St. Laurence's News

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

It is hard to believe we have reached June. The school year is flying by and the good weather this week has made school days brighter too, with the children enjoying so many outdoor activities. I know there is lots more fun to come.

It was lovely to see so many of you this morning for our last Fáilte Friday of this school year. The children love to show their brilliant work in all areas of the curriculum.

Please see below some updates from school life.

Annual Fundraising Day – This day last week our whole school community came together for this wonderful event. The day ran from early in the morning until late in the night. The atmosphere across the whole day was magic. On behalf of myself, the Board of Management and the staff I want to say a massive thank you to the fundraising Committee who worked tirelessly for weeks to ensure we all had a great day and that much needed funds were raised for the school. We are truly grateful to them. We are looking forward to next year already!

Smartphone Pledge – Just a reminder to complete the smartphone pledge form that was sent to everyone by the Parent’s Association this week. The form will remain open until Friday, 9 June at 3pm. To date there has been an overwhelming response. Please remember to complete a form for every child you have in the school. 

Amber Flag – We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the AMBER FLAG. This flag is given to schools who show they have excelled in the area of wellbeing. We are so proud of this achievement and I want to say a huge thank you to our Amber Flag Committee, Ms. Dawson, Ms. O’ Brien, Ms. Mc Loughlin, Jonathon and Linda for all their work on this and for helping to create a culture of wellbeing in the school where kindness is central to all we do.

Water Safety Talk – This week Water Safety Ireland came to the school and spoke to the children about water safety. We all know how much children love swimming but it so important that they are aware of staying safe while in the water. The Water Safety Team also brought a rescue boat to the school to show the children.

Assembly – We had a wonderful assembly this morning and the whole school attended. The Student Council did a fantastic job explaining their school vision to everyone. A huge part of this vision is developing a motto for our school. Next week all classes will have a chance to create a motto. The winning motto will be picked by the Student Council.

Basketball – Our 5th and 6th class basketball teams had the opportunity to play a match against Greystones Educate Together yesterday. Well done to them and their coaches Helen and Ms. Nolan.

Cumann na mBunscol – A large number of our pupils will partake in this athletics and sports event on Wednesday, 7 June in Shoreline, Greystones. They will participate with other schools from Wicklow. We wish them every success on the day.

School Tours – Our annual school tours will all start very soon. The children are super excited about these tours. They are always one of the highlights of the school year.

Vapping – Vapping is fast becoming a huge health issue for young people and is a cause of concern for us, the community and the country. Please find a letter attached from the HSE about vapping. I would ask everyone to read this and to be aware of the dangers.

Finally, I wish you all a lovely extra-long Bank Holiday weekend. Enjoy the beautiful weather and have lots of fun with your amazing children. We will see you all on Wednesday morning.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin,

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

Life has been full to the brim here in St. Laurence’s over the past two weeks. The children have been busy inside the classroom and outdoors. They are enjoying all the different activities that the summer term brings.

Please see below some updates from school life.

• Annual Fundraiser – Our annual fundraising event takes place next Friday 26, May. The excitement is building and I know the committee have been working day and night to ensure we all have a lovely day. In school on the day we will have JERSEY DAY. All children and staff are encouraged to wear a jersey and to donate a coin to help raise money for the school. There will be coffee and treats on the morning in The Grove Bar, the golfers will be teeing off early and the dinner dance will take place that evening in Delgany Golf Club. It will be a jammed packed day full of excitement and fun and we are really looking forward to it.

• Delgany Schools Cup - Huge congratulations to the 5th and 6th class pupils who represented the school in the Delgany Schools' Golf Cup in Delgany Golf Club on Monday, 15th May. Eight of our pupils took part in the annual competition with the St. Laurence's boys team taking 1st place in the nine hole scramble and the the St. Laurence's girls coming in 2nd place in their competition. We are so proud of them all.

• Horse Riding – Our Autism class have started horse riding in Equisteps, Spruce Lodge near Redcross. They are really loving the experience and spending time with the horses. This is a wonderful opportunity for the children.

• Girls 5-A-Side football – Our girls football team had a great day at the Leinster Final. Things didn’t go their way on the day but they played brilliantly and we are very proud of them.

• First Holy Communion – Last Sunday our Second Classes had their First Holy Communion. They had a super day and the party back at the school was really special. All second class children were invited and it was lovely to see parents, grandparents and extended families celebrating together. I want to say huge thank you to the Communion Committee who organised the party in the school. We really appreciate all their work to make it such a special day for everyone.

• Confirmation - Tomorrow our 6th class children will make their Confirmation. All 6th class children and their families are invited back to the school for a party after the ceremonies. The Confirmation committee have been working so hard for this event tomorrow. Thank you to all of them.

• Smart Phone - Voluntary Code – The local primary schools are working with their Parents Associations to develop a “No Smartphone Voluntary Code”. We are all aware of the power of social media and how it can affect our children. I am meeting with a group of parents next Thursday morning to discuss this and how we want this voluntary code to look for our school. If anyone is interested in coming to the meeting please email: stlaurencesnspa@gmail.com

• Gymnastics – The gymnastics proved to be such a success that we decided to offer it to other classes in the school. Currently our Senior Infants and 4th class children are enjoying gymnastics classes with Mark and their teachers in the hall.

• Ms. Coleman’s 5th class – On Monday Ms. Coleman’s 5th class had a visit from RTE for World Bee Day. They have done amazing work for this. RTE were really impressed and the class will be on News2day on RTE 2 at 4:20pm this afternoon. Well done to them.

• Droichead – Our 6th class children will join other local schools in the area on Monday in Eire Óg for a day of fun filled activities. They will have the opportunity to meet with other students who will be going to the same secondary school as them. We wish them a great day.

• Kindlestown House - Following a fire last week at Kindlestown House(the big house adjacent to the school), it has been brought to our attention that the house poses a health and safety risk. Some of our children use it as a short cut home and have been seen entering the house. We would ask that parents talk to their children and encourage them to walk home via the correct school exit at the top of the car park yard. 

Finally, just a reminder if anyone would like to drop some treats for the Confirmation party they can be brought to the school tomorrow between 9am and 10am. Thanking you in advance for your support for this.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Kind regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Congratulations to the 6th class girls who participated in the LEINSTER FINAL of the SPAR FAI five-a-side competition on Wednesday, 10 May in Navan, Co. Meath. 

Click here to read all about the St. Laurence’s girls' journey to the Leinster Finals.

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

We were delighted to see so many of you this morning for our Fáilte Friday. The children were super excited to be able to show some of the amazing work that they are doing. Our next Fáilte Friday will be Friday, 2 June. This will be our last Fáilte Friday of this school year. The time is flying by.

Please see below some updates from school life.

• Girls Football Team – We are thrilled to let you know that our girls 5 Aside Football Team won the South Leinster Championship yesterday and they are now through to the Leinster final in Navan next Wednesday, 10 May. We wish them and their coaches, Mr. Meaney and Mr. Dunne every success. If the girls win they will be in the All Ireland Final and the match will be played in the Aviva Stadium. The excitement is building!

• Student Council – Our Student Council have been working so hard with Mrs. Uí Bhroin, Mr. Conlon and Jonathon to develop a plan for the students’ vision for the school. I met with them yesterday and they presented their thoughts and ideas to me. I can honestly say that I was super impressed with all the work they have done. They spoke so eloquently and their love of the school shone through, which was so lovely to see. They have so many wonderful ideas on how we can continue to make St. Laurence’s the best school for every child that walks in the door. I will ask the Student Council to write an email to all the parents/guardians and explain their plans. They created some amazing art work for this too. Well done to all involved.

