28^th September 2017

Dear Parents and Guardians / A Thuismitheoirí agus a Chaomhnóirí,

Na Fianna are welcoming the victorious Dublin ladies footballers to Aras Na Fianna this Thursday night at 7pm.  The team will arrive on an open top bus and parade down Mobhi Road, from the Griffith Avenue crossroads, led by the Fire Brigade Brass Band and into the clubhouse. The team will then be presented to the crowd on the balcony overlooking the pitch.
All are invited to assemble in front of the club house to welcome the team.

GETNS Extra Curricular Activities

Reminder re collection from Extra Curricular Activities:

• Junior and Senior Infant DRAMA (Tuesdays) ends at 2:10pm and children should be collected promptly from the external door of the school between the bike shed and car park.
• 1st-6th class DRAMA (Tuesdays) ends at 3:10pm and children should be collected promptly from the main/front door of the school.
• For all other activities, children are to be collected promptly at 3:20pm from the main/front door of the school.

Drama and Chess are now fully booked.  All other activities still have spaces.  If you would like to book into any of the activities, please contact the provider or[email protected] for further information.

If you have not already done so, please be sure to sign and return the attached ECA policy form.  You may drop it to Karen in the office or email to Amanda at[email protected]

Dogs

Following the Board meeting this week, it has been agreed that we will revert to our original policy of not allowing dogs on the school premises, in the interests of health and safety. However, you are welcome to tie your dogs’ leads to the railings, along the grassy area outside the main entrance.

Healthy Eating

Please see attached policy from 2014. This is under review again this year, in order to promote increasingly positive and healthy eating habits and attitudes.

Frása na Seachtaine:  “Tá na duilleoga at titim” – The leaves are falling  

AUTUMN FAIR – 22 OCTOBER 12-3PM

We’re four weeks away from our Autumn Fair, the school’s biggest fundraiser. Thanks so much to all the volunteers who have come forward to help out so far. We still need more folks if we’re going to make it happen though. Please come and help us on the day if you can: we need eco-warriors/baristas to help in our zero-waste café and food room, scary ghouls and goblins for our haunted house, creative folk for crafts stall, tattoos and beauty salon and much more. A particular shout out for those interested in helping on the sports/kids activities. They look like they’ll be great fun this year, but they can’t go ahead if we don’t have people to run them. If you can’t make it to the fair itself, it would be great if you could help with set-up on the Friday or clean up on Sunday afternoon.

We also need donations for all stalls (see below). Please drop all donations to Karen’s office.

Don’t forget to Like our Facebook page for information and updates on the Autumn Fair and other school activities – https://www.facebook.com/GETNSAutumnFair/

Raffle

The raffle is really hotting up with over FORTY amazing prizes already. You can buy your tickets online at tinyurl.com/getnsfair – every donation of €10 buys a book of 6 raffle tickets. And if you can’t make the date, donate! Prizes include:

– a weekend family stay in a cottage in Connemara

– a family studio session and prints from Matchbox Photography

– AA annual membership

– green fees for Moyvalley and Headfort golf clubs

– restaurant vouchers for the Trocadero, the Washerwoman and the Morrison Hotel

– theatre, panto and concert tickets; beauty and salon vouchers; newspaper subscriptions; wine and much much more – keep an eye on the Autumn Fair Facebook page for updates!

There’ll also be a kids raffle – prizes to be announced in the coming days! On Monday next we’ll be sending raffle tickets home with children. There will be a treat for the class that sells the most tickets – so, please do your best! However, as we keep saying, there’s no pressure to sell all or any tickets, so if you can’t or don’t want to that’s fine. No explanation needed, just return the tickets in the envelope provided.

Any raffle prizes that you want to donate can be dropped to Karen’s office. Please label it ‘Raffle’ and let either Alan Howley ([email protected]) or Emma Quinn ([email protected]) know.

On the day of the fair we’ll need 3 volunteers to help with set up, to match winners with prizes, and to sell tickets for the kids raffle. Volunteer for this and avoid being guilted into something much worse – clean up? Alan ([email protected]) or Emma ([email protected])

Brewed Awakening – Café & book shop

This year, we are running a café and bookshop in the hall called Brewed Awakening. We’ll have lovely coffees, teas of many kinds, and of course tons of gorgeous home baking for you in our sit down and takeaway café. October is Reuse Month and we are going to make our café as zero waste as possible. In Ireland, we are throwing away over 200 million takeaway cups each year. These cups are usually not recyclable as to make these cups waterproof, the card is fused with polyethylene. We want our autumn fair to make a difference. Here’s where we need some help:

Donate to our mug library: We are going to build a collection of mugs that the PTA can use for future events. Have you a mug or two going spare at home? Donate to our mug library!

