Scoil Bhride NS - Portlaoise

Our Olympic Hero’s Visit Scoil Bhride! | Scoil Bhride NS On Friday September 3rd, Scoil Bhríde warmly welcomed 3 of Ireland’s history making Olympians, Eimear Lambe, Aifric Keogh and Emily Hegarty. These 3 individuals made history as they were Ireland’s first ever women’s rowing crew to get a medal at an Olympic Games. Unfortunately the 4th member ...

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We would like to thank you for all your hard work and support with remote learning since Christmas. We know that it has not been easy and has involved making sacrifices and it has been demanding of your time and attention. We commend your commitment and persistence and know it will benefit your child(ren) in so many ways. We would also like to say how proud we are of all the pupils. You have produced some fantastic remote work since Christmas. From examining the blogs on Seesaw the amount of time, energy, thought and effort you have put in to various pieces of work is apparent. We thank the Staff of Scoil Bhride also. You have displayed your adaptability, creativity, abundant IT skills and dedication to the pupils. We hope the whole school community has a nice relaxing (screen free!) well deserved midterm break. Our sincere hope is that we will all be back in school learning face to face in the near future. Take care and stay safe.
Mr Fennell Deputy Principal

Dear Parent/Guardian,

I hope this message finds you and your family safe and well. As you may be aware the government have indicated that school will remain closed for a further period and that remote teaching and learning will continue for all pupils, Once again your support, effort and contribution to remote learning is much appreciated. Our hope is in years to come when we look back at this difficult time,that your child will thank you for all the educational support you gave them and also be appreciative of all the sacrifices you made "keeping the show on the road" in the home. Its not easy being a mammy/daddy, Homemaker, Worker, Carer & Seesaw Expert all at once! Please look after your own wellbeing and ensure you get quality down time.

Well done to all the pupils on the tremendous remote work during the week. There were many fabulous submissions of work and it was very evident that a lot of time, thought and effort went in to them. Last week we informed you that 90% of pupils were engaging with Seesaw. This has increased to 93% this week! Again we urge those who have not engaged with their teacher to do so. Please start off small and build on the work day by day. Routine is so important in these challenging times. Schoolwork should be part of every pupils routine. You will find a short clip on the importance of routine here: https://youtu.be/jYdNzUo9m4Q

There are encouraging signs that the COVID situation is improving. This is down to all our collective efforts. Please continue to adhere to Public Health Advice (Handwashing, Social Distance, Wearing Face Covering, Limiting Interaction, Stay At Home etc). The quicker the situation improves the better chance we have of getting back to school.

We are here to help and support you in whatever way we can. If you have a problem/issue/query please contact the teacher via Seesaw written message or voice recording. You may also phone Ms Meade, 086 7901799 during school hours. You may also be able to send the teacher a message via Aladdin Noticeboard.

Enjoy the weekend with your family and stay safe.

Thanking you,

Mr Fennell Deputy Principal

Parents Guide Supporting your child's daily routine while schools are closed

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Once again we hope that you and your family are safe and well. We commend all the pupils for the magnificent remote work that was completed this week. We thank all parents/guardians for continuing to support their child's remote learning. This week we examined the engagement level with remote learning throughout the whole school. It was great to discover that nearly 90% of pupils at the school are engaging with their learning. We would encourage those pupils and families who have not engaged yet to engage to some extent next week. If you need help or support please message the teacher via Seesaw or phone 086 7901799 during school hours. We will do our utmost to support you. Our hope is that we will return to school soon. Until we do get back to school, every pupil needs to remain connected with their learning.

Enjoy the weekend and hopefully from Monday next we will see more pupils reconnecting with their teacher(s) via Seesaw.

