The School Bell
December Newsletter
Dear Parents, Guardians, Pupils and Friends,
Christmas Activities & Events
As the festive season approaches once again, we’re delighted to share an update on the wonderful activities taking place across our school in the coming weeks.
Our school is full of excitement in preparations for Christmas, and the girls and their teachers have been working hard to make this a joyful and memorable time for everyone.
Junior Infants Christmas Play: Wednesday, December 10th
Our Junior Infant classes will present their Christmas performance on Wednesday, December 10th. Parents of Junior Infants will already have received a message with regards to times. We look forward to welcoming you for this special occasion.
Visit to Little Sisters of the Poor: Thursday, December 11th
On Thursday, December 11th, all classes will visit the Little Sisters of the Poor to share their Christmas carols with the residents and staff. This annual tradition is one the girls always enjoy and they are excited for their upcoming visit.
Christmas Carol Service in the Church: Tuesday, December 16th at 1:30pm
Our school’s annual Christmas Carol Service will take place in the Sacred Heart Church Ferrybank at 1:30pm on Tuesday, December 16th for all classes. The Carol Service takes approximately 50 – 60 mins and all classes including Junior and Senior Infants will return to the school where they can be collected after. This will be around the usual finishing time of 2.50pm. All are welcome to join us and we look forward to seeing you there!!
Christmas Jumper / Festive Outfit Day – Thursday, December 18th
The girls are invited to wear their Christmas jumpers or festive outfits to school on Thursday, December 18th.
Please ensure your child is dressed warmly and appropriately, as temperatures have been quite cold recently.
Christmas Decorations & Crib Display
The school is currently in the process of being decorated for the festive season thanks to the hard work of Tracey (secretary), Mark (caretaker), and Ms. Kelly.
Our Crib Background Design Competition is underway, and the girls have been creating wonderful designs. The winning entry will be announced at Assembly this Friday. Well done to all the girls for their creativity and effort!
Wellbeing Warriors
Bí Cíneálta
Our newly appointed Wellbeing Warriors were announced at a recent assembly. Congratulations to Lucie, Sophie, Ema, Sofija, Lily, Maelíosa, Remi, Maloney, Ella, and Evie. The girls have already begun their important work and recently delivered a Bí Cineálta assembly on the effects of bullying. Using two apples as a visual example, they demonstrated how unkind words can hurt a person on the inside even when everything looks fine on the outside.
We are delighted to share that our former Anti-Bullying Policy has now been replaced with a new policy titled “Bí Cineálta”, which translates to “Be Kind.” In line with Department of Education and Youth guidelines, every school is required to display this policy in a pupil-friendly format, and ours is now visible in each classroom. The committee presented the policy to the school and guided pupils through its key sections.
Christmas Food Hamper Appeal
The next project for our Wellbeing Warriors is organising our Christmas Food Hamper Appeal to support families in need during the festive season. The committee has designed posters and have discussed the initiative at assembly. We will be collecting non-perishable food for St. Vincent De Paul up to Friday December 12th. We look forward to the support of our school community in helping those in need this Christmas season. Thank you to everyone involved for their continued support and generosity.
Parents’ Association Fundraiser – Tuesday, December 9th
The Parents’ Association’s Bingo Night will take place in the Forum on Tuesday, December 9th, with doors opening at 7pm.
Tickets are still available from the school office. Thank you to the Parents’ Association and to all parents for your continued generosity and support.
Basketball
Our girls enjoyed a fantastic day out at the basketball competition in Mercy on November 13th. Accompanied by their teachers — Mrs. Burke, Ms. Walsh, and Mrs. Hayes — the team played brilliantly throughout the day and represented the school with great pride. They reached the semi-final, where they were unlucky to miss out on a place in the final. Well done to all the girls for their excellent effort and teamwork!
Fruit in classes
Freshtoday, who supply our hot meals, began providing fresh fruit bowls to all classes this week. The selection includes apples and oranges, and the girls have been thoroughly enjoying them so far. It’s a simple, healthy addition to the school day that encourages positive eating habits and overall wellbeing.
In Memory
The school community was deeply saddened to hear of the recent and tragic passing of one of our former pupils Aoife Bird (nee Oates) and her baby daughter Ailbhe . We extend our heartfelt sympathy to her husband Jim, her son Daithí and to all members of her family at this very difficult time.