• School Vision – As you are all aware we are working on our school vision for the next five years. It is very important that parents have their voices heard too. I emailed a survey to you on 27 April. Thank you to all those who responded and for all your lovely kind words and suggestions. If you wish to complete the survey you can click this link https://forms.gle/N1rKdrWxYL8PD2xY7. The survey will close on Monday, 8 May at 3:30pm. Once we collate all the information we will provide feedback.

• Junior Infant Information Evening – on Tuesday, 9 May we are looking forward to welcoming our incoming Junior Infant parent(s)/guardian(s) to the school. On the night our Student Council will also be there to represent the student voice in the school. This is always a very special evening for us.

• Annual Fundraising Day – Our annual fundraising day is fast approaching and the fundraising committee are working day and night to ensure we all have a great day. A huge thank you to them. All families in the school have received raffle tickets and we would be grateful if you could return them to the school as soon as possible.

• French Day – Our 4th classes have been celebrating all things French today following their in-depth study of France. The children arrived to school today in the French colours and are enjoying sampling some lovely French cuisine, as well as embracing the French culture.

• World Bee Day – Ms. Coleman’s 5th class will be learning all about the lives and importance of bees in our community to celebrate World Bee Day. As a result of this wonderful initiative RTÉ children’s news program “News2Day” will be sending a film crew out on Monday, 15th May to film the children. It will be a very engaging and exciting experience for the children. We will let you all know when the programme will be aired.

• Mrs. Quinn’s 3rd class – All classes in the school had assembly this morning. At the assembly Mrs. Quinn’s 3rd class delivered a beautiful prayer service reminding us that May is the month of Mary, a month when we also remember that summer is coming.

• Free School Books – As you are aware all primary school children will receive free school books for September 2023. We are currently finalising our book lists and all books and copies will be ordered to the school. We will be in touch with more details about this shortly. Parents/guardians will be asked to provide their children with a pencil case and stationery for September.

• First Holy Communion – Next weekend on Sunday, 14 May our second class children will be making their First Holy Communion. This is a very exciting time for them. Some children may not be making their Holy Communion but they are very welcome to come to the church on the day and/or the party back in the school after. A huge thank you to the Communion committee of parents who are working hard to make the party in the school a special occasion for the children and their families.

• Summer months - As the weather gets warmer the children love to take off their school jumpers! We would be grateful if the children's names could be written on their jumpers so we can return the correct jumper to the correct child. We would also be grateful if the children could bring an extra beaker of water to school on the hot days that we hope are ahead!

Finally I wish you all a lovely weekend. Let’s hope we get some nice summer sunshine.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Earth Day was celebrated in the school last Friday, 21 April. Congratulations and well done to our Earth Day competition winners. Click here for a photo.

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

We have just finished our first week of the third term and the sunshine has brought a summer feel to all of us here in St. Laurence’s. The children have been enjoying the chance to wear their shorts, sunglasses and sunhats! 

It has been a busy week here in school. Please find below some updates from school life.

• We are thrilled to let you know that our girls 6th class football team have qualified for the FAI 5-A-Side South Leinster final following a great victory this week which made them Wicklow Champions. They will be heading to Bunclody on 4 May 2023 and we wish them, their teachers and coaches, Mr. Meaney and Mr. Dunne every success. It really is a wonderful achievement.

• Our 5th classes have had a busy week of singing, preparing for their big concert on Sunday. They will sing as part of the National Children’s Choir in the Basketball Arena and will be accompanied by a live orchestra. Over 4,000 children from all over Ireland are taking part in this wonderful event. This will truly be a magnificent evening and we hope to share some videos on the website next week.  Their teachers are so proud of them all. They have learned a repertoire of 15 songs with a combination of soprano and alto parts for each song. 

• Our 5th classes also began their cycling workshop today. Over the next few weeks they will have the opportunity to learn all about safe cycling and children will also have the chance to learn how to cycle if they need to. 

• This week our 6th class received their Class of 2023 hoodies and they are all loving the opportunity to wear them in school.  

• Thank you to everyone who completed the survey on the effects of Covid. The main two areas of concern highlighted were an increase in anxiety in children and concern over children’s social skills. I have been working with all the local primary school principals in relation to this and looking at how we can support the children going forward in this area. The hope is that the Department of Education will consider funding a Play Therapist to support the children in the local schools. With this in mind we have been asked to gather data from our school community in relation to a new initiative called “It takes a Village - Community Movement”.  I would be grateful if you could take five minutes to complete this survey by clicking here.

• SCHOOL CLOSURE – Just a reminder that due to staff training there will no school for the children next Friday, 28 April 2023.

• One of the parents mentioned to me that some of our girls are playing in the U10 football competition on Sunday in the Aviva Stadium. We wish them all the best. 

Wishing you all a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing our 5th class students and their families in the Basketball Arena, Tallaght, on Sunday. 

Kind regards, 

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal 

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

We have just finished our first full week after mid-term and Spring is most definitely in the air. Lots of exciting things are happening in St. Laurence’s. Please see below some updates from school life.

Fencing Ireland – Our 4th and 5th classes have had a visit from Fencing Ireland. They will have a five week long course with weekly 40 minute sessions, during which they will get to grips both with the basic technical elements of fencing and tactical application. The children will have the opportunity to fence some matches against their classmates.

Microsoft Hour of Code – During the week one of our parents and a work colleague of his, both of whom work for Microsoft, provided an hour of coding for the 4th class children. The children got to create their own retro arcade games. As you can imagine this was extremely well received by the classes and provided the children with a new learning experience. We are very grateful to Microsoft for facilitating this. It is fantastic to open the children’s eyes to the wider world around them and to make them aware of companies such as Microsoft.

Fire Safety – During the week our 3rd class children had a visit from two firemen who spoke to them about fire safety.

National Children’s Choir – Our 5th classes visited Ravenswell School in Bray on Tuesday for their second rehearsal for their upcoming concert in the Basketball Arena. This concert will take place in April where nearly 1,000 children from Wicklow will sing a beautiful repertoire of songs.

French Lessons – Our 5th class children began their French lessons yesterday with Transition Year students from St.David’s Secondary School. We are very grateful to the students for providing this opportunity for our pupils.

HSE – Our Junior Infants had their vision and hearing checks with the HSE this week. The nurses spoke about how wonderful the children were and how happy they are. Well done to all our Junior Infant classes. They simply love school life.

Sporting Updates – Our hockey team played a match on Bray on Wednesday and they had a great victory in the Leinster League. Yesterday some of our footballers played a friendly game in St. Cronan’s in Bray. Next week the Coughlan Cup will take place and I know all our GAA players are looking forward to this.

World Book Day – World Book Day will take place on Thursday 2 March. Mrs. Uí Bhroin sent an email to all parents/guardians yesterday. The children will participate in lots of activities on the day, with a huge focus on developing a love of reading. We are all looking forward to a great day.

Fáilte Friday- Our next Fáilte Friday will take place on 3rd March. All parents/guardians are welcome to visit the classrooms from 8:50am to 9:00am. Please take the time to look at the wonderful art and written work on the corridors. I know the children are so proud of their amazing displays.

Annual Fundraising Day – Just a reminder that this will take place on Friday 26 May. Please save the date! More details will follow shortly from the fundraising committee.

Finally, I wish you all a lovely weekend. Let’s hope the sun keeps shining.

Kind regards

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

We have arrived at the beginning of Spring and we are all looking forward to the bank holiday weekend ahead. The last two weeks have been busy here and we have lots more events to look forward to. Please find below some updates from school life.