Thanking you,

Mr Fennell Deputy Principal.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Unfortunately we are in a place where nobody wants to be at this time. All members of the school community, parents, pupils and staff would have liked for face to face school to have resumed this morning. Remote teaching recommenced today for all classes. We ask that your child does his/her best at this for the coming weeks. We totally understand that households are busy, vibrant, hectic places and that everybody's home circumstance may be different. Please do not allow remote teaching and learning add to your stress or anxiety. We are here to help, assist and support you. If you are experiencing any difficulties or issues please contact the teacher directly via Seesaw. You can also email the school at [email protected]. Our Home School Liaison Coordinator Ms Meade is available to help and support during school hours at 086 7901799. During the previous school closure there was some fantastic work completed by pupils and I am confident that it will be the same for this closure. Thank you to all the parents/guardians who collected books/workpacks/resources at the school today. Your presence in huge numbers today at the school attests to your dedication and commitment to support your child's continued learning in a remote context. We commend you for this. During this closure pupils will learn many valuable lessons apart from those on the formal curriculum. They will develop empathy, build up resilience, gain an insight in to the complexity of parents working from home and running a home concurrently. They may can a realisation of the importance of caring and looking out for others (siblings, vulnerable relatives etc). These lessons of life are invaluable and will stand all our pupils in good stead in years to come.
Look after yourselves. We hope you and your family stay safe and well. Please do reach out to us if we can help or support you in any way.
Thanking you,
Mr Fennell Deputy Principal.

The following is a list of school closures for the school year 2020-2021
SCHOOL REOPENS – Monday August 31st 2020

School Calendar 2020 -2021 | Scoil Bhride NS

Dear Parents/ Guardians, Here are the Booklists for 2020/21! They will stay up on the school website and be sent to you to Aladdin Connect also. Hope you all have a lovely summer!

Booklists for all classes 2020/21 | Scoil Bhride NS Please ensure that each of your child’s workbooks, copies, folders and pencils/markers are labelled clearly with your child’s name, before returning to school!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents/guardians for their continued support and cooperation throughout this year. We have experienced a school year like no other. It has been strange, surreal and difficult. We have all been confronted by many difficulties and challenges. We have met those challenges head on and found ways to resolve them and make things better. I commend you all for your resilience, perseverance, patience and persistence. Thank you for supporting your child’s learning at home since March 12th and for your communication with teachers to ensure your child maintained a connect with school and learning. Learning has been very different since school closed. While you may have endeavoured to continue with formal learning in areas like English, Mathematics etc your child may have learned many valuable informal lessons. These lessons of life are one of the positive offshoots of the pandemic. Your child may now be more creative and have more empathy. They may have enjoyed more family connection and time together. They may belong to the generation who know how to cook, organise their space, do the laundry and keep a well run home. Above all they may see you in a different light and be more appreciative of all you do to support them. After all you were the ‘Home Frontline Workers’ who were, cooking, cleaning, shopping, entertaining, schooling, caring for others and possibly working from home.
I hope you all have an enjoyable relaxing summer holiday. Hopefully the situation with COVID 19 will continue to evolve in a positive direction and that we will all be back in school together at the end of August. We will keep you informed of developments as they unfold.
Thanking you,
Mr Fennell (Deputy Principal)

Time to Say Goodbye.
Today is a very special day for all the sixth class pupils of Scoil Bhride N.S.. It is the day when you close the chapter on your primary education. Unfortunately this year you are not going to experience it in the ways you may have liked to—signing school shirts, bidding farewell to your school and teachers and most importantly expressing tearful goodbyes with your classmates. You have been one big family for the last eight years. You have grown and developed together over the years in so many ways. Your Junior Infant teachers, Mrs Prendergast, Ms Halpin, Ms Martin and Mr Fingleton ignited the flame of learning and since then other teachers with your parents/guardians have nurtured this flame and have ensured that it still burns and shines brightly. On behalf of all the sixth class pupils I extend sincere thanks to all the school staff and parents/guardians. They have made you what you are. You are all very special and unique. You have all been blessed with various talents. Today our future engineers, pilots, nurses, doctors, mechanics, painters, scientists etc close the door on their primary education. In September another door opens and a new adventure begins. We wish all our pupils every good wish at second level. We have instilled in you the importance of looking out for each other. We have highlighted the importance of saying ‘no’ for you. If you are being asked to get involved in something that you don’t like or that makes you feel uncomfortable, say ‘no’ and walk away. If you experience problems, share them with somebody close to you that you trust. There is no problem that cannot be shared and solved. If anybody at Scoil Bhride N.S. can assist you in any way in the future, come back and talk to us. My door is always open. Do not be a stranger.
Finally to each and every sixth class pupil I say ‘Believe in yourself’. Since you came to Scoil Bhride N.S. in August 2012, we have never stopped believing in you. This belief has been justified because you all have been fantastic ambassadors for your school and family.
May God bless you all with every good wish.
Mr Fennell (Deputy Principal)