Bring your own keep cup with you on the day if you fancy a takeaway tea/coffee:  If you don’t have one, we will be selling some gorgeous keep cups on the day.

Home baking: Savoury and sweet – we want it all!

Volunteer to work in the café: We’re going to need lots of sets of hand to work on this café. Email [email protected] or [email protected] if you would like to help out! In particular, we are looking for someone to make soup and crêpes (we have a machine for this).

GETNS Boutique 2017

The super stylish GETNS Boutique 2017 is open for donations! We are calling out for gorgeous items of clothing that are in GREAT CONDITION. Time to make room in your wardrobe and donate all those fabulous items of clothing and jewellery that you feel you may never wear again, or you never have worn!!!  So have a look and see if there are a few good pieces that you could donate. We would be delighted to receive them. And darlings, we ask for items in good condition only. (Please no men’s sports gear and baby clothes)Contact Fiona Duke [email protected]

 Bric-a-brac

This year, we’ve decided to call our bric-a-brac station, “Aladdin’s Cave”. To make it a true snooper’s paradise, we need lots of your unwanted things! Please donate items that you no longer need or use from around the house or any unwanted gifts. Use Aladdin’s Cave as your excuse for a declutter.. Some ideas to get you started: small furniture, crockery, cutlery, ornaments, objects d’art, picture frames, unused bathroom smellies/cosmetics, candle holders, no longer needed but working electronics, radios, hi-fis, computers, other electronic gadgets, no longer needed but working kitchen appliances, e-waste – old chargers, phones, tablets, cords, adaptors, mirrors, trinkets, lamp shades, table lights, homeware, tablecloths, unused bedlinen, cameras, paintings, unused art materials, unused greeting cards, notebooks, stationary, bike parts, camping gear, tools, power tools, small gardening equipment. Remember… your unwanted things could be someone else’s treasure! Please drop me an email if you have any questions, suggestions or if you’re wondering if something you have at home is suitable for the cave! My email[email protected]

 Toys

The Autumn Fair is the perfect opportunity for decluttering, for parent and kids alike…  We’re accepting unbroken items for the toys stall, including jigsaws (with all the pieces), toys, games, Stikeez and other collectables! Remember, there’s no anticipating what treasures will be found, so if in doubt, donate! [email protected]

Kids Zone

As we have a brand new school and more space this year, we are planning and taking advantage of this with a Kids Zone. This area will be dedicated to sports and games, with lots of opportunities to win prizes. From Shooting Hoops to Nerf Guns and Pluck a Duck there will be something for everyone. There are a few items that we are looking to source, if you could help with any of below list, can you please contact Laurie Gordon at[email protected]

– A mini soccer goal and/or penalty practice cover – we want to set up a top goal scorer competition.

– Portable White/Black boards – needed for keeping track of scorers for the games

– A couple of large pieces of ply wood – needed for the games

– Volunteers to help out with the activities on the day

Sweet Stall

As always we will have a stall dedicated to sweets and chocolate, everyone’s favourite! If you happen to have access to any confectionary that you can donate, please contact Laurie Gordon at [email protected] as this stall is always a hot seller so the more we have the better!

Holistic Heaven

Want some quiet time away from the hustle and bustle of the autumn fair? Visit our holistic room. We are offering reflexology, Indian head massage, back massage and yoga. Or just drop in and chill out in our relaxation space. Pre book a treatment to avoid disappointment on the day. Email Rosie : [email protected]

GETNS Craft shop

The craft stall at this year’s AUTUMN FAIR needs LOTS of products to sell. Do you make jewellery, pottery, small gifts or furniture? Can you knit something? Are you an artist or designer who could donate some small pieces? Do you make soap, toys, or baby clothes? Or do you know anybody who does? We’d really welcome any ideas, suggestions and – most of all – donations! Please contact [email protected]. Thank you!

Matched Funding

More companies are supporting employees by doubling fund raising for local charities and good causes up to a limit (eg €250). If your company runs a matched funding scheme like this then we want to hear from you. Please contact Pete ([email protected]) and we will help you to help us boost the much needed funds we raise at the Autumn Fair.

Le meas,

_______________________________

Róisín Conlon,

Príomh Oide