Fáilte Friday – We had our first Fáilte Friday today and the children were so excited to bring their parents/guardians to school! I know some parents were worried they would have to sit a Friday test! There was a lovely atmosphere around the school and we are looking forward to our next Fáilte Friday on 3 March.

Internet Safety Day – This will take place on Tuesday, 7 February. This day helps to create awareness about staying safe online. I know Mrs. Berney previously sent an email in relation to this. Communication between the school and parents is key here, as we all try to educate the children and keep them safe in an ever changing online world.

Kindness Day – This will take place on Wednesday, 8 February. The word KINDNESS is at the centre of everything we do here in St. Laurence’s. On this day we will celebrate this kindness through activities, a prayer service and song. The Amber Flag Committee, along with Ms. Dawson, Ms. O’ Brien and Ms. Mc Loughlin have been busy preparing for this day. We are all looking forward to it.

Podcast as Gaeilge – Ms. Casey and her 5th class have done a fantastic job of creating the latest episode of our 'Raidió Scoil Lorcáin Naofa' podcast, a huge well done to them all! A very big thank you also to Ms. Mc Cormack and Ms. Brophy, and their 1st class for their wonderful contribution to this month's episode. Thank you and well done to the buddies in Ms. Dawson’s Junior Infant class who also made an appearance in the latest podcast! This is well worth listening to when you have a spare few minutes. The standard of Irish is simply brilliant. You can access the podcast here.

Sound Therapy – The 6th class children are enjoying Sound Therapy sessions with Denise Hill. Sound Therapy uses sound, music and specialist instruments played in therapeutic ways, combined with deep self-reflection techniques to improve health and wellbeing. The 6th class children really benefit from this.

Grandparents’ Day – Thank you to Mrs. Ferguson for recording our Grandparents’ Day. The links to these videos were sent earlier in the week. To date over 540 people have viewed them. We have received an enormous amount of thank you cards and beautiful kind words from so many grandparents. Please can you pass on our huge thanks to them all, not just for the cards but for the wonderful love they showed their grandchildren and all of us on the day.

I hope you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend and enjoy the extra day off.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin

Today we celebrated Grandparents' Day and over 400 people attended. It was a wonderful, joyous occasion where we celebrated and remembered all our Grandparents. Fr. Gerard attended one of the prayer services and showed a picture of his own grandmother who lived to be one hundred and one!

We are so proud of the children. The kindness and love they gave to all our visitors was greatly appreciated by all who were there. Our Student Council and our 5th and 6th class children all played a huge part throughout the busy morning. They are wonderful ambassadors for our school. 

I also want to thank our amazing staff for all they did in their classrooms to welcome our visitors. A huge thank you is also due to Margaret Martin, our outstanding caretaker Anto and the parents who so kindly gave of their time to provide refreshments this morning.

In what was truly a very emotional and joyous experience for everyone, we can certainly say Grandparents hold a very special place in all our hearts.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

We have arrived at our Christmas holidays and the children are super excited and can’t wait for Santa Claus to arrive. The elves in their classrooms have been up to all kinds of mischief and the children have had great fun checking on them every day.

The last two weeks have been filled with Christmas cheer and fun. The children were outstandingly brilliant in their Christmas plays and we are so proud of them all. Their talents shone through and they gave us all a true sense of the spirit of Christmas. Our Carol Service was a huge success. Our 6th class children and school choir sang some of our favourite Christmas Carols and reminded us all of the real meaning of Christmas. The church was full to capacity and it was so lovely to be back in St. Kilian’s Church again. We were delighted on the night to be joined by Fr. Gerard on the guitar and our very own Ms. Coleman on the flute.

Please find below some further updates from school life.

Christmas Decoration Competition – Well done to everyone who made a recycled decoration for our Christmas tree. The creativity was fantastic and the winners were announced today.

Christmas Kindness – Our Amber Flag committee did a fantastic job encouraging Christmas kindness and lots of boys and girls were praised for being so kind.

School Closure – Reminder school closes tomorrow at 12 midday for the Christmas holidays. We reopen on Thursday, 5 January 2023.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for the tremendous support you give the school. We greatly appreciate it. Your children are simply the best and they bring us so much joy and happiness each and every day. I want to sincerely thank the wonderful staff here in the school. Every one of them work so hard to make St. Laurence’s the fantastic school it is. As I finish my first year as Principal, I feel so lucky to work with such a wonderful school community. Míle buíochas.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas with your families and friends.

We also remember those who have lost loved ones in our school this year. Our thoughts and prayers will be with them.

May 2023 bring us all happiness, love and joy.

Warmest regards,

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all well and have defrosted after the cold start this morning! Christmas fever has taken over St. Laurence’s and the children and staff are super excited for all the fun and Christmas cheer ahead. The crib and decorations are up, thanks to the wonderful staff at the school, and if I say so myself, the place is looking truly magical. 

Please find below some updates from school life.

Christmas Plays – Next week our Christmas Plays will take place. The children have been practising so hard over the past few weeks. We are looking forward to welcoming you all to the plays. The schedule of plays is available on the school website. If you are taking your child home after the play please sign your child out on the sign out sheet which will be available in the classroom. If you intend taking siblings home please come to the school office, via the front door, where a staff member will collect your child for you. You can then sign them out at the office. 

Carol Service- Our Carol Service will take place on Wednesday, 14 December at 7pm in St. Kilian’s Church, Blacklion. Our 6th class children and our school choir are looking forward to singing on the night.

St. Vincent de Paul Appeal – Many thanks to everyone for their very generous donations for this worthy cause. We raised the huge sum of €4,215. This money will help support those most in need at this time of the year.

Annual Golf Classic – At our recent AGM the fundraising committee presented a cheque for a massive €28,192 to the school. We are so grateful to the committee and the whole school community for this. It is a huge amount of money and the children will benefit greatly from it. Please click here to read more. 

Uniform Survey – Next week all children, staff and parents will receive a survey about the school uniform. The Student Council have been working very hard to put some questions together for this. They will also go around and talk to the younger classes in the school about our school uniform so that their views can also be included.

Christmas Jumper Day – It was lovely to see all the children and staff wearing Christmas jumpers today. Thank you to everyone for donating to the Gavin Glynn Foundation. We raised the sum of €932

Christmas Jumpers – The children may wear their Christmas jumpers over their school tracksuit/uniform from now until the holidays if they wish. 

Pyjama Day – We will have a pyjama day here in the school on Monday 19, December. The children may wear their pyjamas to school on the day if they wish.

Finally, I hope you all have a  lovely weekend and enjoy the build up to Christmas over the next few weeks.

Kind regards

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all well. We had lots of very excited children and staff here today in anticipation of the Toy Show tonight! We are already beginning the preparation for the Christmas plays and it has been lovely to hear the wonderful singing throughout the school. Please find below some updates from school life and important information for the weeks ahead.

• Science Week took place early in November and we definitely have many budding scientists in the school. The children engaged in fun experiments and our 3rd classes had an interactive workshop from Little Einsteins.

• Anti-Bullying Week also took place and our Student Council did a wonderful job talking to all the classes about this. Our 6th class children made super posters. We will revisit this whole area again in February with a particular focus on kindness and friendship.

• GAA Blitz – 5th and 6th class girls took part in a GAA blitz on 10th November. They had a super time and it was wonderful to see such enthusiasm and excitement.

• National Children’s Choir – Our 5th classes have had their first rehearsal for the National Children’s Choir concert, which will take place in April. They visited the Educate Together School, here in Greystones, and sang their hearts out on the day.