She is fondly remembered by those who knew her here in Good Counsel, and our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones as they face this profound loss. May they find strength and comfort in the support of family, friends, and the wider community.
Important Dates
Friday, December 19th – School closes (Half Day)
Infants: 12:10pm
1st–6th: 12:15pm
Monday, January 5th – School reopens at 9am
We look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming Christmas events.
Yours sincerely,
J. Nagle
Principal
Happy Hallowe’en!!
Dear Parents, Pupils, Guardians and Friends of the school,
As we come to the end of our annual Mission Week, we look forward to the Hallowe’en break. Since our last update, we have had lots of activity as you will see below.
Parents Information Evening
Many thanks to all who took the time to visit our school and your daughter’s class in early October. The Parents’ Information Evening is always a great opportunity to strengthen home-school links and it gives you, the parents the chance to see how the classes and the teachers work on a daily basis. We hope you enjoyed the evening.
Mass
Although a little later than usual, we celebrated our Beginning of Year School Mass with the pupils and staff from St. Marys’ BNS on Monday of this week. Thank you to Fr. Whearty for delivering a beautiful mass as ever and to Mrs. Burke for her work in putting the mass together with Ms. Quillinan from St. Marys’ BNS. Thanks also to the parents and grandparents who took the time out to join us on the morning.
Mission Week
As usual, Mission Week is probably the busiest week of the year in the school for staff, children and parents alike. We have had a great week with so many generously contributing everyday with baking, cooking, donating toys/books etc, selling and buying. The effort put in by all of the girls involved has been as superb as ever and a big thank you to anyone who has helped contribute to the week.
The closing event of the week is the Talent Show which is taking place today and is organised by 6th class. Best of luck to all of the girls involved! At the end of the week, we will count up all of the money raised and donate it to a worthy charity. Well done and thanks to everyone!!
Hallowe’en Dress Up
The girls and staff had great fun dressing up for Hallowe’en today! Well done to everyone!
Mayor’s visit
Every year around Hallowe’en, the Mayor of the Metropolitan District in Waterford visits our school. We were delighted to welcome the Metropolitan Mayor Cllr. Adam Wyse to our school yesterday. Holly and Lucie from 6th read a lovely introduction for the mayor which was followed by a beautiful rendition of the song ‘Killeagh’ from 5th class. Mayor Wyse then gave a talk to the girls where he discussed the importance of school attendance and encourage all of the girls to be in school everyday possible. He also presented the annual attendance awards to the respective pupils. Many thanks to Mayor Wyse for taking the time out to visit our school.
European Languages Day
European Languages Day was celebrated in our school on Friday, 26th September 2025. It is a special day to enjoy and respect the many languages that people speak across the continent Europe. We started the morning with a greeting from Miss Kelly and we listened to the anthem of Europe. It is called “Ode to Joy”, and it was played to remind us of peace and friendship. On this day, we remember that learning languages helps us understand each other and feel part of one big family in Europe.
The EU has 24 official languages, reflecting a commitment to linguistic diversity and ensuring people can communicate with institutions in their own language. We also learned that while all 24 languages are official, the institutions use English, French, and German as working languages for practical reasons.
During the day, we were treated to story telling in the various languages. A big thank you to the girls in 5th and 6th class who read stories to the other classes. Some of the languages shared during story time included Portuguese, Latvian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Irish and Romanian. It was a lovely experience to hear The Billy Goats Gruff in Latvian and other classes heard Goldilocks and the Three Bears in Spanish and Romanian.
A special poem about languages was shared during assembly. Thanks to the sixth class girls for preforming it:
Hello Around Europe
On European Language Day,
We learn “hello” in many ways.
From countries far, from friends so near,
Let’s greet each other with a cheer!
Bonjour! we say in France today,
Hola! in Spain, a sunny way.
In Polish we say Cześć!, so bright,
And Olá! in Portugal feels just right.
Ciao! in Italy, warm and sweet,
Hallo! in German when friends we meet.
Bună ziua! in Romanian lands,
Hej! in Sweden, we wave our hands.
In Ireland we smile and say Dia dhuit!,
In Latvia it’s Sveiki!, a joyful salute.
In Hungary they say Szia!, so clear,
Привіт (Pryvit) in Ukrainian,
In Lithuania Labas!, with good cheer.
From Slovakia, Ahoj! we call,
Dobar dan in Croatian, friends hand in hand.
