Dear families, 

Please find attached our End of Year Newsletter that shares with you:

• Spotlights on each classroom.
• Term 3 Events
• Expressions of Gratitude
• A message from our Board of Management
• The 2024/2025 School Calendar
• Back to School Information

From all of us here at Brannoxtown CNS,  we congratulate your children on a year of hard-work, team spirit and fun, we thank you for your support and positivity and finally, we wish you the happiest of summer holidays. 

BCNS-June2024-Newsletter

Warm wishes, 

The BCNS Staff. 

Dear families,

 A special announcement from our Parents’ Association:

 We are delighted to announce our BCNS raffle winners: 

 1st Prize Tom O’Connor 
2nd Prize Deirdre Wilson 
3rd Prize Nikki McDonald
4th Prize Leanne Duff 
5th Prize Aoife Brennan
6th Prize Patrick Hallissey
7th Prize Christy Doran
8th Prize Bill Walsh
9th Prize Jack O’Connor 
10th Prize Laura Hickey
11th Prize Sinead Leydon
12th Prize Jennifer Dowling
13th Prize Sean Brennan
14th Prize Gerard Hughes
15th Prize William Ducie
16th Prize Michael Grey
17th Prize Jack Duff
18th Prize Elaine Kerin
19th Prize Ross Dignam
20th Prize Chloe Hughes

Kids Draw 
1st Prize Eloise Dunne 
2nd Prize Ciaran Thackaberry 
3rd Prize Leo Condon 
4th Prize Oisin Brown 
5th Prize Annika Flynn 
6th Prize Jared Dunne Weir 
7th Prize Sophie Clifford 
8th Prize Tyler O’Neill
9th Prize Michael Hallissey
10th Prize Luke O’Brien
11th Prize Nicholas Beaumont
12th Prize Tad Davis

All children in BCNS received a little goodie at home time as a Massive Thank You from the PA for their involvement in our hugely successful raffle. 
We raised an astonishing €2790.00 for our School, its development and resources. Every cent goes back into the School and the Children. 
The draw was held in each of the classrooms and the children of the classes picked the winning tickets out under supervision of a PA Member and School Staff. 
Members of the PA will be in touch with our lucky winners to arrange collection of prizes on Monday. Congratulations to all and a Huge Thank You supporting the PA and our Children’s fantastic  education.

Dear families, 

From the staff of Brannoxtown CNS, we wish to say a huge thank you to all members of our school community for the incredible effort, generosity and community spirit that was alive in our school yesterday. We were blown away by the thought and time that went into setting up the stands – what a wonderful way for our pupils to be able to learn about the cultures and countries that enrich the BCNS school community. Yesterday, we had stands representing Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Moldova, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, U.S.A. (I hope I haven’t left anyone out!).

Please click on the links at the bottom of this message to access a video and a gallery of photos that capture the BCNS Culture & Diversity Day.

Once again, a huge thank you to all families – we feel very lucky to be part of such a supportive and united school community. A word of congratulations also to our wonderful pupils for their performances and for their respectful and positive attitudes, not only yesterday but throughout the school year. 

Wishing you all a lovely weekend, 

The BCNS Staff.

Video: https://youtu.be/tp7x9Hbfti0?si=vD1fuWGnJvQxJe9Y

Photos: https://adobe.ly/3XiYFbZ

Dear parents, 

 This is a reminder that Brannoxtown CNS will be closed for use as a polling station this Friday the 7th of June.

 Kind regards,

 Deirdre

Dear Parents,

Please see attached information from Sinéad in relation to this year’s Parents Association Annual Raffle for our school.  The raffle will take place on Friday, 21st June.

 Regards,

 Liz

Dear Parents of children who will be starting in Pipers Hill next term,

Pipers Hill are running  a workshop next Tuesday 28th of May in Piper’s Hill @7pm for parents of incoming first years to help them with the transition to secondary school.

The workshop will help parents support their children if they are nervous or stressed, how to handle changes in behaviour, develop healthy routines starting school etc. It is run my Caroline O’Connor who is based in Naas and runs workshops on wellbeing and mental health through her organisation EiSHT.

Please find poster attached.   Please confirm a place by emailing hscl@phcol.ie. Places are limited. 

Regards,

Liz

White Illustrative Motivational Education Quotes Classroom Poster_20240517_074728_0000 (1)

Dear Parents,

Please see attached flyer from Sinead with details of the Summer Care Project running from July 1st – July 19th.

Kind regards, 

Liz

Dear families, 

We are very excited to announce that we will once again be holding the BCNS Cultural and Diversity Day on Thursday, June 13th. This year, we extend the invitation to  all parents and children of Brannoxtown CNS to attend what will be a day of sharing and connecting with our school community. 