• Parent Teacher Meetings – We had our first in-school PT meetings since Covid and it was lovely to see parents coming to hear all about the amazing work the children are doing.

• AGM - Please remember our Annual General Meeting of the Board of Management will take place on Wednesday 30 November at 7:30pm in the school hall. Tea and coffee will be provided from 7pm onwards. We would be delighted to see you all there. 

• Christmas Jumper Day – We will have a Christmas jumper day on Friday, 9 December in aid of the Gavin Glynn Foundation. All children and staff may wear a Christmas jumper on the day and bring a coin for this very worthy cause, if they wish.

• St. Vincent de Paul – I sent an email during the week in relation to our annual St. Vincent de Paul collection. Please remember the following dates: Wednesday, 30 November and Thursday, 1 December for the gate collection in the mornings. Donations can also be made via Aladdin.

• Service of light – Our 6th class children will have their Service of Light on Tuesday, 6 December in St. Anthony’s Church Kilcoole. This is in preparation for their Confirmation.

Finally, I hope you all have a lovely weekend and enjoy the Toy Show tonight.

Kind regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

Please find below some important dates for the weeks ahead.

• Parent Teacher Meetings - 15th, 16th and 17th  November. As a result of this AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES are CANCELLED on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week.

• Annual General Meeting of the Board of Management - Wednesday, 30th November 2022 at 7:30pm in the school hall. All welcome.

• Early school closure - Friday, 25th November at 12pm to facilitate teacher training in the Primary Language Curriculum.

• Carol Service for 6th class children and the school choir - Wednesday, 14th  December at 7pm in Holy Rosary Church, Greystones.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend

Kind regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

We have reached mid-term and the school today was filled with Halloween fun and games. The excitement was tangible and the children all had a fantastic day. Before we finish up for the week ahead please find some updates below.

• Maths Week – Last week we had Maths Week and our budding mathematicians had a great week enjoying maths trails, games, puzzles and other various activities. The entries for our Maths Eyes Competition were fantastic and we are very proud of them all.

• Gaeilge – Mrs. Berney’s 6th class have recorded a wonderful podcast all in Irish. We would love if you would take a few minutes to listen to it.  Congratulations to all the children involved in this. The link is below:

 https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/I2Rrf43qqub

Every Friday we have Lá Gaeilge here in the school. The children are encouraged to speak Irish throughout the day and prizes are given to the best Gaeilgeoir each week.

• GAA Blitz – A large number of our 3rd and 4th class boys and girls took part in GAA blitzes over the last two weeks. These were all about participation and having fun and the children had a great time.

• Prefabs – Due to continuing anti-social behaviour the prefabs have been delayed by two weeks. While this is disappointing we are excited that the prefabs will be arriving next week for installation. Once the services are connected our 5th class children will move in to their new classrooms.

• Enrolment - Enrolment for Junior Infants opens on Monday 7th November. Applications will be accepted from 7th – 25th November. The Admissions Notice and Admissions Policy are available to view on our school website.

• School Closure – All teachers will avail of training in the Primary Language Curriculum on Friday, 25 November. As a result, the school will close at 12pm that day.

Finally, I wish you all a lovely mid-term break. We are very proud of all the children have achieved since September and we look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday, 7 November.

Happy Halloween from everyone in St. Laurence’s.

Kind regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

It is hard to believe that there are only two weeks left until the midterm break and the Halloween season has definitely arrived in St. Laurence’s with spooky displays on the corridors and classrooms decorated with all kinds of ghosts and ghouls. It has been a very busy two weeks with lots of exciting things happening and lots more to come.

Please find below some updates from school life and also some important dates for the diaries!

• Christmas Plays – Everyone should have received an email with the dates for the Christmas Plays in December. We are delighted that the plays will return this year as they have always filled us with the Christmas spirit. The timetable for the plays is also available on the school website. The date for the Christmas Carol Service will be arranged next week. Our wonderful school choir and 6th class children will sing at this event.

• Parent Teacher Meetings – Parent Teacher Meetings will be held in the school this year, with a full return to face-to-face meetings. The dates for these meetings are 15th, 16th, and 17th November. A more detailed email will follow next week in relation to this.

• AGM – The Annual General Meeting of the Board of Management will take place on 30th November in the school.

• Maths Week – Maths Week will take place all next week and there are lots of activities planned for this. Please encourage your child/children to participate in “Maths Eyes Competition”. The details of this were sent to you yesterday. A huge thank you to Ms. Alison Murphy and Mrs. Jennifer Berney for all their hard work for Maths Week. We know the children will enjoy all the activities.

• GAA – Our 3rd and 4th class girls will participate in a Cumann na mBunscol blitz next week and the boys will have a blitz the following week. It has been super to see the large number of children looking to partake in these. I’m sure everyone will have a great day.

• EU Code Week started this week and runs until the 23rd October. The children will all have the chance to try some coding using chromebooks and Ipads.

• Library Visit – Next week all our 3rd class children will visit the library. They are really looking forward to this trip and I’m sure they will get to read and enjoy lots of lovely books.

• Historical walk – Today two of our 3rd classes went on a history trail to Kindlestown Castle. The other 3rd classes will go next week. Our 5th class children are heading on a history trail around Greystones next week too and they will visit the beach as part of their geography programme.

• Halloween costume swop/Uniform sale – A huge thank you to the six parents who very kindly gave of their time to facilitate these events. They were a huge success and all monies raised will be added to our Vincent de Paul Christmas fund raising.

• Prefab Update –The groundworks are progressing well. However, works were suspended for a day due to anti-social behaviour which occurred over a number of evenings. I have notified the Gardaí of damage to the machinery and fencing. They have said they will monitor the situation over the weekend. This is incredibly disappointing and frustrating for us as a school to have to deal with.

• Halloween dress up – All children and staff can dress up for Halloween on 28th October. We would be grateful if children did not wear scary clown costumes as some children are frightened of these. The 28th October is a full school day with lots of Halloween fun planned.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Kind regards

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all well. As September comes to a close we can definitely say that we are all well settled back to school. The children are working so hard and achieving great things across all areas of the curriculum. As we head into October we have lots of exciting things planned.

Please find below some important updates from school life:

• Junior Infant Buddies – Our Junior Infants have met with their buddies in the senior classes. This is always a special time for the Junior Infants and the 5th class children. Throughout the year they will do lots of exciting things together and create special memories.

• Reading with Dogs- We are delighted to have Paula and her lovely dog Molly back in the school for Reading with Dogs. The aim of this programme is to improve the literacy and communication skills of children. Each week a number of children meet with Molly on an individual basis and read a book to her. Molly enjoys every story.

• Library Visits – all of our 4th class children have now visited the library. Our 3rd class children will be next to make the trip down and they are really looking forward to it.

• Write a Book/Scríobhleabhar Project – A number of classes will once again participate in this project. It gives children the chance to become novelists in English or Irish and create the most wonderful books. This Project is run by the Blackrock Education Centre and a winner will be selected from every class.

• Hockey Blitz – 5th and 6th After School Hockey had a fantastic time at the blitz on Monday. Ms. Horgan and Ms. Quinn said the children were super and they are now looking forward to participating in the Leinster Hockey League.

• Friends for Life – All 4th class children will participate in this programme throughout the year. It runs for ten weeks and will help the children build resilience and help to reduce anxiety. ‘Friends for Life’ is the only programme of its kind which has been recognised by the World Health Organisation and it has proven extremely effective when implemented in Irish primary schools. Mrs. Durkan and Mrs. Uí Bhroin will run this programme in the school.

