Athy Model School

School Calendar A big thank you to the Parents Association committee and to all who helped them for their work in organising the school calendar which will be on sale from mid November. They managed the recent setting up of photos in the school with the minimum of disruption to the school day and the children had a great time taking part. We strongly encourage everyone to support this fundraiser.

Swimming will resume for Infants, 3rd and 4^th classes for six weeks after the Halloween midterm break. Please note there will be no swimming on Mon 30^th November due to the senior Christmas trip. Pupils will swim instead on Mon 21^st December.

 The Parents Association AGM took place on Monday 12^th October. The guest speaker on the night was Kildare Road Safety Officer Declan Keogh. Despite a small turnout of parents on the night, there was a constructive and lively discussion about general road safety on the campus and in the town. We welcome the following new members onto the committee: Tara Stacey, Marie Kenny, Ashley Cole and Sarah Cullen, and look forward to working together. We wish to thank the outgoing members:  Adele Rowan, (committee) Jane Burns and Karl Colton (Parents’ Nominees) for their hard work, commitment and support during their term on the P.A.

A big thank you to Richard Daly and his staff for welcoming 5^th and 6^th class to their Open Day in Athy College on 25^th September. The pupils had a very interesting morning being shown around the school.

6^th class attended the annual Diocesan Schools Service in Christchurch Cathedral on Thurs 15^th Oct. Our pupils behaved exceptionally well on the day. Special praise goes to Ellen Burns and Dearbhla Bradshaw, who read so well in front of a very large congregation. Well done, all!

We had a Dress Up Day on Friday 24^th October in support of the Kildare Hospice on the Curragh. Well done to everyone who dressed up and supported this; the school was a riot of colour and activity on the day.

Our classrooms are full of bookworms at the moment, most of whom are taking part in the MS Readathon. Keep up the reading, everyone!

A huge thank you to Teresa Fitzpatrick, Frances Worthley and Barbara Cole for their year round assistance in setting up and working with the infants during weekly Art sessions.

Our Guided Reading sessions have finished until February. We sincerely thank the parishioners and parents who gave up their time to listen to our pupils reading in small groups. We really appreciate your input.

Word Wasp sessions are continuing in the mornings. Again, thank you to the volunteers who work with the children on this. We are very fortunate to have so many people willing to give their time and assistance to our pupils. If you are interested in helping with knitting in Mrs. Deane’s classroom (3^rd & 4^th class) in January or with Guided Reading in February, please let us know.

Our pupils (2^nd class upwards) have been invited to sing at the Songs of Praise service in the Dominican Church on Sunday 1^st November, at 3.30 pm. Other schools in the town will also be represented there. This should be a lovely service, and we encourage families to attend if possible.

Parent teacher meetings will take place in the afternoons, after school, straight after midterm break.

The Christmas Trips organised by the P.A. this year are as follows:

3^rd to 6^th classes will be going to hear and see the RTE Symphony Orchestra performing ‘Musical Adventures’ on 30^th Nov.  in the National Concert Hall in Dublin.

Infants, 1^st and 2^nd classes are attending ‘Snow Play’ in the Riverbank theatre in Newbridge on Mon 14^th December. Many thanks to Dolores Delaney, P.A. secretary, for organising these trips which promise to be very enjoyable.

Please note that our School Carol Service will take place on Sunday 20^th December in St. Michael’s Church at 11 am.