The theme of the BCNS 2023-2024 Cultural and Diversity Day is, ‘I Am Unique’. It is an opportunity to celebrate the diversity that we cherish here in our school. As part of this day, our Parents’ Association will host a fundraising Art Expo. Every BCNS pupil will create and exhibit a piece of art that expresses their unique selves and you the parents will have the opportunity to purchase your child’s art work.

The success of the BCNS Cultural and Diversity Day relies on teamwork across our school community. We invite families to set up stands that celebrate the countries, cultures and  traditions that connect us here at Brannoxtown CNS. Attached are pictures of the 2023 BCNS Cultural and Diversity so you have a taste of what the day is all about. If you wish to be a part of what will be a very special day, please fill out the form by following this link: https://forms.office.com/e/rWVdjSV9WH

Thanking you all in advance, 

The BCNS Staff.

Dear Parents,

Please see email below from the Kildare Education Support Centre.

Regards,

Liz

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Colleague,

For your information please find details of forthcoming Information Session for Parents/Guardians.

 Your assistance in bringing the information below to the attention of the parents/guardians of the students in your school would be much appreciated.

 The Department of Education are holding a Parent Information evening in Kildare Education Support Centre on Wednesday, 22nd May, 2024 @ 7.15pm.

The focus of this event is to enhance Online Safety and initiate conversations around smartphones. Webwise, a department-funded service for schools and parents, will present available resources to promote safer and more appropriate online use. The department will then conduct a facilitated discussion on smartphone use and a smartphone consultation process .

To register please click    https://www.eckildare.ie/coursebooking/search-result.html?category_id=20

 As always, thank you for your continued support.

 Many thanks and kind regards.

Vivienne.

 Vivienne O’Loughlin.

Kildare Education Support Centre.

045 530200.

Dear parents, 

Shared with you are some important and exciting dates in our Brannoxtown CNS calendar! 

Warm regards,

Deirdre

Dear parents,

This is a friendly reminder that school is closed for mid-term break from Friday the 3rd of May – Wednesday the 8th of May inclusive.

School finishes at the normal time of 14:30 tomorrow(Thursday) and we return to school on Thursday the 9th of May.

Warm wishes,

Deirdre.

Dear Parents,

Please see attached flyer from the BCNS Parents Association in relation to the School Cinema Night.

Kind regards,

Liz

Dear Parents,

This is a reminder that the closing date for new applications for the Bus Éireann School Transport from Naas to Brannoxtown CNS is this Friday, 26th April.

Regards,

Liz

Dear parents, 

Please find attached an information letter about RSE (Relationships and Sexuality Education) Curriculum that will be taught across all class stages from Tuesday the 23rd of April. 

We encourage you to engage with the linked material provided in the letter. Following this, if you have any lingering queries, please do not hesitate to make contact with your child’s teacher. 

Kind regards, 

Deirdre

RSE-April2024

Liz

Dear Parents,

Please see attached document from Archways, a national organisation who are working in collaboration with local and national agencies. Archway are offering free webinars to parents. 

ARCHWAYS FREE Webinars for Parents-Guardians – Spring 2024

Regards,

Liz

Dear Parents of 6th Class girls,

Please see attached flyer from Presentation All-Girls Boarding School, Thurles in relation to enrolment for September 2024.

Regards,

Liz

Dear Parents,

County Photos have extended their online ordering date for free school delivery to 14th February 20024.  

Kind regards,

Liz

Dear parents, 

Valentine’s Day gives us the perfect opportunity to focus on showing care and kindness to ourselves and to others. With that in mind, we have a week of homework that comes with a loving twist. Click the link below to see a table of homework options to choose from. Each day, choose a minimum of two activities to do (ideally from two different columns):

Friendship Week (padlet.com)

Tomorrow, we are excited to learn how to make a baked version of pancakes to share together. Your children are invited to bring a topping of their choice to enjoy their pancake with. Please remember that Nutella and other nut-based toppings are not permitted. 

Warm wishes and Happy Monday!

BCNS Staff. 

Dear parents, 

This is a reminder that to facilitate Parent Teacher Meetings on today, Wednesday the 7th and tomorrow, Thursday the 8th of February, school will finish at 14:15. 

Set Down cannot be used as a parking area between 13:30 – 14:30 but can be used from 14:30 onwards.   We ask that parents take care not to block residents’ entrances or the exit out of the Set Down area. 

Finally, to respect the meeting schedules, parents are asked to knock on the classroom door at your allocated time. 

Kind regards,

Deirdre. 

Dear Parents,

Our school phone is not working at the moment.  Please contact your child’s/children’s class teacher via Aladdin Connect.  For all other queries please contact the school office via Aladdin Connect or brannoxtowncns@kwetb.ie.

