Ribbit Ribbit Raffle Raffle!
Hop Hop Hooray!! Much ‘gratitoad’ to you all!! Your kindness is ‘un-frog-getable’!
A huge thank you to everyone who supported our raffle which raised €7,765 for the refurbishment of our pond area. The pond has always been a major focus in our outdoor learning and now, thanks to your generosity it will continue to be for many years to come! From frog spawn to fully grown frogs, our children get to witness first-hand the life cycle of the frog in its natural habitat! While there is always huge excitement when the frog spawn is first spotted in the spring, the pond and garden area also creates many other ‘ribbiting’ teaching and learning ‘h-opportunities’ throughout the year! We are really looking forward to working with the Garden Club and Green & Sustainability Committee to create a pond area plan which will enhance accessibility for all children and visitors.
The Lucky Raffle Winners of the ULTIMATE DAYS OUT are
Daniel Fitzpatrick, Simon Rooney, Winnie Nolan, Amba Cuneen Kaski, Michelle Diamond Kelly, Jeff O’ Connell, Sandra Mamane, Cliona Sierra, John Pollock and Aisling O’ Donnell.
Congratulations to you all!!!
Spring Market
Our community’s incredible generosity and kindness also shone through at the Spring Market which took place on May 24th! An amazing €3,354 was raised to continue to fund and support child-centred activities in DSP. Our children’s lived school experience has been enriched by dance, drama, GAA, gardening, gymnastics, school trips and adventures throughout the year. At a time when department funding has decreased, our children are wonderfully supported and richly nurtured by a community which holds them and their wellbeing at its heart! Yippee for the DSP Community!
To the PTA, with love from the Community
To the PTA from the Community
We are incredibly fortunate to have such a fantastic PTA. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have worked so hard this year and have given so much of your time and energy to ensure not just the raffle and the market were a huge success but also every event held this year including;
The Pre-loved Clothing Sale, School Garden/Ground Meitheal, Samhain Celebrations, Winter Fair, Smart Device Talks, Book Week, Ethos Event – 10 Years of Forest School, The DSP Calendar, Garden Sale and Coffee Mornings as well as all the Extra Curricular Activities and the School Lotto!!
There’s no denying that the tireless enthusiasm and teamwork of our PTA is at the heart of so many of our school community’s successes. We are incredibly grateful for our passionate and proactive PTA, whose ‘rolled-up sleeves’ attitude makes a real difference to the children and our community!! YAAAAAAAAYYYYYY FOR THE PTA!!!!!
Garden Club
Our garden is looking very lush and yummy!!! It’s attracting lots of attention from not just the wildlife but also from a few two legged little creatures who have been nibbling on all the healthy goodies straight from the beds, especially the strawberries! 😉
The children are all thrilled to see the results of their outdoor learning at this time of year and have been busy tasting their peas, kale, onion, garlic and lettuce. The kale and garlic pesto making was a big hit! The children couldn’t get enough! From seed/bulb to plate – what an experience!
A big thank you to all the helpers in the Garden Club who provide such an enriching experience for our children, keeping sustainability and biodiversity at the heart of our school and creating a beautiful, colourful and bright environment for everyone!
Patio, Pine Cones and a Bí Cineálta Tree
Our patio is soon to have a new lease of life. Following a refreshing paint job by wonderful volunteers this year, our patio will now become even more colourful with the addition of pine cone art and a tree made of CDs! As a gift to their Infant buddies, 4th, 5th and 6th class along with the fantastic parent volunteers have been busy painting pine cones & CDs and drawing a huge tree. Our patio outdoor learning area will be transformed by freshly painted boards which will hold the beautiful, bright and colourful pine cone art and an equally beautiful, bright and colourful Bí Cineálta (Acts of Kindness) Tree! A big thank you to all involved in this wonderful kindness project!
Passport Day
Passport Day on Wednesday 28th May was very busy as our DSP children took flight around the school. This yearly whole school event sees each class completing a whole class project on a chosen country. Each class, from Junior Infants right up to 6th Class then makes their room ready for the many tourists (at least two other classes) who will visit on Passport Day.
With their passports stamped on the way into each classroom, there is always great excitement and fun as the children experience the culture, food, customs, buildings and languages of other countries. What a way to learn!! This year the children experienced visits to Japan, Australia, Spain, Poland, Denmark, the USA, Belgium and Italy.
Monkstown ET Athletics
On Thursday May 29th, children from 3rd to 6th competed in an Athletics competition in one of our sister schools, Monkstown Educate Together NS. A big thank you to METNS for hosting such a great day for our young athletes! It was wonderful to see the local school communities come together to support the children and cheer them on as they ran and jumped, met old friends and made new. The children who trained hard in the last few weeks, showed fabulous sporting spirit as they all tried their best. We are all very proud of you! GO TEAM DSP!!
Quavers to Quadratics
On Friday May 30th, 5th class and 6th class were visited by ‘Quavers to Quadratics’, an innovative programme which explores the intersection of the worlds of music and science through a series of hands-on workshops. The workshops focussed on allowing the children to not just hear sound but also see, feel and create it! The children were very excited to make their own instruments using recyclable materials and have the opportunity to play different instruments.
Congratulations! Communions & Confirmations
Congratulations to all the children who made their Communion and Confirmation in the summer term! Wonderful times of celebration, joy and community!
Coffee Morning
There was a great turn out for our Coffee Morning on Friday 30th as people came together for our monthly community event. It was a very relaxing morning with lots of chatting and laughing over coffee and sweet treats. Thank you to everyone who helped set up and filled the cups throughout the morning!
Hot Meals Scheme
4 companies responded to DSP’s request to sample the food they have available for the Hot Meals Scheme. The test testing is now complete. While the sampling had an element of fun for the children, they took their responsibility very seriously; asking questions based on nutrition and sustainability. Thank you to the children and parents who have contributed their voices so valuably to the process. The focus groups will keep nutritional standards and sustainability in mind and at the heart of the decision making. The Expression of Interest by the Dept has not yet been released to schools this year. It is, therefore, likely to be some time during the Autumn term when hot meals will be available to Dalkey School Project.