And in Arabic, As-salamu alaykum! for all.
So many hellos, so much to share,
Languages bring friendship everywhere!
Out door Learning Space and School Garden
Here are some photos of our school harvest. We had a wonderful output of vegetables this September.
Thanks to GROW at School, we will continue our connections for the coming school year. A lovely autumn delivery arrived at school recently full of growing materials, seed and plans for the 2025-2026 growing year. Thanks to GIY and our little school growers and gardeners.
Communion and Confirmation Dates
Dates for Communion and Confirmation dates have been set.
Confirmation takes place on Thursday, March 12th @ 11am in the Sacred Heart Church, Ferrybank.
Communion takes place on Saturday, May 16th @ 11am in the Sacred Heart Church, Ferrybank.
Mary Purcell
All here in Good Counsel would like to wish Mary Purcell of FerryFun Childcare and Aftercare the very best as she retires tomorrow. Over the years Mary has been such an asset to the schools, families and children in the Ferrybank area. Wishing Mary a long, healthy and happy retirement!
Best of luck Tracey
All here in Good Counsel would like to wish our secretary, Tracey the best of luck as she has been representing Ireland in the World Shore Angling Championships in Portugal over the last week or so. We hope that it is going well for you and your team!!!
Wishing everyone a Happy Hallowe’en. Our school will reopen on Monday, November 3rd @ 9am.
Yours sincerely,
J.Nagle
Principal
The School Bell – September Update!
Dear Parents, Pupils, Guardians and Friends of the school,
As we come to the end of September, as ever, our school is a busy place. We hope that all of the girls have settled in well and are looking forward to the school year ahead. Please see below for some updates and information on the activities in the school.
New Junior Infants
We are delighted to welcome our new Junior Infant Class to Good Counsel this year. We hope you and your families enjoy many years of learning and happiness here in Good Counsel. Please see some photos below from their first day in school!
Parents Information Evening
Our annual Parents Information Evening takes place on Thursday coming, October 2nd here in the school. Parents are welcome from 6.45pm with events getting under way from 7pm sharp. The Information evening should take no longer than an hour, finishing around 8pm. We look forward to seeing all parents there.
An invitation has been sent to all families with further information and we look forward to welcoming you all on the night.
Stay Safe
We teach the personal safety education programme called Stay Safe during the first term. A note has been sent home on Aladdin with further information on the programme.
Shelters
We have had three new shelters installed in the new Drop-Off area. We hope that the shelters help any parents and children who are waiting outside the school especially on the cold and wet days. It is kindly asked that they treated with respect as they will last as long as they are looked after by all.
SNA Appreciation Day
We celebrate SNA Appreciation Day today and would like to especially thank Ms. Fenton, Ms. Moore and Mrs. Morrissey, the SNAs in our school for all they do for the girls and our staff every day!
Camogie
We are delighted to have a camogie coach coming to the school to take some of the classes next week. The coaching is part of the School Games Development and will take place over 4 weeks between October and November.
New Curriculum
You may have read or seen in the national media that the Department of Education is in the process of introducing a new curriculum in the Irish Primary Education System. Our current school curriculum is the 1999 Curriculum for Primary Schools which means that it is 26 years old. There will be little to no change in the short term as the new curriculum, although being introduced to teachers this school year 2025/2026, it is not due to be implemented in classrooms until the 2026/2027 school year and implementation will be on a phased basis. For further information please click on this link –
New Primary School Curriculum – Information for Parents
Secretary and Caretakers Strike
We were happy to learn earlier in the month that the strike action by Forsa on behalf of school secretaries and caretakers had been withdrawn after talks had been agreed between the relevant parties to find a resolution. Thank you to the staff and families who showed support during the strike days to our secretary Tracey, Mark our caretaker and to Jackie from St. Marys’ BNS who joined us. The work that the secretaries and caretakers do not only make a big contribution to enable schools to stay open but help us greatly in keeping our school running smoothly throughout the year. We couldn’t do it without them!
Art, Craft and Photocopying money
Many thanks to the parents who have paid the Art, Craft and Photocopying money for this school year. If you have yet to do so, payments can be made on Aladdin or to Tracey in the Office.
