A huge thank you to all parents who joined us on Thursday evening. We had a massive response and it was wonderful to see the school packed full with interested parents and children eager to show off their learning environment to their parents. Our parental questionnaire that was completed by all parents indicated that you found the evening both highly helpful and informative. We aim to build upon this partnership work throughout the school year. Many thanks to our wondeful P.T.A. who attended and provided tea and cake on the evening. They are delighted to announce that they acquired the names of several people who were interested in becoming members. This is great news as the school greatly values its links with parents and strives to work in partnership to raise essential funds. Many thanks to our Parent Council who were represented on the night by Chairperson Mr.Iain Kinnear and Vice Chairperson Mrs.Kathleen Robb. They are keen to seek your views about representing the Parent Forum and working in partnership with to support the work of the school.
All posts by Mrs Docherty
Rugby Festival
Our Pr.4 – 7 pupils were invited to a Rugby Festival on Monday 7th at the Waysiders Rugby Club in Drumpellier. The children returned to school full of energy and enthused about their morning. They gave it a resounding 10 out of 10. The event was very well organised and accommodated the 180 pupils who attended from St.Augustine’s. A huge big thank you to everyone at the Rugby club for hosting such an event. We hope you to make a return visit soon.
Catholic Head Teachers Conference
Mrs.Docherty will be out of the building on Thursday and Friday to attend a conference. If you wish to contact the school during that time, Mrs.Elliott our new Depute Head Teacher will be happy to help.
Pr.7 Summer Trip
As you will see from our newsletter the school is proposing a summer trip for Pr.7 pupils to either London or York. The itinery for both trips will be issued shortly and parents will be consulted in regard of expressions of interest and preferred trip. The cost for both trips will be included giving all parents the opportunity to give due consideration to both options. I look forward to updating everyone on the outcome of this consultation very soon.
Afterschool Clubs
This term we have a number of afterschool clubs running – football, cross country, netball, badminton and dance. We hope to add to this throughout the term for other stages. Any parents who would like to assist with the delivery of our clubs or would like to run a club for pupils please contact the school.
Rights of the Child
The whole school were entertained by visiting theatre company Hopscotch Theatre and enjoyed a presentation about The Rights of the Child. The play used the UN Conventions on the Right of the Child as it’s starting point and taught the children about rights and the plight of children across the world who are denied fundamental rights. The play will provide the children with plenty to think about when they begin working together in their Make a Difference Groups this session. Every group has the aim of making a difference and impacting at school, local and national level.
Building Work
School premises were a hive of activity throuhgout the summer as major work took place on the school roof and necessary repairs took place inside the school building. The whole building was painted and decorated and gave the school a much needed facelift. We look forward to inviting all parents to our Open Afternoon on Thurs.10th Sept. to tour around the school and classes and to meet the staff team. Many thanks to Mrs.Chisholm who worked tirelessly throughout the summer to tend our wonderful school garden. We are all looking forward to a plentiful harvest thanks to her work and the work of classes throughout last session.
Mr.Redmond, our janitor, Mrs.Cunningham and Mrs. Innes (cleaning staff) were outstanding in preparing the school for the beginning of the school term. Their dedication and commitment to getting the job done was tremendous and really gives us a school to be proud of.
I am always reminding children on a regular basis that it is our school and everyone’s responsibility to make sure the school looks good at all times for the benefit of everyone. The recent facelift has made a huge difference and as a school community we aim to ensure our school learning environment is a building to be proud of.
Welcome Back
Welcome everyone to the start of a new school year. My apologies for not posting over the last two weeks but I had locked myself out and couldn’t get back into our server. Fortunately, all is fixed and we are rearing to go.
As I have noted in our newsletter, our Pr.1 new entrants have had a fantastic start to their school career and are feeling very comfortable in their new surrounding. They are already making good progress in their learning and making plently of friends. A huge big thanks to all parents who are now dropping their children off and allowing them to make their own way to the lines in the morning. It is amazing to see how quickly children adapt to a new routine.
We have only been at school for two weeks and I am delighted to report that everyone has settle in quickly to their new classroom environments. We are delighted to welcome several new staff members to our team here at school, Mrs.Elliott (Depute Head Teacher), Miss Bell (Pr.1/2), Mrs.Elder (Pr.2/3),Miss Burns (Pr.3) and Miss Lester (Pr.4/5). We are also delighted to welcome back Miss Gillooly from maternity leave. We are delighted to have them all here at school and are confident they will help us on our Journey to Excellence.
End of Term
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all pupils, parents and staff for welcoming me so warmly to the community of St.Augustine’s. I have had a wonderful term and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone. St.Augustine’s is a wonderful school and it will be a great privilege and honour to be the head teacher as we begin a new school year in August.
This week we had a leavers Mass for our Pr.7 pupils who said a sad farewell to the school after seven years. We wish them every success for the next phase of their school career when they join St.Ambrose.
On our last day of term we said a sad farewell to several staff members who will not return at the beginning of our school term. We wish Mrs.McManus a long, happy and healthy retirement. We wish Miss Cameron, Miss McAlinden and Mrs.O’Neil every success in their new schools.
Next term we are delighted to welcome back Mrs.Gillooly back from maternity leave. We also have several new staff members who will join the staff team in August. Miss Lisa Bell and Mrs.Theresa Elder will join us as new permanent members of staff. We also look forward to welcoming Miss Rachel Burns and Miss Hannah Lester to the school team.
The school staff hope you enjoy your summer holidays and we look forward to seeing you all in August for the start of a very busy school year!!
St.Augustine’s Talent Show
The whole school enjoyed a morning of phenomenal talent being showcased at our Talent Show. Our poor judges were under such pressure to appoint winners that they awarded joint 1st and 2nd places. However, every single entry was a star in the making and really showed how many amazingly talented children we have here at St.Augustine’s. They were all winners and I for one can’t wait until we do it all again next year!! Here are a few pictures of our amazing artists entertaining the whole school. If you were passing Henderson Street you may well have heard all the singing and clapping.
