Welcome to our March/April 2017 newsletter.
Donaghey Parents’ Association (DPA) news – As mentioned in previous correspondence, Donaghey Primary School is holding a Bike Safe event on Thursday 30th March starting at 6pm. Pupils, parents and the general community are welcome to come along to meet the Burrows Engineering Racing Team and see their bikes. Island Wheelers and East Tyrone Cycling Club will give hands-on bicycle safety and maintenance advice and Halfords staff will teach children how to service their bicycle - so bring along your bike! Furthermore the PSNI Bike Safe co-ordinator will be there to provide road and bike safety advice and St John’s Ambulance will also be in attendance - children are encouraged to bring their teddy along to be bandaged. Face painters will also be there. Entrance is £2 for adults and £1 for children. There will also be a barbecue (burgers £2.00 and hotdogs £1.50) and tuck shop. Parking will be available in the church car park. Please note, parents are responsible for their child throughout the evening. If you are available to help out on the evening with the tuck shop and selling tea and coffee, please contact me.
A movie night will take place in school on Tuesday 11th April with movies starting at 6.30pm. More details to follow.
You will be also aware that the DPA have entered two relay teams for the Belfast Marathon on Monday 1st May – the ‘Lightning Bolts’ and ‘Donaghey Rockets’. The participants hope to raise money for the DPA and Epilepsy Action. This is where we need your help! If you would like a sponsorship form please send in a
note along with your contact telephone number and I will send home a form. Alternatively the DPA will accept donations without the need for getting a sponsorship form. Please forward any donations to your child’s teacher. Individual sponsorship forms will be issued to those running in due course. Thank you for your support.
We are grateful to those parents who have forwarded Smartie tubes filled with 20 pence pieces. More Smartie tubes are available in school. Please forward your Smartie tubes by Wednesday 12th April.
The DPA have donated £200 to the charity Fibromyalgia Awareness Northern Ireland. Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain illness that can affect a person from head to toe. There is no cure, and it includes a wide range of symptoms, which can affect everyone differently. More details about the charity can be found at www.fmani.uk.
Music - I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the school choir for their excellent performance at the Dungannon Music and Drama Festival. Thank you also to Mrs D. Wilson for preparing the choir and Mrs Frank for accompanying. Good luck to those pupils who recently took music exams.
Stars of the Month Assembly for March – The next Stars of the Month Assembly will take place on Friday 31st March at 1.10pm. New playground buddies will be announced at this assembly. Parents are very welcome to attend.
Killowen Outdoor Education Centre – The Primary 6 class recently enjoyed an excellent residential trip to Killowen OEC – images available on our twitter account. The children enjoyed activities such as scrambling through small holes on a mountain side, bouldering, canoeing and the zip line. The centre has been booked again for May 2018 for next year’s P6 class.
March Birthdays - Happy birthday to the following children:
Anna Wilson, Courtney Adams, Joshua Bovill, Leah Bruce, Elen Irwin, Jack Hamill, Tom Irwin, Emily Patterson, Nicole Badger & Beth Trainor.
Book Fair – We received £382.34 commission from Scholastic at the Book Fair. Thank you so much for your generosity. This money will be used to purchase new Accelerated Reading books from Scholastic.
P7 residential to Edinburgh – The P7 pupils will depart for Edinburgh on Monday 3rd April for three nights. The pupils will be accompanied by Mrs M. Wilson and Alanna Leslie. We wish the pupils and staff all the very best. Please forward medical notes by Friday 31st March.
Easter Breakfast – An Easter Breakfast will be held on Wednesday 12th April - 8.00am to 9.15am. We will be serving a variety of cereals, fruit, muffins, pancakes and yoghurts. Parents, family members and friends are all invited. There will also be an Easter egg hunt (weather permitting). Breakfast for adults will be £2.00 and children £1.50. More details to follow.
After-school activities – There will be no tag rugby on Thursday 30th March as I am not available. Rugby will take place on Thursday 6th April (2.45pm – 3.30pm). Hockey finished on Tuesday past. Details regarding extra-curricular activities in term 3 will be forwarded in due course, including information regarding transfer classes in term 3.
Other:
· Congratulations to the Tag Rugby team who won all but one of their matches at the tag tournament hosted by Dungannon RFC earlier in the month.
· Swimming for P3/P4 concludes on Friday 7th April. The children have made brilliant progress!
· Ulster v Cardiff Blues, Friday 7th April. The bus will leave Donaghey PS at 5.15pm. Parking is available in the staff car park. I have mistakenly overcharged for the adult tickets – sitting should have been £20.00, not £28.00 and standing for adults £15.00, not £17.00. Owed money will be sent home in due course. If you have not forwarded the £6.00 per head for the bus, please do not just yet. I will factor in the money that is owed with the bus fee and contact each family, if you are required to forward any further money to cover the bus. Apologies! SUFTUM!!!!
· School finishes on Wednesday 12th April at 11.30am for the Easter break. The school bus will run at this time. Toast will not be available on this day. School will re-open on Monday 24th April.
Please access our website - www.donagheyps.co.uk for more information. Thank you for your support.
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