• Parent’s Association – On Wednesday evening the PA had their first meeting of the year. Myself and Mrs. Ferguson were delighted to attend and meet with the Chairperson, Karl Lawless, Deputy Chairperson, Louise Hatton and the class reps. It was fantastic to see so many class reps there. Karl and Louise, together with the class reps have fantastic ideas for the year ahead and we look forward to offering the children lots of different experiences with the help of the PA and the class reps. I would just like to take the opportunity to thank Karl, Louise and all the class reps for taking on these roles and I look forward to working with them throughout the year. I have attached the guidelines for class reps for you all to read when you have a spare minute.

• Uniform Sale – At the PA meeting a number of the class reps asked if we could have another uniform sale. The plan is to hold this sale at the front of the school on Thursday 6 October at 1:45pm. If anyone has any uniforms or tracksuits they would like to donate they can bring them to the school office. On the day we ask that people make a small donation in exchange for the uniform. All monies collected will go to the Vincent de Paul.

• Halloween Costume Exchange/Sale – Another class rep mentioned an idea from their class in relation to Halloween costumes. It was asked if we could do a costume exchange/or sale to help reduce the cost of buying Halloween costumes, which can be expensive. The plan is to hold this event again at the front of the school on Thursday 13th October from 1:45pm to 2:30pm. You can donate a costume at the school office for resale or you can bring a costume with you and exchange it for a different one. This is a fantastic idea as it not only saves money but also recycles costumes, which is kinder to the environment.

• Prefabs/SNU Build – Our prefabs are nearly ready to go. Equipment will arrive in the school today and site works begin on Monday. The time frame is still the same and the 5th class children will move into their new rooms after the mid term. The design team for the Special Needs Unit Build has been appointed and we will have our first meeting with the team next week. We are so excited about this project as it will be a wonderful facility for the school.

• International Teachers Day – International Teacher’s Day will take place on Wednesday 5 October. To celebrate our wonderful teachers, the children will have a night off homework!

Finally I wish you all a lovely weekend. Thank you again for all your support.

Míle buíochas

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

It has been a very busy two weeks here in St. Laurence’s. The children have settled so well back in their classrooms and our new Junior Infants have simply been outstanding. They have taken to school life with great enthusiasm and it is so lovely to see them all bouncing into school every morning.

Teaching and learning is in full flow in all the classrooms. It has been wonderful to have children visit me in the office and show off their fantastic work. We are so proud of everyone of our students.

Please find below a few updates from school life.

Last Friday, 9 September, our 3rd and 4th classes took part in a drumming workshop which they all enjoyed and benefited from.

Children from 1st to 3rd classes have begun their tin whistle lessons. This is thanks to Niall and Music Generation and duel funded by the school. This initiative ensures that every child has the opportunity to play an instrument and enjoy the love of music. 4th,5th and 6th classes are continuing the tin whistle with their class teachers

We are delighted to announce that our 5th class students will partake in the National Children’s Choir again this year. The children learn a repertoire of songs and every 5th class child will have the opportunity to sing these songs with other schools from Wicklow. There will be a big concert towards the end of April/early May which parent(s)/guardian(s) will be invited to attend. Venue has yet to be decided. The children will sing with a full orchestra. 

Our 4th class children are visiting the library in Greystones. Today Ms. Horgan’s class and Mrs. Durkan’s enjoyed reading time in the library. Next week Mr. Conlon’s class will have their visit.

Our vast choice of After School Activities have all commenced and so many children are partaking in these. I would just like to thank so many of our wonderful staff who give of their time to ensure the children can avail of these activities.

Just a reminder to 2nd and 6th class parents that registration for First Holy Communion and Confirmation is now open via the links I previously sent or via the Parish website www.gkpastoralarea.ie

Work is due to commence for our new prefabs on Wednesday 21 September. These prefabs will consist of four full sized classrooms. After the Halloween mid term our 5th class students will move into these rooms. They will be located at the back of the black astro and will be fitted out with standard classroom resources such as interactive whiteboards, toilets and heating.

We will shortly commence the design phase for our new Special Needs Build. This will consist of three Special Needs classrooms, with a sensory room, gym and designated play area. This will be a fantastic facility for our school and also for the whole Greystones community. Going forward we will be able to offer more places to children with additional needs.

I met with the Chairperson, Karl Lawless and the Deputy Chairperson, Louise Hatton of the Parent’s Association today. Together we hope to organise lots of activities and events for the children to enjoy. We will have a PA meeting in the school soon where all class reps will be invited to attend. A huge thank you to Karl and Louise for all their work on the PA.

I just want to say a very big thank you to the boys and girls for adapting so well to the new changes to arrival time this week. The school corridors are calm and quiet and the children settle so quickly and happily to their work. If a parent is dropping more than one child to an area in the morning they may bring their children in the most convenient gate. Just a reminder that if it’s after 9am please bring your child to the office door and we will ensure they get safely to their classroom.

Finally, I just want to thank you all for the tremendous support you give the school. I also want to thank our amazing staff who go above and beyond every day to make sure the children are so well looked after and cared for. Your children are simply the best and we look forward to the weeks and months ahead.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

Just a short email to say well done to everyone for the last two days. On Thursday we welcomed 669 children to the school, including 78 Junior Infants. Your children have been fantastic and their positivity and kindness has been so lovely to see. A very special mention to our Junior Infants. They have all settled into school life and are having a ball. A special word of thanks to the staff here in the school who give so much to the children everyday. We are all so lucky.

Please see below a few short updates:

• All staff completed First Aid Training on 30 August. This provided us with the skills needed for minor injuries.

• Everyone should have received an email with a list of After School Activities and how to register for these.

• A reminder that if children cycle or scoot to school they should wear helmets for their safety.

Finally thank you all for your kind words and emails during the week. We really appreciate them. I look forward to a great year with you and your children.

Have a lovely weekend and I'm sure there will be a lot of tired but happy little faces this evening.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all well and enjoying the last of the summer holidays. We are really looking forward to the new school year in St. Laurence’s and we are excited to see all the boys and girls coming back to school and to welcoming our new Junior Infants.

School arrival time is from 8:50am to 9:00am each day. 

Junior Infants will finish at 12pm on Thursday 1st September and Friday 2ndSeptember. From Monday 5th September Junior Infants will finish school at 1:30pm each day.

Senior Infants will finish at 1:30pm each day.

First to Sixth Classes will finish at 2:30pm each day. 

Please find below some very important information for each class level regarding school arrival times and going home times.

Junior Infants:

From Thursday 1st September until Friday 9th September, inclusive, the children can be brought directly to their classrooms. At the end of the day the children can be collected from their classrooms. 

We will update you during the first school week about the changes to the drop off and collection procedures that will be in place from Monday 12th September. 

Senior Infants:

On Thursday 1st September and Friday 2nd September the children can be brought straight to their classrooms. They can be collected from their classrooms on those days. 

From Monday 5th September all senior infants should be dropped to the basketball yard from 8:50am to 9:00am. Their class teachers will meet them there and bring them to their classrooms. At 1:30pm the teachers will bring the children to the basketball yard and they can be collected from there.

First Class:

On Thursday 1st September and Friday 2nd September the children can be brought straight to their classrooms. They can be collected from the shelter yard at the end of the day. The class teacher will stay with the children until every child is collected. 

From Monday 5th September all First Class children should be dropped to the shelter yard from 8:50am to 9:00am. Their class teachers will meet them there and bring them to their classrooms every morning.  At home time the children will again be brought to the shelter yard for collection.

Second Class:

The children should be dropped to the shelter yard each morning between 8:50am and 9:00am. They will be collected by their class teachers. At home time the children will be brought to the shelter yard at 2:30pm for collection. The class teacher will wait with the children until they are collected.

