St Clare's Primary School Harold's Cross Dublin 6W

Visit from Educate Me

Pilot Paired Maths Programme

Paired Maths involves each child bringing home a Maths game to play with every week and it is hoped that he/she will play the game every day. Most of the games that will be sent home are number based involving counting forwards/backwards, addition or subtraction. Games can be played at different levels and the element of chance enables children of all abilities to be inculded and all children to have an equal likelihood of success. The inherent enjoyment and success can foster positive attitudes to self and to Maths. They also encourage turn-taking cooperation, communication and other social skills.

St. Clare's did it! Our school won the Primary School Section in the Education Category at The Irish Times Living Dublin Awards 2008, held on Thursday 18th December.

To top it all, St. Clare's fought off competition from secondary schools and third level colleges from all around Dublin to take the trophy for the Overall Winners of the Education Category!

1st prize in the Primary School Section was a certificate and a cheque for €1,000.

For the Overall Winner in the Education Section we were awarded with a certificate, a cheque for €1,500, and a beautiful trophy made from marble and bronze, and engraved with the school's name. Mrs. McGinley and Mrs. O'Connell were on hand to receive the award.

A major part of this success came from our participation in the Green Schools programme, along with the Green Home, cycling & walking to school, high-visibility jackets and cycling lessons.

Thank you to everyone, pupils, parents and staff, who have contributed to making St. Clare's such a successful and special school, and a special thank you to Mrs. McGinley who co-ordinated our winning entry in the Living Dublin Awards 2008.

Below is a selection of photographs of the trophy, certificates and the awards ceremony.

Below are some pictures which show why St. Clare's deserved to win.

"Frohe Ostern" (Happy Easter) from all at St. Clare's.

Our beautiful Easter tree was decorated by the 5th and 6th German classes. All the eggs were blown and handpainted by the pupils - supervised by their teacher, Mrs. Redmond.

The Easter table was scattered with marshmallows, chocolate bunnies, chicks and eggs. The Easter bunny, dressed in a traditional German jacket, delighted all the pupils in the school.

We had an Easter Bonnet parade on the day of the Easter Holidays. A super effort was made by lots of the children to create beautiful Easter bonnets from recycled material. The standard was extremely high this year. Check out our bonnets below.

Graffitti Classics
Graffitti classics visited our school on Thursday the 1st of April. We throroughly enjoyed their lively and fun performance of various classical pieces.

Our new extension, incorporating four classrooms, each equipped with interactive whiteboards as well as toilet facilities and lots of space, have been given a finishing touch with a beautiful new flower border.

A selection of roses, carnations, and many other flowering plants will create a spectacular display for many years to come.

St. Clare's held a Science Exhibition Day on 29th May.

We launched rockets! (The video below may take a few seconds to download...)

Nine pupils from St. Clare's took part in the final concert of the National Children's Choir, held on 6th June in the National Concert Hall. Ray Darcy was on hand to introduce the show. It was a tremendous success, and thank you to everyone involved.

Congratulations to all the 4th and 5th class pupils who took part in the earlier Dublin Regional Concert of the National Children's Choir in Tallaght.

The Tallaght concert was held on 30th April, one of seven Dublin Regional Concerts held. In total 3,900 children and their teachers in 47 Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare primary schools took part. Every school will be represented at one of three gala concerts organised by the National Chldren's Choir in the National Concert Hall in June (10 pupils from St. Clare's).

Operating on alternate years, the National Children's Choir has enjoyed tremendous success since it was founded in 1985.

St. Clare's participants are to be congratulated on rising to the challenge of the extensive repertoire they learned, and on achieving a standard of excellence.

Thank you to all the teachers and parents who were involved in making the concert a very special and successful occasion.

On 16th June St. Clare's held an Intercultural Day. The pupils represented 14 countries located throughout the world as an example of the nationalities of pupils in our school.

Displays were laid out with examples of local food, national costumes, national produce, history, images, magazines etc.

The whole school got the opportunity to have a look at the fantastic displays and talk to the pupils about their home countries.

Countries represented on the day were: Jordan, Netherlands, Romania, Poland, Lithuania, South Africa, China, Philippines, Tanzania, Ireland, Pakistan, Germany, Spain and Russia.

Jonathan Philbin Bowman Awards
Every year John and Eimear Bowman visit our school to present the Jonathan Philbin Bowman award for creative writing. This award is dedicated to the memory of their son Jonathan, who sadly died in 2000.

Click on our science blog link to catch up on what went on in our school over Science week.

Science Blog

Maths Week
Maths week was a great success this year. All children participated in various maths activities. Below are some pictures of children completing the school maths trail.

Visit from Dublin City Council
Today in school a lady from the Dublin City council came in to talk to us about the water cycle and how to save water. Our drinking water comes from rivers high up in the mountains which flows down into the Blessington lakes and from there into the sea .The heat of the sun evaporates the water from the sea and then turns it into vapour which in turn forms clouds. When the clouds become too heavy they produce rain which falls and fills our rivers and lakes .This starts the water cycle all over again.

She also told us how important it is to save water during our everyday life. Little things like not letting the tap run while you are brushing your teeth, washing the dishes or taking a drink. If your taps are old or dripping you should get them mended or replaced as quick as you can. You can also shorten the time you spend showering, you should only use the washing machine when it is full of clothes, not half full. From listening to her today I have learned how important water is to us and how we should conserve it and not take it for granted.

By Jack O'Donnell

The Minister for Education and Science visited our school on November 28th to launch the publication, Assessment in the Primary School Curriculum: Guidelines for Schools, produced by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).

European Day of Languages

To celebrate the European day of languages the choir of St. Clare's Primary school performed for the whole school 'Bruder Jakob' in four languages, Irish, English , French and German. Their newly formed orchestra conducted by Ms. Boylan accompanied the choir. Following this, each 5th class pupil received a 'Schultute' which had been had made by a 6th class pupil. The Schultuten were beautifully decorated and filled with treats. It is a tradition in Germany that each child receives a Schultute on their first day at school. Ms. C. Mc. Auliffe, project leader for German, enjoyed the occasion.

Here are a few famous faces who have visited St. Clare's.