Dear Parents and Guardians,

First term is coming to a close and we are looking forward to our Christmas holidays.  School will close for the Christmas holidays later today at 12 Noon (Friday, 20th December).

It will be busier than other school days at collection time today as all classes are being dismissed at the same time.   Our Infant Classes will have a ‘headstart’ on the remainder of the school and will be ready for collection from their usual collection area.

SPORTING NEWS:  Congratulations to all our fantastic football teams who trained and competed in matches this autumn. Our U13 girls’ football team triumphed in the City Final, while the boys’ team narrowly missed the top spot, displaying great sportsmanship and skill.  Our Mini-7s Footballers were crowned champions this year and our U11 teams had great fun playing matches in a football blitz with several schools in the city.  Sincere thanks to all the coaches for their hard work with all teams who took part in competitions this autumn and winter.  

SARSFIELD CUP & LARKIN SHIELD: Well done to our pupils, Amelia O’Keeffe, Sarah Tobin, Rebecca Lane, Killian Coman, Niall Hickey, Tom Keogh and Andrew Bermingham, who were selected to play for the City Football Teams 2024.  The girls contested the Larkin Shield and narrowly lost out in the Final which was held in the Gaelic Grounds.  Rebecca was selected as the team’s captain!.  The boys’ team contested the Sarsfield Cup and we are delighted to report that they emerged victorious over their Sarsfield Cup opponents under lights in the Gaelic Grounds. It is a wonderful achievement to play in these two competitions, as it pitches the most talented footballers in the county against each other.  We are very proud of our pupils’ representation on these two teams this year.

ALL IRELAND CHAMPION: Congratulations to Caoimhe O’Neill (5th Class Teacher) on winning the All Ireland Junior Football Title with her club Mungret / St. Pauls in Dublin last Sunday.  It is truly a fantastic achievement!  All in Milford NS are so proud of Caoimhe’s heroic GAA journey this year..

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THE FITZPATRICK CUP: To honour the memory of our former colleague Mr. George Fitzpatrick, the school holds a Gaelic games competition each January. This annual event is known as The Fitzpatrick Cup. This competition will commence again as soon as the children return after the Christmas Holidays. 80 boys and girls from 5th &  6th classes have signed up to take part and they are eagerly waiting for the ball to be thrown in on Tuesday, January 7th, 3-4pm on the old astro-turf facility in UL. This year the code will be hurling. (Last year it was football).  All matches will be played on Tuesdays and Thursdays during January, 3-4pm. Hopefully the weather will allow us to complete the entire series before the end of January. Please feel free to come along to the astro-turf to cheer for your star/starlet if the mood takes you. All fixtures and league tables will be posted on our school website.

CHESS CLUB:  A big thank you to Ms Laura Griffin for organising the Chess Club this school year.  The children have had great fun this term, learning the many moves and strategies associated with the game of chess.

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. It is very important that children should not go to school when they’re contagious to others or when they’re too sick to learn.

JUNIOR INFANTS 2025/26: The closing date for receipt of applications for Junior Infants for the school year 2025/26 is 2pm on Monday, 13th January 2025.  Application forms may be downloaded from our school website.

PARENTS’ COUNCIL: The AGM of the Parents’ Council took place on Wednesday 6th November.  A new committee was elected.   The new committee is as follows: James O’Shaughnessy, (Chairperson), Keith Murray (Treasurer) and Nuala Dooly (Secretary).  Thank you all very much for your efforts and generosity of time to our school.  A special word of thanks to all our parents who helped out at our recent ‘bag-packing’ event held last weekend.  Your support is very much appreciated.  

SCRATCH: A huge thank you to Brian Flynn (parent in our school) for organising the recent online meeting to introduce to the SCRATCH coding platform.  Brian, along with a team of other very generous parents, have led SCRATCH pupil workshops in our school for the previous two years.  We are very grateful for their kindness and support.

REQUEST: Two areas where our school needs some support and advice are as follows:

• Some advice regarding  updating our PHP area of our school website 
• Advice regarding a fitting for the legs of our pupils’ chairs.  We are finding it difficult to source a fitting that prevents the legs scraping the floor.  It could be a project for Dragon’s Den!

Please email the school if you think you can help in either of these areas.  Thank you very much.

PATRON VISIT: Bishop Brendan Leahy visited our school on Wednesday morning, 11th December. Bishop Brendan was welcomed by our Student Council members.  He then visited the three  6th Classes before visiting all the classrooms on our ‘west wing’ of the school.  The children asked wonderful questions, sang and prayed with Bishop Brendan.

ENROLMENT CEREMONY: 2nd class celebrated their Enrolment Ceremony in the church on Wednesday, October 23rd at 1.50pm. A big thank you to Emma Newe, Olive Doody and Fr. Koenraad for preparing the children so well for the ceremony.