Third Class:

The children should be dropped to the all-weather yard (black astro) beside the car park each morning between 8:50am and 9:00am. They will be collected by their class teachers. At home time the children will be brought to the black astro at 2:30pm for collection. The class teacher will wait with the children until they are collected.

Fourth Class:

The children should be dropped to the yard area beside the black astro each morning between 8:50am and 9:00am. They will be collected by their class teachers. At home time the children will be brought to this area for collection. 

Fifth and Sixth Class:

From 8:50am the children will enter the school by the main front door and go straight to their classrooms. The children will leave the school in the afternoons via the main door. 

On the first day all teachers who will be collecting their classes outside will have a placard with their name on it  - just in case your child doesn't know what their teacher looks like. 

We appreciate that sometimes there can be traffic delays or other circumstances where children may be late for school. If this happens please bring your child/children to the main office and someone from the office team will bring them to their classrooms.

All class teachers will be in contact with you when they return and will keep you updated on life in your child’s classroom.

Our school website www.stlaurences.ie provides a huge amount of information about the school and there are some wonderful resources there to help you support your child’s learning. 

We will issue information regarding after school activities early next week. We are delighted that we will be able to offer a wide range of activities.

Finally, I am looking forward to working with you all. Your children are the heart of the school and we will always do our best to look after them and help them to be the best they can be. If you have any concerns at any stage please contact your child’s teacher, our Deputy Principal Karen Ferguson or myself.

Let the fun begin!

Kindest regards,

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

Just a short email to update you from a very busy week in St. Laurence's!

Fun Day - Yesterday we had a fantastic day here. We had a lovely ceremony for Mrs. Mooney to thank her and wish her well on her retirement. She was absolutely thrilled and some of our 6th class students and the Student Council prepared a beautiful ceremony. Following this we all had such fun on bouncy castles, blowing bubbles, playing drums, joining in with zumba, face painting as well as various outdoor sports. This was finished off by a lovely ice cream from the ice cream van. It was truly the best fun ever. I just want to say a huge huge thank you to the wonderful staff and parents for making this day possible. We couldn't do it without you all. One person deserves an extra special thank you. Mrs. Uí Bhroin worked tirelessly for weeks before the event to ensure that everything ran smoothly and that every child had a great day. Míle buíochas Mrs. Uí Bhroin.

School Uniform Sale - Just a reminder that our second hand uniform sale will take place on Monday 27 June at 1:45pm in the school garden.

Class splits - our 1st, 2nd and 4th classes are all being split this year. Next week each class will have an opportunity to meet their new class mates. 2nd class will meet their new 3rd class on Monday, our 1st classes will meet their new 2nd class on Tuesday and our 4th class will meet their new 5th class on Wednesday.

Junior Infants - Our new Junior Infants will visit the school on Tuesday 28 June  to meet their new classmates and their teachers. A very exciting time for them and for us!

6th Class - A big few days ahead for our 6th classes. We hope they enjoy their last few days with us. 

Finally I wish you all a lovely weekend. 

Kind regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all well and enjoying the lovely summer weather.

It's hard to believe that we are heading towards the end of the school year, and even though we are beginning to see lots of tired faces around, the children are having a ball in school.

Please see below a few important notes and updates.

• All information regarding school reports, book lists and monies to be collected will be issued early next week. We will notify you when the reports are on Aladdin.

• A reminder that our second hand uniform sale will take place on Monday 27 June from 1:45pm to 2:30pm. All good quality used uniforms and tracksuits can be brought to the office for the sale.

• Our school Fun Day will take place on Thursday 23 June. We will begin our day with a little thank you ceremony for Mrs. Mooney at 9:30am. We had to postpone this in December due to Covid so we are really looking forward to seeing Mrs. Mooney back in the school again. If any parent  would like to come to the ceremony they are more than welcome. It will take place in the basketball yard. We would ask that parents leave promptly afterwards as the basketball yard will be used for some of our activities. We are all very excited for the day and we have some lovely activities planned as well as a few surprises for the children.

• Lots of our classes have had their school tours now and they have been a great success. This week some of our younger classes enjoyed Teddy Bear picnics and visits to the Forest School.

• Three children from Fourth Class came first in the Write a Book competition. They received their medals and certificates on Monday evening in Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel. We are so proud of them. A wonderful achievement! 

• Our Fourth classes also took part in a Marine Explorers Education Programme. They produced fantastic projects and presented them via zoom to a marine biologist. Excellent work by all our Fourth Class students. 

• Our Third classes had a visit to the library and thoroughly enjoyed their time there. They were highly praised for their excellent reading skills and exemplary behaviour. We hope to have more visits to the library in the next academic year.

• Our boys and girls football teams had matches against Kilcoole National School over the last two weeks. It has been great to wear the jerseys again and see the children represent their school.

• Finally it is getting the near the time to say goodbye to our 6th class students. They are so busy preparing for their end of year plays, graduation and final day. This is always a time of excitement tinged with sadness. They have been a fantastic group of students - and are maturing into fine young people who have amazing futures ahead. They deserve special thanks for all they have done over their eight years in the school.  We will miss them all.

Enjoy the weekend and let's hope the sun keeps shining.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all well and I’m sure everyone is looking forward to the Bank Holiday weekend ahead.

There have been lots of activities taking place in St. Laurence’s over the last two weeks. Life has been full to the brim!

Confirmation: Last Saturday, 28 May, our 6th class students made their Confirmation. It was a fantastic day for everyone. The ceremony was really beautiful and the children received a special message for Archbishop Dermot Farrell. The Confirmation Committee hosted a party back at the school. It was great to see the school hall full of happiness and cheer. Many thanks to all involved.

School Tours: Our annual school tours have commenced and the children are loving them. Today our Junior Infants had a fantastic day in Glenroe Farm and our 4th classes have been to Squirrels’ Scramble and Kilruddery Gardens. 2nd classes went on a big adventure to Dublin City on the DART where they visited St. Stephen’s Green and the Little Museum of Dublin.

Sports: 5th and 6th class girls took part in a Camogie Blitz. Our 6th class girls and boys played football matches against St. Kevin's – a great local derby! All our 6th class students took part in a GAA transition day in Éire Óg where all the primary schools came together for sport and fun to get know each other before heading to Secondary School. On Monday we were very lucky to have Greystones Rugby Club provide Tag Rugby for all children from 3rd to 6th. Special thank you to all the parents who helped with this. There are some great photos on our website of these events.

School Uniform: We will hold a uniform sale in the school garden on Monday 27 June from 1:45pm to 2:30pm. If anyone has any uniforms or tracksuits they wish to donate to the sale they can drop them to the school office. We have already received a number of donations. Thanks to the Parent’s Association for their help with this.

Building: We have had a lot of site visits for our upcoming Special Needs Build. This is a very exciting project and we are looking forward to the next stage where a design team will be appointed. This will be a fantastic facility for the school.

Early Closure: Just a reminder that we will close next Friday 10 June at 12pm to facilitate staff training.

We are in the final stretch of the school year now. We have lots to do yet and the children are looking forward to all the activities ahead. Wishing you all a lovely weekend and we will see the children back to school on Wednesday 8 June. Enjoy the extra day off!

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Click here to see a video of the brilliant entries to the Lego competition. The level of creativity displayed was fantastic! Well done to all who participated!