Pupil Insurance
Many parents have availed of the Allianz insurance that is offered by the school which is also paid for via Aladdin Connect or to Tracey in the office. If you have availed of this insurance and have paid via Aladdin Connect, please ensure that the insurance form is also returned to the school. The final day to avail of the insurance is Tuesday coming, September 30th.
Communion and Confirmation Dates
As we begin the new school year, parents of girls in 2nd and 6th class are always eager to be informed of the sacrament dates. Currently, no dates have been given but we will send out the dates as soon as they are made available to us.
Dates for your diary
Parents Information Evening – Thursday October 2nd @ 7pm
School Closed – Presidential Election Friday October 24th
School Closed – Hallowe’en Break from Monday October 27th to Friday October 31st.
I will be in touch again in the next few weeks.
Yours sincerely,
J. Nagle
Principal
The School Bell June 2025
Dear families and friends of the school,
As we approach the end of another school year at Our Lady of Good Counsel, we take this opportunity to reflect on what has been a busy, rewarding, and enjoyable time for our students and staff. This final newsletter of the year offers a snapshot of some of the events, achievements, and activities that have taken place since our last update.
As we look ahead to the summer holidays, we hope everyone enjoys a well-deserved break, with time to rest, recharge, and reflect on the year that has passed. Thank you to you all for your continued support throughout the year.
Please read on for a look back at some of the highlights from the past term.
Cake Sale
A big thank you to the Parents’ Association who organised a Cake Sale on June 11th. Thank you to all of the girls and families for their generosity and effort in baking buns, cakes and other treats for the day. It was especially pleasing to welcome many parents, brothers and sisters into the school who came to support. As ever, the Cake Sale was a great success with €818 raised. Well done to everyone!!!
Board of Management
As previously communicated, we were in the process of replacing our current Parents’ Representative to the Board of Management, Michelle Daly as her daughter will be leaving us next year as she is in 6th class. We sent out nomination forms to all parents in May and I am pleased to inform you that our new Parents’ Representative to the Board of Management is Gráinne Anderson. Gráinne is a parent of a child in Junior infants and we look forward to welcoming her to the Board of Management in September.
Chess
Ms. Power and Ms. Hall have introduced chess to 4th class this year and have been working hard with the girls to teach them the rules, etiquette and strategies needed. As the girls were enjoying it so much, the teachers invited Mrs. Kelly and the 4th class boys from St. Mary’s BNS just up the road from us down to play on Friday last.
Both the boys and the girls really enjoyed it, got to make some new friends and got the opportunity to test one another’s chess abilities too! Thanks to the teachers for their work throughout the year and thanks to the boys for coming down to play on the day.
School reports and information for the coming school year
School reports were sent out last week on Aladdin. Accompanying the reports were a stationary list, information on your child’s class teacher, a school calendar and information on how to interpret the report cards and standardised tests. If you have not received the information, please contact the office on 051-832984.
Booklists have been uploaded under the ‘Policy’ tab on the website. Please remember, you do not need to buy any books, workbooks or copies for the coming school year.
Staffing Arrangement for the 2025/2026 school year
The staffing arrangements for the coming school year are:
Junior Infants – Ms. Ciara Hall
Senior Infants – Ms. Carmel Fogarty and Ms. Clare Quigley (job sharing)
1st Class – Ms. Mairead Power
2nd Class – Ms. Alice Hutchinson
3rd Class – Mrs. Maeve Power
4th Class – Ms. Ann Cunniffe
5th Class – Mrs. Mary Ryan
6th Class – Mrs. Clare Burke
EAL – Ms. Monica Kelly (Deputy Principal)
SET – Mrs. Aisling Shanahan
SET – Ms. Susan Rellis
SET – Mrs. Feana Foley and Ms. Eilis Walsh (job sharing)
SET – Mrs. Clodagh Hayes
We are delighted to welcome back Ms. Ann Cunniffe and Ms. Eilis Walsh for the coming school year. We are also joined by Ms. Clare Quigley who will be job sharing in Senior Infants.
We would like to thank Ms. Aoife White and Ms. Sabrina Behan, current 5th and 1st class teachers for all of their work this year and previously and wish them well for the future.
Final Assembly of the Year
For our final assembly of the year, we welcomed James from the local library here in Ferrybank. James came in to talk to the girls about the Summer Stars Reading Programme which is a great initiative to keep all children reading throughout the summer months. We also welcomed a couple of special guests – Iona Heffernan and Niamh Ahearne both of whom are past students and part of the Waterford Senior Camogie Team to present medals to the U-13 team. We were delighted to welcome the girls back and thank them for taking the time out to visit our school!