Kind regards,

Liz

Dear Parents, 

The school has been  requisitioned by the state for the forthcoming Referendum and will be fully closed on Friday, March 8th 2024.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

Regards,

Liz

Dear Parents,

This is a gentle reminder that County Photos  will be collecting your photo order on Wednesday, 7th February.  All orders to returned to the school by 2:30pm, today. Alternatively, you can place your order online by using your  Access Code and School Code, this is on each child’s proof card.    To avail of free delivery of your photo order to the school please place your order online before tomorrow, 7th February.  The online portal is shop.countyphotos.ie

Kind regards,

Liz

Dear parents,

This is your reminder to book your Parent Teacher Meeting here on Aladdin!

Access to the booking page will close this Friday the 2nd of February. If the remaining times do not suit your schedule, we ask that you make contact with your child’s class teacher to arrange an alternative meeting time.

We also wish to remind you that school will finish 15 minutes early at 2:15pm on Wednesday the 7th and Thursday the 8th of February to facilitate Parent Teacher Meetings.

Finally, attached is a copy of the parent form that went home with every child last Friday.

1.MidYear-PTM-ParentForm-2024

Kind regards,

Deirdre

A huge congratulations to our two Brannoxtown Community National School quiz teams who represented our school in the First Round of the Credit Union School Quiz. Our u13 team made up of Harry Dunleavy, Kitty Keating, Mackenna Lynch and Sebastian Stenson came so close, scoring only two points off the winning team!  Our u11 team, made up of Isaac Flynn,  Aryan Mehmood, Luke O’Brien and Samuel Timbo took home first place and go through to the next round! Well done, we’re so proud of them all! A final big thank you to Múinteoir Aoife & Múinteoir Eoin for the time they gave to support and prep our quiz teams! 

The Cross and Passion College CAT assessments for enrolment September 2024 will be taking place on Saturday, 9th March between 9am and 11:30am.  Cross and Passion will be contacting all parents by email over the coming weeks with the information you will need. 

Dear Parents,

We are delighted to share with you that Brannoxtown CNS was 1 of 24 schools across Ireland selected to participate in Oide’s ‘Formative Assessment Using Digital Portfolios’ initiative. Oide facilitators will deliver training to BCNS teachers who will then roll the initiative out at school level. Digital portfolios are “student-owned dynamic digital workspaces wherein students can capture their learning and their ideas, access their collections of work, reflect on their learning, share it, set goals, seek feedback and showcase their learning and achievements” (NCCA 2013).

Our school will be using Seesaw (http://seesaw.me), a secure online journal where students can document and reflect on what they are learning in class. Your child will be able to add the things we work on (including photos, videos, worksheets, drawings and voice recordings) to their Seesaw journal and we can share them privately with you and other family members to view and comment on throughout the school year.

In order for your child to use Seesaw, the app needs your child’s name in order to be able to associate work like their photos, videos or voice recordings with their account. Seesaw only uses this information to provide the service and doesn’t advertise in Seesaw, create profiles of students, or share or sell your child’s personal information or journal content. You can read more about their strong privacy promises here: https://web.seesaw.me/privacy. Under an EU law called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in order for your child to use Seesaw, the school must get your consent. For more information on GDPR, please visit https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/rights-citizens.

I hope that your child will enjoy using Seesaw to document and share their learning this year. Please sign below and return this permission slip so that your child can use Seesaw.

Kind Regards, 

Deirdre Murphy, Principal 

Dear Parents,

Children will be brining home their school photo proof cards today.   Your can place your order online by using your  Access Code and School Code, this is on each child’s proof card.  Alternatively, please return your orders  by Tuesday, 6th February as County Photos will be collecting them on  Wednesday, 7th February.

Kind regards,

Liz

Dear Parents,

We have parent teacher meetings organized to take place soon. If you log on to Connect you can check out what date they will be available for you to book your slot(s). Just click on the new Parent Teacher Meeting option on your home page in the App, or log on to Connect via any device to book your meeting(s)

Click here to view a quick guide

Please note that there is one slot per student so only one parent can book a slot for each student.

We look forward to meeting with you.

Dear parents, 

This year’s Parent-Teacher Meetings will be held on Wednesday the 7th and Thursday the 8th of February.

To facilitate these meetings, the school day will end 15 minutes early at 14:15 on the 7th and 8th of February. 

Next week, invitations to book a meeting slot will be sent out via Aladdin. 

On Monday, the 22nd of January, parents with more than one child in the school will receive a link to book their Parent Teacher Meeting slot. 

On Tuesday, the 23rd of January, all parents will receive the link to book their Parent Teacher Meeting slot. 

Kind regards,

Deirdre. 

Dear parents,

Please see the attached leaflet for details of Sinéad’s midterm camp that she will run on Thursday, the 15th of February.