018, a new school policy will be in place in relation to birthday invitation cards and treats. We have seen examples in school where children who are not included in the invitation list can feel disappointed, excluded and generally very sad. Even though the policy is not yet in place, I am asking parents from this weekend onwards, to please to refrain from distributing birthday invitation cards when inviting pupils to their child’s birthday. Thank you in advance for your cooperation on this matter.
Reminder: School is closed on 25th May, 1st June and 4th June.
Principal
Le gach dea–ghuí,
Diarmaid Moore
(Principal)
