Dear Parents,   

Thank you parents so much for your continued support and cooperation throughout this year.  With the lifting of restrictions, school life for the pupils and staff is getting back to normal.   Pods and bubbles are no longer required and social distancing doesn’t need to be adhered to.  Groupings can now be mixed from different class settings  and extra curricular activities are  starting up again.  Mask wearing is completely a personal and individual decision and is optional for staff & pupils alike.   

Split breaks, yard allocations, protocols for arrival and exiting of buildings will remain in place until the end of June.  We will also continue with hand washing, ventilation, cleaning and sanitising procedures for the moment. 

The requirement to stay at home if you have symptoms remains – for students and staff alike. One of the key messages to manage the risks of COVID-19 is to do everything practical to avoid the introduction of COVID-19 into the school.  If infection is not introduced it cannot be spread.  As part of the transition arrangements the HSE will continue with the current processes to support the provision of antigen tests to primary schools, special schools and childcare settings when there is a confirmed case in a class.  Parents should continue to contact the school if their child receives a positive Covid-19 result. 

Some notices…

Drumming Workshop:  Urs Wenke is a Drumming Instructor who will be visiting our school on Thursday, 10th March and Friday, 11th March.  Pupils in all classes will have the opportunity to participate in the drumming workshops.  The workshops are an interactive class, focusing on rhythm and beat and a bit of fun along the way!  Many thanks to Ms. Angela Reidy for coordinating the visit.

Lá Glas Green Day – Wednesday, 16th March 2022:  Children are invited to wear an item of green clothing with their school tracksuits for Lá Glas. (**N.B. No Wigs, Headbands or Flags Please**). 

Down Syndrome Awareness Day: Milford N.S. Down Syndrome Awareness Day will  take place on Monday, 21st March. Children and staff are invited to wear fun and colourful socks on this day.  The ‘Lots of Socks’ campaign represents the extra chromosome that people with Down syndrome have and is internationally recognised to raise awareness about Down syndrome.

Swimming: We are pleased to announce that swimming for pupils in 4th, 5th and 6th Class will resume next week for a five week block.  Due to the limited number of available slots at the pool we are unable to offer swimming lessons to pupils in the younger classes this school year.

Policy Update: At our recent Board of Management meeting, the Board ratified the Anti-Bullying Policy and the Substance Use Policy.  Sincerest thanks to everyone who contributed time and energy in reviewing  both policies.

Rise and Shine Club: The Rise and Shine morning club is now taking names for September 2022. The morning club is an early drop off facility which is  supervised by Ms. Emma Dolphin and Ms. Geraldine Mitchell and runs Monday to Friday from 7:50am – 8:45am. Please contact emma.dolphin@milfordns.ie or geraldine.mitchell@milfordns.ie with any queries. 

Lost & Found: A large number of school uniform items and coats are currently in the Lost & Found box which is located outside the door of the Afterschool facility. The majority of these items are not labelled, which makes it extremely difficult to return the item to its owner.  Please label every item belonging to your child, including their bags and lunchboxes and particularly outerwear items: coats, hats, scarves, gloves and school uniform & tracksuit jumpers.  We have secured a discount code for our school, on the MyNametags.ie website. The name tags are suitable for clothing, bags, lunchboxes and so on. Please enter the code LABELALL20 at the checkout page and it will give a 20% discount.  Many thanks to Ms. Orla Murray for securing the discount and for managing the Lost & Found box.

Communion and Confirmation: The Sacrament dates for this year are as follows:

• Confession Date is Thursday, 24th March
• Communion Date is Saturday, 14th May
• Confirmation Date is Friday, 27th May

MNS News Team: Mr Gallagher’s 6th Class pupils have established  their very own MNS NEWS STATION.  They research fascinating topics and interview some of the most interesting people in all kinds of industries.  The News Station is published on the school website.  The MNS News team have recently interviewed Irish athlete Ciara Nevill and the Irish Ambassador to Tanzania, Ms. Mary O’Neill.  Next week’s special edition is in relation to women in sports.  The news team will interview Rachel Blackmore and some of the teachers in MNS to discuss what sports they love to participate in.

Internet Safety: The school has booked internet safety seminars for pupils in 3rd – 6th Class.  A parent internet safety seminar is scheduled to take place via Zoom on Tuesday 29th March (7pm-8pm).  The seminars will be delivered by Zeeko.  Zeeko is an Irish company based at Nova UCD whose mission is to teach Internet Safety to Children, Parents, Teachers and Corporate Ireland, creating a world where young people can safely benefit from Technology and the Internet. Many thanks to Ms. Linda O’Meara for organising the seminars.

Summer Closing Date:   As a result of the recent Government announcement regarding a new Public Holiday, our school will now close for the summer holidays  on 23/06/2022.   

Important Dates:  

School will be closed on 17th & 18th March.  School will close for the Easter Holidays on Friday, 8th April (noon closure).

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Diarmaid Moore

Principal