PS We will hopefully see you all back in school in Term 1 of the new school year for your graduation. We feel it is more meaningful to be able to say goodbye face to face and in person. We will keep you informed about the graduation which is likely to be on a Friday afternoon, as you all finish secondary school early on Fridays.

Here is the last 'Programme of Work' for this year! Take some time to complete the virtual sports day challenges set by each of the teachers! We'd love to see your videos and pictures of the children trying to beat their teachers! Have fun and take care! (p.s. - find out who their teacher is for next year in each class post!)

Programmes of Work for all classes. 22th – 26th June | Scoil Bhride NS Well done to everyone for keeping up with the weekly work over the last few months. We are delighted with the amount of work that all the children have completed while at home! You can find the LAST ‘Guideline of Work’ for your child/children below. Along with the final few bits of work, we have...

Second last week of the school term! Hopefully the children enjoy the mix of fun activities and the last few bits of work that left! Keep those pics and videos coming.... 🥰🤩

Programmes of Work for all classes. 15th – 19th June | Scoil Bhride NS Well done to everyone for keeping up with the weekly work. You are all doing an amazing job! 🙂 Please click the relevant link to view programme(s) of work for your child/children.

Aladdin Connect
Thank you to over 400 families who have registered and set up for Aladdin Connect. If you are one of these families please download the Aladdin Connect App. There are however over 100 families that are not yet set up. Again we request that you register and get set up now. Next week we will be sending the end of school reports for all pupils via Connect. If you have any issues with registering or setting up, please email us at [email protected] and we will endeavour to assist you with setting up.

Here is a fantastic workshop that you could try with your children! We would love to see your creations and if you could get them to fly high in the sky!!

Let’s go fly a kite: Fly like a bird kite making workshop | Scoil Bhride NS As part of DCCI’s ‘Let’s go fly a kite’ programme join us for a series of live kite making workshops. Make sure you have a kite ready to take to the skies on 13th June 2020 as part of Cruinniu na nOg!

It is coming to the end of the school year and we are hoping everyone keeps up the great engagement for a few more weeks with the work and fun activities from their teachers! Keep sending in your pics, videos and messages through the class email. We love hearing from you all!

Programmes of Work for all classes. 8th – 12th June | Scoil Bhride NS

Aladdin Connect
Thank you to all parents/guardians who have signed up and set up Aladdin Connect. Over 60% of parents/guardians have completed the sign up. However there are over 200 pupils who are not on Connect yet. We urge these families to complete the sign up immediately. It is important that all families are on Connect as we will be getting vital school information to you via Connect in the coming weeks. If you know some family that has not registered please encourage them to do so. Perhaps you may even be able to assist them in the process. If you encounter difficulties or didnt get a sign up text message, please email us at scoil-bhride.com. Thank you.

Aladdin Connect
We would like to clarify that we are not using Aladdin Connect at this time to send you home learning activities for your child. When you log on to Aladdin Connect you won't see much at the moment. We will be building up the information for you over time. Soon you will get app messages/booklists for next year. In mid June you will get your child's end of year report via Aladdin Connect. In September we will roll out more features for you such as Test results, Attendance, Booking slots at Parent Teacher Meetings, Submitting absence reasons, School Holiday Calendar and much more. For now continue to set up Connect from the text message you got today. There are now over 200 families set up since midday today.