We also presented our annual awards – the Class Attendance award which was won by Mrs. Ryan’s 3rd class, Good Counsel Good Citizen of the year which was won by Sofia in 6th and Camogie Player of the Year which was won by Gracie also in 6th.
Our weekly assembly is a great opportunity for all of the school to see what each class is doing and the girls always look forward to it each Friday throughout the year.
Sports Day
The weather Gods shone down on us on Friday, June 13th as we were treated to a perfect day for our annual Sports Day. As ever, the girls had a great day and got involved in all of the activities set out by the teachers. Thanks to Mrs. Shanahan and Mrs. Power for looking after activities and organising the day.
6th Class Graduation
On Wednesday and Thursday of last week, 6th class treated the school to their version of Snow White as part of their Graduation for the pupils/ teachers and parents. Mrs. Burke and the 6th class girls have been working tirelessly over the last few weeks preparing the play and the end product was simply excellent! From the music and singing to the acting and dancing, the play was entertaining from start to finish and it was wonderful to see all of the girls really get involved and enjoy their last big event here in Good Counsel. We are very proud of all of the girls in our school and the 6th class girls this year have been a pleasure to work with. May we extend our best wishes to you all and your families as you enter the next phase of both your lives and your education!
Our School Garden
School Tours
Our school tours drew to a close on Monday with 5th class completing their tour to Castlecomer Discovery Park. It was lovely to see all of the classes so excited and looking forward to their tours on the respective days. It was even nicer to hear how much everyone enjoyed the days out and how well represented our school was by all of the classes in how they behaved and acted in the different locations. A big thanks to all of the teachers, SNA’s and to Tracey our secretary for enabling the tours to happen and in accompanying all of the classes on the different days. We hope all of the girls enjoyed their days out!!
As we close this final newsletter of the school year, we would like to take a moment to thank all of our pupils, parents, staff, and the wider school community for your continued support, enthusiasm, and partnership throughout the year.
We hope you all have a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable summer break. May it be filled with sunshine, fun, and a well-deserved rest. We look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed and ready for another exciting year ahead.
Wishing you all a wonderful summer!
Your sincerely,
J. Nagle
Principal
May Update!
Dear families and friends of the school,
I hope this newsletter finds you all well and that you are all enjoying the fine weather.
May and June are generally the busiest times of year in schools with all of the activities going on and this year it is no different. It is exciting to see the development that is the North Quays progress outside of our school and we are lucky to have a bird’s eye view of the area especially the new walking bridge which is currently being shipped into the port here in Waterford.
Election of a new Pope
Since our last update, we were saddened to learn of the death of Pope Francis. He will be remembered for how he lived his life and the great values he possessed namely his love for those who are poor and marginalised and how he promoted unity in the Catholic Church and beyond. Since his death, Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected as the new pope and has chosen the name Pope Leo XIV. He is the first American Pope. Pope Leo XIV has some local links here in Waterford. He, as an Augustinian monk has spent some time visiting the Augustinian orders in Ireland, one of those being St. Augustine’s College not too far away from us in Dungarvan. We hope that he can continue the work of Pope Francis during his tenure.
First Holy Communion
Congratulations to the 2nd class girls who celebrated their First Holy Communion on Saturday last. Thankfully, the weather was amazing and the girls did so well. Thanks to Mrs. Power for her work in preparing the class and to Fr. Whearty and Angela in the Parish Office for all of their help throughout. We hope you all had a wonderful day.
School Activities
The classes throughout the school are busy with all of the different activities. Currently, Junior and Senior Infants are almost finished the Balance Bike Programme with their teachers thanks to Waterford Sports Partnership, 1st 5th and 6th are doing Rhythm and Shakes with Cathy, 5th and 6th are doing Spanish with Miss Grace (Abbey C.C.) as part of the Say Yes to the Language Programme, 4th class are participating in the Cycle Safety Programme here in the school with Donal and Ollie while they are also learning about sustainability with Sarah from SLI Waterford where they will work with 1st and 3rd class to spread the word on their chosen topic ‘Fast Fashion’ and how it effects the environment. All of the classes also look forward to their school tours which begin next week for 3rd and 4th class and our annual Sports Day at the end of the year.
