Thursday Newsletter 22/01/2026

Dear Parents and Guardians/A Thuismitheoirí agus a Chaomhnóirí,

Tiarnán O’Donnell – Irish Paralympian Visits to the School

A huge thanks to Tiarnán for taking so much time out of his busy daily schedule to share his inspiring life story. The key messages were fantastic. He talked about the importance of family and valuing family and those who support us; consistently showing up and putting in our best efforts; eating well; resting/sleeping; and working well with others as a good team player. Another key message was celebrating and being proud of difference. He is a super role model for all of us, full of courage and resilience and captured the audience brilliantly. Well done to the children for their excellent engagement and questions. Huge thanks to Lisa who organised this entirely. 

We were so lucky today to welcome Paralympic athlete Tiarnán O’Donnell to our school. The children were full of excitement as they met him and proudly showed off the Paralympic torches they had made as Tiarnán shared his inspirational story. He reminded us of a very important lesson: never give up and always believe in yourself!

 Please click below to watch some conversations with Tiarnán with the children in 2^nd class and click here to see Tiarnán’s arrival in the hall.

• Hugo’s Conversation
• Hugo & Tiarnán Chatting
• Sadie’s Conversation
• Albie’s Conversation
• Ragnar’s Conversation
• Eira’s Conversation

Click here to view lots more photos taken with Tiarnán.

Digital Device Policy Draft

Thank you for your feedback. We are happy with this policy however we are allowing one more week for further feedback (click here to read). We welcome this shift away from Primary aged children having personal phones and as per the Circular and this policy, personal phones are banned in school for all children.



The Acceptable Use Policy was ratified at the Board meeting last night (click here to read). Please see pupil rules for responsible internet use within this policy and where appropriate discuss with your child. 

And More!

Rang Naomi/ Aoife with rang Emma for a shared art activity for friendship week. Rang a ceathair taught their buddies how to draw an Arctic fox as rang Emma were learning about the Arctic.

Ross’s First Class enjoyed learning about some famous artists with Caroline and produced some excellent artwork along the way!

Road Safety Week 26th to 30th January!

We will be running another Road Safety campaign next week (26-30th Jan) at drop off (8.40) to help everyone follow the school traffic plan. We would like to remind pedestrians, cyclists and car drivers in particular to slow down and pay attention while moving around the school grounds.

The school's traffic plan ensures the safety of our children getting to school.

• All drivers are reminded that the passage of walkers and cyclists takes precedence over vehicles.
• Drivers should yield to pedestrians and cyclists at the school access, on the internal streets, in drop-off and pick-up areas and in parking zones. 

Drop-off/Pick-up Zones – Please Do Not Park Here

To ensure safe and efficient circulation, drop-off and pick-up activities should be completed promptly.

• Parking or extended stopping are not permitted in drop-off and pick-up zones
• No stopping or parking on the roundabout!
• The NSAI / DCU Alpha Campus access road should not be used for either drop-off or pick-up parking.
• Allocated Parking for ASD Pupils and School Staff
• Parking spaces allocated for use by ASD pupils have been shown in yellow on the map
• Parking spaces allocated for use by staff have been shown in green on the map
• If you wish to volunteer get in touch with your class rep or email [email protected]
• And remember that everyone helping out is a parent/guardian volunteer - please be courteous!

Some other dates for your diary:

The PTA is currently working on this next term's events. 

Walk 

Our Annual School Sponsored walk will take place on Sunday the 8th March starting and finishing at the school with some refreshments and chats. We welcome all of our school community to join us and get moving for this fantastic annual fundraising event. 

Table Quiz

And the biggest night out of the year, our Table Quiz will take place in Na Fianna on Saturday the 18th April! Last year was a huge success and great craic. We hope to see you all there again this year!! If you or someone you know owns a business and want to sponsor a round or donate some raffle prizes please contact us at [email protected] 

More information on both to follow. 

Reminders

• School Calendar for Academic Year 2025-2026
• Note early closure for staff meeting on Wednesday 28^th January at 1:20pm.
• School Closed on 27^th February for Primary Curriculum Day 1 training

Frása na Seachtaine:

“Slán go fóill! Slán!” – “Goodbye for now! Goodbye!”

Le meas,

Róisín Conlon

Príomh Oide