CEREMONY OF LIGHT: 6th Class celebrated their Ceremony of Light on 22nd November.  Sincere thanks  to Geraldine Mitchell, Sarah Hayes, Aaron Gallagher and Fr. Koenraad for preparing the children so well for the ceremony.

EXPERT WORKSHOPS:

• A big thank you to MS. Celine Munnelly for coordinating the Heritage in Schools workshops on Tuesday 5th Nov and on Thursday 14th November for 2nd, 3rd and 4th Classes.  Geraldine O’Sullivan, an expert weaver, visited on both days to teach the pupils weaving techniques. 
• Visale Balarajah Medical Student and a member of the Paediatric Society at UL visited our school on Wednesday 6th & 13th November. The topic that the trainee doctors prepared for the pupils to teach was in relation to Wellbeing.  Our sincerest and heartfelt thanks to Visale and the Paediatric Society at UL for delivering two outstanding, engaging wellbeing workshops for all our classes. 
• Geoff Hunt, our environmental expert, was back in Milford NS earlier this term working our classes  in the environs of UL and under the microscope in the classrooms.  Many thanks to Mr Aaron Gallagher for coordinating the workshops with Geoff for all the classes in our school.

FAIRTRADE CARD: Congratulations to Rosie Murphy (Highly Commended), Sana Shahoud (Highly Commended) and Lauren Holihan (Special Prize for Artistic Merit)  in the Limerick Fairtrade Christmas Card Competition 2024.  Well done to all our pupils who entered the art competition this year.

TEAM HOPE SHOEBOX APPEAL: A huge thank you to everyone who donated a shoe box to this year’s Team Hope Appeal. We received over 250 shoe boxes in total which have now been collected and are on their way to needy children in Eastern Europe and Africa. Thank you to the Student Council who undertook such a worthy cause and also to Ms. Orla Murray who coordinates all our Student Council activities.

Wellbeing:  A big thank you to our in-school Wellbeign Committee for coordinating the wellbeing Activities in our school this term.  Wellbeing Wednesday have been a huge success.  The committee has recently shared an online survey with our parents.  We would be grateful to receive  your feedback on our wellbeing initiatives for Term 1.  

SHAKIN’ WITH SHAKESPEARE CLUB: Ms. Murray’s after school activity will re-commence in February 2025, on Tuesday afternoons, when the Fitzpatrick Club Tournament is completed. New members from 5th and 6th classes are welcome to join Ms Murray and the existing group. Any pupil who is interested in joining is invited to call to Room 3 for more information.

MUSIC EVENTS:  A sincere word of thanks to Ms. Angela Reidy along with our Choir and Band Leaders for coordinating the music activities this term in our school.  Choir practise every Thursday after school and band practice takes place on Thursday during lunch time.  

• Ukelele Workshops: James Anglim gave ukulele workshops to classes, Juniors – 5th in November. He will return in January to do workshops with 6th classes. The feedback was very positive from the teachers. The children learned chords and were able to play a tune by the end of the lesson. These workshops were very worthwhile, educational with a big fun factor.
• Canadh le Chéile: Milford NS Choir participated in a fun Choral Festival on Thursday, 28th November. The event was hosted by Thomond NS. Barefield NS, Parteen NS and Clarecastle NS all took part in workshops for the day which included song singing, breathing exercises, warm ups , icebreakers, actions and rounds, and a finale with all choirs singing together. It was a lovely opportunity for school choirs to come together and enjoy singing in a non competitive way.
• Limerick Gospel Choir: Milford NS Choir was invited to perform in St. Michael’s church on Sunday, 8th December, in aid of Limerick Animal Welfare. It was a feast of Christmas songs and carols. The Gospel Choir performed their Christmas songs. The Milford Choir sang their repertoire beautifully. The Gospel Choir and Milford NS Choir came together at the end of the night to perform a medley of Christmas carols. The night brought some festive cheer and joyful sounds. 

CHRISTMAS PANTO: Junior Infants to Fourth Class enjoyed the Christmas panto, ‘Mother Goose’,  in U.C.H.  on Wednesday, this week.  Sincerest thanks to Ms. Olive Doody for coordinating this festive event for our pupils.