We hope that you all enjoyed the recent great weather and that you experienced quality family time during it.We have 4 weeks to go to the Summer holidays. We would encourage all pupils to continue with their home learning activities and to keep going right to the year end on June 30th. You have been brilliant since school closed on March 12th and have embraced your new ways of learning very positively. For those who have not been in contact with teachers it is not too late. We would still love to hear from you.
Once again sincere thanks to all parents/guardians who have encouraged/supported and engaged in home learning. We know that it has not been easy trying to juggle everything but your dedication and efforts will stand your child(ren) in good stead when hopefully we return to school after the summer.

Connect Update
One hour after sending out set up details and already 119 are set up on the Connect App. Well done to all.

Aladdin Connect

We sent out access details to all parents/guardians this morning by text message. If you did not get a text message to allow you set up Aladdin Connect please email us at [email protected] and we will get it sorted for you. We would encourage you to set up your account immediately as we will be communicating with you frequently through Connect from now on. Please download the Connect App as we will be sending you app messages regularly. Please spread the word to other parents/guardians and encourage them to get started on Connect as soon as they can.
Connect will enhance communication between us and you and vice versa. Already we have had numerous Connect messages from various people looking to update key details for their child(ren).
We thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

We have put more learning activities on the school website for all pupils for the coming short week. Please send in your child's work to the teacher for feedback. The activities are available at the following link or on the school website as usual. www.scoil-bhride.com

Programmes of Work for all classes. 2nd – 5th June | Scoil Bhride NS

The Family Breathing Space for teachers, SNAs and Parents

In these unprecedented times we find ourselves in, it is more important than ever before that both parents and children can find a space each day to pause, breathe and allow the mind and body to just be. Gather the family and come join Paula Byrne for some calm and cosy time as she creates a breathing space for all the family to enjoy. Paula will guide you and your children through how to set up a relaxing space that your child can engage with every day, along with how to create a thoughts and feelings box which can be useful for checking in with those emotions and thoughts that may be difficult to express right now. She will also guide you and your family through a soothing meditation designed for children but that adults will definitely benefit from too!



Date: Tuesday 2nd June 2020

Time: 7-8pm

Facilitator: Paula Byrne, Primary Teacher & Breathing Space Ireland Facilitator

GAA Fun Activity Session for Teachers, SNAs and Families

Laois GAA games development staff, Jason Coffey and Peter Hally will be hosting a LIVE online interactive FUN session for all the family in association with Laois Education Centre Wellness Week for the School Community. It is important to stay active and this is a great opportunity to be active and have fun at the same time. The only equipment required is a ball (ideally a football, but any ball will do). All activities will be done in a small area so can be done both inside or out in the garden. The session will be hosted on Microsoft TEAM. To Register please complete the following Link - Click here for registration form



Date: Tuesday 2nd June 2020

Time: 12– 12.30pm

Facilitator: Jason Coffey and Peter Hally, Laois GAA games development staff,

Booking: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hrxFrNSvpUKfwz6H4bd_zq1QNm6MpKRNi6V7TSN84c5UMDk2R1ZKUE1KU1I3RkxaMktRNzdCSEIyWi4u

Microsoft Forms

Family Baking Demo with Kater4Kidz for Teachers, SNAs & Parents

As part of Wellbeing Week, join Laois Education Centre and Kater4kidz Cookery School for some FUN Cook Along sessions at 11.00am on Tuesday 2nd, Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th June. Practice your cooking skills to make Wonderful Whoopie Pies, Fantastic Flapjacks and Ridiculously Good Rocky Road Muffins. Then sit back and enjoy the delicious taste of your own home made treats.

Date: Tuesday 2nd, Wednesday 3rd & Thursday 4th June 2020

Time: 11 – 11.20am

Facilitator: Mary Harte, kater4kidz

Booking:

Below please see parent and family webinars for Wellbeing Week for the School Community 2nd -5th June 2020, we would appreciate if you would share with the parents in your school.



All our live webinars are available to book on our website www.laoisedcentre.ie and we have scheduled Tweets at various times on wellbeing topics, including podcasts and relevant content from PDST. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest news on events over the course of this week.