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all well. Today is GOLF CLASSIC DAY and after two years the atmosphere is magic. The buzz around the school and the colourful array of jerseys is fantastic to see. I am sure lots of people had a great day golfing, some of you may still be on the course as I send this. I heard the coffee morning was a huge success and lots of us are looking forward to the dinner dance tonight. The number of raffle tickets that have been sold has been phenomenal.  I want to thank each and everyone of you for your generous support for this event. A massive, massive thank you to the Golf Classic Committee who have worked tirelessly over the last few months to make all of this possible. I don't think they have slept all week! Their energy levels and positivity has been unbelievable and we are a very lucky school to have such a wonderful team to raise much needed funds for the school. Thank you all so much.

A few other exciting events have been happening in St. Laurence's since I last emailed you.

• Our golfers had a wonderful day on Monday in the Delgany Schools Cup. Today we have more golfers participating in the Golf Classic. Well done to all the children involved.

• Yesterday nearly 80 children from 3rd to 6th class participated in the Wicklow Primary Schools Track and Field Event. Our wonderful athletes put on a fantastic display and medals galore were won. We are very proud of all the children, not only for their wonderful performance, but also for their exemplary behaviour on the day. A big thank you to Mrs. Uí Bhroin, Assistant Principal II, for all her work in the organisation of this and for her work with the golfers too. 

• Yesterday 5th and 6th class boys participated in a hurling blitz in Bray Emmets. They won all their five matches. The girls will be out next week for their hurling blitz. 

• Next Saturday, 28 May 2022, our 6th classes will be making their Confirmation. We wish them and their families a wonderful day. 

• School tour season has started here in St. Laurence's. On Monday Mr. Dunne's 2nd class had a super day in Dublin where they visited St. Stephen's Green and the Little Museum of Dublin. Ms. Durkin's 2nd class will be heading for the same tour on Monday morning.

• Our ASD class hosted  Sibling's Day yesterday. They invited their siblings to see their class and all the wonderful work they do. I know Mrs. Kelly, Lorna and Sarah were very proud of them all.

• A huge thank you to all those who participated in the Lego Competition for Creative Schools Week. The entries were simply brilliant and the children were so creative in their designs. Well done to all!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing many of you at the dinner dance later on this evening. 

Kind regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Congratulations to the children who represented the school in the recent Cumann na mBunscol Participation Days (28th April and 12th May) held in Bray Emmets GAA Club, Bray. Click here to find out more.

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all keeping well. We have had a very busy two weeks here in St. Laurence's since we came back after Easter. Please find below some updates from the school

First Holy Communion - Our second classes have been busy preparing for their First Holy Communion which takes place this Sunday 8 May in St. Anthony's Church Kilcoole. We are so proud of all the children and we wish them every happiness on their special day. We look forward to seeing them all back to the school after the ceremonies for a little celebratory party. A huge thank you to the Communion Committee for all their work in helping to organise the reception back in the school. 

6th class - Our 6th class children, who will be attending St. David's in September, visited the school today. There they met their year head, Michelle Bailey, and the 5th year prefects gave them a tour of the school. 

GAA Blitz - Some of our 5th and 6th class boys took part in a GAA blitz in Bray Emmets. They had a great day and it was super to see the St. Laurence's jerseys being worn again after two years. The girls will have their turn to participate in a blitz on 12 May.

Golf Classic - We are so excited for the upcoming Golf Classic on 20 May. It's a fantastic day for the whole school community. We would encourage you all to participate in some way. The dinner dance is always a wonderful night and there are still some tickets available. All bookings can be done through Aladdin. On the day itself there will two further fundraising events. There will be a coffee morning in The Grove Bar from 9:30am for anyone who would like to attend (please bring cash only). We will also run a jersey day in the school where the children can bring a coin and wear a jersey for the day. We would be very grateful if raffle ticket money could be returned to the school as soon as possible. The golf committee have been working tirelessly to make this day happen and a massive amount of work goes on a daily basis. We are so grateful to you all. 

Uniform- From next September we plan to roll out the wearing of our school uniform. The children can wear their tracksuits on the days they have PE or on a day they have a sporting after school activity. On the other days all children from 1st to 6th class will wear their full school uniform. Junior and Senior Infants can wear their school tracksuits everyday if they wish.

Parent's Association - We had our final PA meeting of the year in the school on Wednesday evening. A big thank you to Karl, Louise, John Paul and all the class reps for the work they do. We are very lucky to have the support of the PA to make all the events happen in the school. If any parent would like to be involved going forward please let the PA know. 

Fun day - We are planning a FUN DAY in St. Laurence's on 23 June. This day will be filled with lots of fun activities for the children to enjoy. We feel it is important to acknowledge all the children have been through over the last two years. Their positivity and resilience has been astounding and this is our way of saying thank you to them. It will be a fantastic day. A special thank you to Mrs.Uí Bhroin, Assistant Principal II, for all her work in organising this.

Finally, I wish you all a lovely weekend and to those families whose children are making their First Holy Communion I wish you a joyful day. These special days create lovely memories to be cherished forever.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all well and looking forward to the Easter Break.The children were full of excitement today and they enjoyed all the Easter activities this week. 

As you know the 6th class children held a cake sale on Wednesday. We are delighted to let you know that €3,755 was raised to help the Ukrainian people. We want to thank you most sincerely for your generous support and for all the wonderful cakes that were sent in for the day. I want to congratulate the 6th class children and their teachers for running this event. They did a fantastic job and we are so proud of them.

I also want to congratulate Mrs. Durkan's 4th class and Mrs. Malone's 3rd class for their participation in Science Blast. We definitely have some budding scientists in the school!

We recently took part in a local art competition to design a special place in Delgany. The Council was awarded a grant recently to design a public realm plan for Delgany village. The designs the children submitted were excellent and we had lots of winners throughout the school. Well done to all.

The first two weeks in July will see the return of the St. Laurence's Summer Camp, which is run by teachers in the school. More details will follow after Easter but it will be lovely to have this back in the school again.

Finally I want to thank you for all your support this term. Your children are simply the best and they brighten everyday for us. I hope you all have a lovely Easter and we look forward to seeing everyone back to school on Monday 25 April. 

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all well and enjoying the lovely sunshine. There has been a taste of summer this week with many children coming to school in shorts and wearing sunglasses!

It has been busy here in St. Laurence's. Our 5th and 6th classes had a visit from the Wicklow Ladies Junior GAA team. They won the All Ireland this year and they brought the cup to the school to show the children.

As part of our  Creative Schools Initiative we are delighted to announce that we will now have an Artist in Residence who will be providing drama lessons to all the children in the school from now until the end of June. This is a wonderful opportunity for all the children.

This week we welcomed our first Ukrainian family to the school. We are so proud of the children for all the kindness shown. It has been wonderful to see. We look forward to welcoming more families over the next few weeks. 

Our 6th class children will hold a cake sale on Wednesday 6 April to raise funds for the terrible tragedy in the Ukraine. We will also set up an online donation link on Aladdin if anyone would like to contribute. The monies raised will go to Crosscare who support Ukrainian families. We will send more details for the cake sale next week.

Unfortunately a Covid wave has hit the school again. We have had a lot of absences of children and staff. Once again the commitment and dedication of the staff has been so evident as we were able to keep all classes in school. Please remember that the HSE guidelines advise keeping children at home if they are symptomatic and to conduct an antigen test.

Finally I wish you all a lovely weekend and a very Happy Mother's Day to all our wonderful mammies and grannies.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

I hope you are all well and surviving the changing weather! The last two weeks have been very busy here in St. Laurence’s with lots of exciting activities.