CHRISTMAS PAGEANTS & PERFORMANCES:  

• Junior and Senior Infant: Juniors and Seniors performed their nativity in the church for the school on the 4th December and for the parents on the 6th December. The children sang beautifully, telling the Christmas story so clearly. The school band accompanied and played the repertoire brilliantly.
• First and Second class: First and Second classes performed their nativity in the church for the school on the 4th December and for the parents on the 5th December.  Children sang all the traditional Christmas songs. The standard of singing and narrating was of a very high standard. The school band accompanied and played brilliantly.
• Choral Night: An evening of song and special guest appearances was held in the church on Tuesday, 10th December. Classes from 3rd – 5th performed a range of songs from traditional to pop. The audience was treated to a display of Irish dancing on stage.  Group singers delighted the crowd with sweet singing. Two boy band groups gave a wonderful display of song and dance on stage. Seán O’ Meara, a past pupil in the school, was the special guest. He performed his own composition. One of the highlights of the night was a surprise appearance by the male members on staff who sang and danced  to the Backstreet Boys!  A big thank you to Ms Orla Murray, Ms. Linda O’Meara, Ms Deirdre Taylor and Ms Angela Reidy for all your hard work in pulling the strings to make the Choral Night happen again this year.
• No One Wraps like an Elf: Sixth Classes performed their Christmas play, ‘No One Wraps like and Elf’ on Thursday 19th December.  It was fantastic to see all our 6th class pupils perform so confidently in front of their families and pupils from other classes.  A big thank you to the class teachers (Ms Mitchell, Ms Hayes and Mr Gallagher) so brilliantly. 
• Milford Hospice: Ms. Doody’s Second Class performed their Nativity for the patients and staff of Milford Hospice on Monday, 16th December. They were accompanied by Ms. Taylor, Ms. Ryan and Ms. Reidy.  A cheque for €300 was presented on behalf of Milford NS from funds raised on the Choral Night.

SWIMMING: Swimming will begin in 2025 for 1st to 6th class pupils.  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.  Please note that swimming is a compulsory component of the Revised Curriculum for Primary Schools.  The pupils in 4th, 5th and 6th classes will be timetabled to commence their lessons in January for an eight week block.  The pupils in 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes will begin their eight week block of lessons in March.  We will publish a timetable of the dates that your child will be swimming on Aladdin in advance of the lessons.

THANK YOU: It is with mixed emotions that I announce that Ms. Claire Quinlan, Classroom Teacher, has decided to resign her teaching position in our school. Claire’s professionalism and generosity in sharing her talents has enriched the lives of so many of our pupils. Claire’s enthusiasm in STEM activities, as well as her involvement in the Homework Club, coaching sports, Easter Camps and Summer Camps, have provided invaluable opportunities for our pupils to learn, grow, and thrive beyond the classroom.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank Claire for everything and to wish her the very best as she starts a new chapter in her life.  

BÍ CINEÁLTA: Earlier this term, the Department of Education published new guidelines  which will guide school communities to work together to prevent and address bullying behaviour in their schools. These procedures are called “Bí Cineálta” which means “Be Kind”.  Showing kindness and being kind to each other underpins these procedures and supports school environments that foster empathy and understanding. The focus in these procedures on restoring relationships after bullying behaviour has been displayed will help to rebuild trust, encourage accountability and a supportive school culture.  All schools in Ireland have until 1st September 2025 to have a Bí Cineálta Policy ratified.  Our school has staff inservice in relation to Bí Cineálta on Monday, 20th January.  School will close at 12 noon on this day.

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY REVIEW 2024

Notification regarding the Board of Management’s annual review of the anti-bullying policy

To: Milford N.S. School Community

The Board of Management of Milford 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 16/12/2024
• 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:  16/12/2024

Signed: Diarmaid Moore  Principal/Secretary to the BoM      Date:   16/12/2024

DATES TO NOTE:

• Christmas Closing – December 20th at 12 Noon. Infant Classes will be dispersed at 11:55am. School reopens on Monday, 6th January 2025.
• Half Day Closure (12pm) – Monday, 20th January Staff Inservice – Bí Cineálta Policy
• School Closure – Monday, 3rd February –  Public Holiday – St. Brigid’s Day
• School Closure – Thursday, 20th & Friday, 21st February – Mid Term Break
• School closure – Thursday, March 13th 2025 (Staff  Inservice – Numeracy)
• School Closure – Friday, 14th March & Monday, 17th March – St. Patrick’s Day Long Weekend
• Half Day Closure (12pm) – Monday, 24th March – Staff Meeting & staff inservice
• Confirmation Ceremony: Tuesday, 8th April 2025 
• First Holy Communion Ceremony: Saturday, 10th May 2025 

Before I conclude, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to our incredible staff. Their dedication, generosity, and volunteerism go far beyond the classroom & office walls. The countless hours spent planning, preparing, and practising for school activities, often outside of regular school hours, contribute significantly to the enriching experiences we offer our pupils.  I also wish to take this opportunity to thank you,  our parents & guardians, for your unwavering commitment to Milford National School and our pupils.  Your cooperation and support is greatly appreciated.

Wishing you and your family a very happy and peaceful Christmas.

Go raibh síocháin na Nollag agus na Bliana Nua  faoi shéan ‘s  faoi shonas ort ‘s ar do mhuintir!

Diarmaid Moore 

Principal