Tuesday 2nd June

11-11.20 am

Family Baking Demo with Kater4Kidz

Teachers SNAs & Families






12.00 pm

Scheduled Tweet - Midday Moment on Twitter

Teachers, SNAs and Parents




12–12.30 pm

GAA Fun Activity Session

Teachers, SNAs & Families




7-8 pm

Family Breathing Space with Paula Byrne (Breathing Space Ireland)

Teachers SNAs & Families




9 pm

Scheduled Podcast – Guided Meditation via Twitter

Teachers, SNAs and Parents











Wednesday 3rd June

11-11.20 am

Family Baking Demo with Kater4Kidz

Teachers SNAs & Families




12.00 pm

Scheduled Tweet - Midday Moment on Twitter

Teachers, SNAs and Parents




9 pm

Scheduled Podcast – Guided Meditation via Twitter

Teachers SNAs & Parents

Thursday 4th June

11-11.20 am

Family Baking Webinar with Kater4Kidz

Teachers SNAs & Families




12.00 pm

Scheduled Tweet - Midday Moment on Twitter

Teachers, SNAs & Parents




9 pm

Scheduled Podcast – Guided Meditation via Twitter

Teachers, SNAs & Parents











Friday 5th June

12.00 pm

Scheduled Tweet - Midday Moment on Twitter

Teachers, SNAs and Parents




9 pm

Scheduled Podcast – Guided Meditation via Twitter

Teachers, SNAs and Parents

Welcome - Laois Education Centre CPD Courses

End of Year School Reports
Reports for all pupils will issue in mid June. This year we will be sending the reports to you on Aladdin Connect. Please make sure that you get set up on Aladdin Connect next week. School reports this year provide information on your child(ren)s learning from September 2019 to March 12th 2020 when schools closed.

Aladdin Connect
Next week we will be sending all parents/guardians a link and access code to set themselves up on Aladdin Connect. Going forward it will be or main commnication conduit with parents. It is very important that every family is set up on Aladdin Connect. We will be sending all pupil End of Year reports to you via Aladdin Connect in mid June. For now please ensure to email the school at [email protected] within the next few days if you have recently changed mobile phone number or if you have any concerns or legal provisions around giving access to contact details for your child to another parent/guardian of that child. We will alert you here on Facebook when links and access codes have been sent to you by text..

OH WOW, our very own Dale from Music Generation Laois will be on Home School Hub Tuesday 26th and Thursday the 28th May! Our 3rd Class know Dale well, he has worked wonders with them this year! Tune in to see him!

MUSIC GENERATION LAOIS ON RTE HOME SCHOOL HUB!! Our wonderful percussion tutor Dale Mckay will be representing Music Generation Laois on RTÉ2's Home School Hub.

Dale McKay is a 24 yr old Portlaoise native, and has been playing Bodhran and Drums with local bands 'Harpanno' and 'Soul Beats' for 5 years. Dale also toured extensively with Celtic Legends and Rhythm Of The Dance, before joining Music Generation Laois.

Now Dale is one of 17 dedicated musicians who tutor with Music Generation Laois weekly. Dale also works with our friends in Music Generation Carlow.

To catch Dale in action, Tune in next Tuesday 26th and Thurs 28th at 11am RTE2 'Home School Hub' - Get ready to join in some Beat Box and Free Style Beat Box Rhythms with Dale and find out more at https://www.musicgenerationlaois.ie/| | Macalla Teo@Macalla Teoranta |
Dale Mckay Percussion
Portlaoise Linkup Martleys of Portlaoise LaoisToday Laois People Laois County Council Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board Music Generation Music Generation Carlow Arts Council Ireland Laois Local News

We really want 1st, 2nd & 3rd class to help create an epic virtual performance for the School's Out for Summer Concert 2020 with Music Generation Laois Click the link to find out how to participate and get more details! 🥳

School’s Out for Summer Concert 2020 | Scoil Bhride NS The End of Year Concert normally takes place in June in a very exciting location, with about 400 children from Laois taking part. It is always a great experience for the children, parents, teachers and singing instructors. This year, it will be be a virtual performance of ‘I Wanna Be Like You’.