Seachtain na Gaeilge:

Seachtain na Gaeilge is taking place at the moment. The children are really enjoying the activities from Ceilí dancing to drama, music and story trails. It’s great to hear them all using their Gaeilge throughout the day. On Wednesday 16 March the 5th and 6th classes will participate in GAA games with the other local schools and these will take place in Éire Óg. The children will be encouraged to use their Gaeilge throughout the event. Wednesday 16 March is LÁ GLAS. The children may wear something green with their school tracksuits. Funny hats, glasses, wigs or any props also welcome!

World Book Day:

We all had a fantastic day for World Book Day. The children and staff dressed up as their favourite book characters and they had a fun filled day with lots of exciting reading activities.

First Reconciliation:

The second class children celebrated their First Reconciliation in St. Anthony’s Church, Kilcoole. The ceremony was really beautiful and we are so proud of how wonderful the children were on the night. The second classes attended mass last Friday, 4 March in the Holy Rosary Church Greystones with the parish community. This will help the children prepare for their First Holy Communion in May. The parishioners were delighted to see the children at mass and really enjoyed their beautiful singing. 

Maths Zone:

You will all have received an email from Jennifer Berney in relation to a fantastic new zone on our website – MATHS ZONE. This is a wonderful resource that will assist you when helping your children at home with maths. The children are also beginning two new programmes NUMBOTS and TIMES TABLES ROCK STARS. These online programmes will help the children with learning their tables.

Annual General Meeting:

The School’s AGM took place on Wednesday 9 March. It was great to host this again in the school and it was lovely to see parents in the school hall. 

Internet Website Omegle:

Following on from my email the other day a number of parents very kindly sent me some information on the website OMEGLE. I have attached below a link to this information

https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/news-blogs/what-is-omegle-what-parents-need-to-know/

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and we can all look forward to the St. Patrick’s festivities next weekend.

Slán go fóill,

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

Happy Friday! I’m sure you are all looking forward to the weekend ahead. It has been lovely to see the days getting brighter and we all celebrated St. Brigid’s Day here in the school with some beautiful art work, prayer and song.

It has been a busy two weeks here in St. Laurence’s since I last emailed you all. Please find below some updates about school life.

Zeeko:

Zeeko is an Irish company based at Nova UCD whose mission is to teach Internet Safety to children, parents and teachers. The 5th and 6th class children have all had an educator from ZEEKO talk to them about safety online. The children all found it hugely beneficial. The parents talk, last night, was very well attended and we are hoping to provide a recording of this to parents next week.

Sacraments:

The 2nd class children are busy preparing for their First Reconciliation, which will take place in early March. The Sacramental Co-ordination Team will be visiting the children and the teachers next week.

Library Trip:

On Monday 14 February, our three 4th classes will be visiting our local library in Greystones. The librarians have very kindly offered to give the children a tour of the library and a storytelling session.

Kindness Week:

Kindness week will take place from 14 February to 18 February. The theme is ‘Choose Kindness’. There will be a theme per day. Monday: Self-Kindness, Tuesday: Kindness to Others, Wednesday: Kindness to the Earth and Animals, Thursday: Kindness to your family, Friday: A Celebration of Kindness.

Helmets:

A number of children are cycling and scooting to school which is fantastic to hear. However, some children are not wearing helmets and we would really like to emphasise the importance of this. I spoke to the children from 4th to 6th class today and reminded them of the importance of wearing a helmet and how helmets keep them safe.

Finally, I wish you all a lovely weekend and many thanks for all your continued support.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

Happy Friday! I’m sure you are all looking forward to the weekend ahead. It has been lovely to see the days getting brighter and we all celebrated St. Brigid’s Day here in the school with some beautiful art work, prayer and song. 

It has been a busy two weeks here in St. Laurence’s since I last emailed you all. Please find below some updates about school life.

Zeeko: 

Zeeko is an Irish company based at Nova UCD whose mission is to teach Internet Safety to children, parents and teachers. The 5th and 6th class children have all had an educator from ZEEKO talk to them about safety online. The children all found it hugely beneficial. The parents talk, last night, was very well attended and we are hoping to provide a recording of this to parents next week.

Sacraments:

The 2nd class children are busy preparing for their First Reconciliation, which will take place in early March. The Sacramental Co-ordination Team will be visiting the children and the teachers next week.

Library Trip:

On Monday 14 February, our three 4th classes will be visiting our local library in Greystones. The librarians have very kindly offered to give the children a tour of the library and a storytelling session. 

Kindness Week:

Kindness week will take place from 14 February to 18 February. The theme is ‘Choose Kindness’. There will be a theme per day. Monday: Self-Kindness, Tuesday: Kindness to Others, Wednesday: Kindness to the Earth and Animals, Thursday: Kindness to your family, Friday: A Celebration of Kindness.

Helmets:

A number of children are cycling and scooting to school which is fantastic to hear. However, some children are not wearing helmets and we would really like to emphasise the importance of this. I spoke to the children from 4th to 6th class today and reminded them of the importance of wearing a helmet and how helmets keep them safe. 

Finally, I wish you all a lovely weekend and many thanks for all your continued support.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s) and Guardian(s), 

Happy Friday to you all! I am sure you are all looking forward to the weekend ahead.

I just wanted to touch base with you all and update you on life in St. Laurence’s over the last two weeks.

The boys and girls have been working really hard and are getting back into the routine of school. Their positive attitude is phenomenal and they are really enjoying all elements of school life.

School attendance has been very good and while we are still dealing with Covid the situation seems a lot better and we look forward to brighter days ahead.

After school GAA and football has resumed and is going very well. 

The children from 3rd to 5th are enjoying their tin whistle lessons on a Friday with Niall from Music Generation and it’s lovely to hear the music coming from Catherine’s Garden

4th class pupils are busy working away on their Write a Book Projects – some budding novelists are in the making!

6th classes are participating in the wonderful experience of Sound Therapy which is proving to be very beneficial for their well being.

Next week is Catholic Schools Week and the theme is “Catholic Schools:Living life to the full.” There will a different thought and reflection for each day which the children will hear over the intercom. 

Finally I just want to thank you all for your ongoing support.

Kindest regards

Ann-Marie Martin

Principal

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

Just a short email to update you from a very busy week in St. Laurence's!

Fun Day - Yesterday we had a fantastic day here. We had a lovely ceremony for Mrs. Mooney to thank her and wish her well on her retirement. She was absolutely thrilled and some of our 6th class students and the Student Council prepared a beautiful ceremony. Following this we all had such fun on bouncy castles, blowing bubbles, playing drums, joining in with zumba, face painting as well as various outdoor sports. This was finished off by a lovely ice cream from the ice cream van. It was truly the best fun ever. I just want to say a huge huge thank you to the wonderful staff and parents for making this day possible. We couldn't do it without you all. One person deserves an extra special thank you. Mrs. Uí Bhroin worked tirelessly for weeks before the event to ensure that everything ran smoothly and that every child had a great day. Míle buíochas Mrs. Uí Bhroin.

School Uniform Sale - Just a reminder that our second hand uniform sale will take place on Monday 27 June at 1:45pm in the school garden.

Class splits - our 1st, 2nd and 4th classes are all being split this year. Next week each class will have an opportunity to meet their new class mates. 2nd class will meet their new 3rd class on Monday, our 1st classes will meet their new 2nd class on Tuesday and our 4th class will meet their new 5th class on Wednesday.

Junior Infants - Our new Junior Infants will visit the school on Tuesday 28 June  to meet their new classmates and their teachers. A very exciting time for them and for us!

6th Class - A big few days ahead for our 6th classes. We hope they enjoy their last few days with us. 

Finally I wish you all a lovely weekend. 

Kind regards

Ann-Marie Martin, Principal