Bí- Cineálta (Anti-Bullying Policy)
We are in the process of updating our Anti-Bullying Policy which, under new procedures set out by the Department of Education is to be called the Bí-Cineálta (Be Kind) Procedures to Prevent and Address Bullying in Primary Schools. Last week, we sent a survey regarding bullying to all parents on Aladdin. Many thanks to those who completed the survey. If you would like to complete it, please see the link on the Aladdin message that was sent out to all parents this week.
School Calendar for 2025/2026
The school calendar for the 2025/2026 school year has been uploaded to the school website and is available under the ‘calendar’ tab. You can download the file at the bottom of the page – please be careful not to view the current school year calendar. A school calendar will be sent home to all families for the coming school year before the summer holidays.
Books for next year
The Department of Education has announced funding to again cover the costs of books in the coming school year. Information regarding books and school reports will go out in good time before the summer holiday.
Trócaire 2025
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Trócaire 2025 Lenten
Campaign. Team Trócaire raised a total of 101 Euro. Every donation
will make a difference to helping some of the world’s most vulnerable
people. Pictured are the Trócaire team with Miss Kelly handing over
the Trocaire box to the Parish Office.
Our Out-door Learning Space May 2025
Here is an update of our vegetable growing so far this growing season. There are onions,
garlic, potatoes, carrots, turnips, radish and different types of salad leaves in our garden at the
moment. Fifth class pupils are learning lots about crop growth and importance of sunlight and
water. Miss Kelly
Board of Management
A note went home to all families on Tuesday of this week regarding the Parents’ Nominee on our Board of Management. Currently, Michelle Daly sits on our Board as the Parents Nominee (mother) but Michelle is due to stand down as her daughter is in 6th class and will not be with us next year. If you are interested in putting your name forward, please fill in the form and return it to the school before Friday, May 30th.
On behalf of the school, we would like to extend a big thanks to Michelle for her long service to our Board of Management. Michelle has been on the Board for 10 years now, since 2015 and continues to make a big contribution to our school and everyone in it. Thanks for all of your work!
Cake Sale
The Parents’ Association will hold a Cake Sale on Wednesday, June 11th as their final fundraiser for the year. Our Cake Sale last year was a great success thanks to the efforts of the girls and parents in the school. As ever, all monies raised will go to the education of all of the girls in Good Counsel. A note on Aladdin will go out to parents closer to the time. Thank you for your continued support.
Camogie
The camogie in the school is currently in full swing. Our U-11 girls on their second outing in Tramore last week produced some great performances which saw them reach the final of the competition only to loose out narrowly to Ballygunner. The girls have improved hugely throughout the year so keep practicing and keep up the good work!
Following on from a successful qualifying round where we won our 3 games, the U-13 girls will play their county semi-final on Monday coming vs Portlaw N.S in the pitch here in Ferrybank @ 11am. The final is due to be played on Tuesday in Walsh Park so the winning team will have a quick turnaround with the game on the following day! Best of luck to the team.
Primary Game
We are delighted to have Sinead in 6th class representing the school this weekend. Sinead has been selected as part of the Primary Game team to play during half time of the Waterford vs Cork Senior Hurling Munster Championship game this Sunday in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. She is the first girl to represent the school in this capacity and we wish her the very best of luck for Sunday! Well done Sinead!
Upcoming Dates
Monday and Tuesday, June 2nd & 3rd – School Closed for June Bank Holiday plus 1 day
Wednesday, June 25th – Half Day for Summer Holidays
I will be in touch again in a few weeks.
Yours sincerely,
J. Nagle
Principal
End of Term 2!
Dear families and friends of the school,
As we come to the end of our second term, we took the time this week to celebrate Friendship and Wellbeing Week. Friendship and Wellbeing Week provides a focus to all children and staff in Good Counsel as to how we can look after ourselves and others. Ranging from Mindful Monday to Friendship Friday, Mrs. Shanahan put together many different activities and ideas to mark the week including a Morning Mindful Message over the school intercom every day, a new Affirmation Station near Ms. Behan’s room, Throw a Kindness like Confetti notice board and a Friendship Bracelet Swap in each class on Friday to name a few. Homework for the week was the Wellbeing Homework Challenge Suggestions which could be done at home with a friend or family member. Mrs. Burke and 6th class arranged some food tasting activities on ‘Think Healthy Thursday’.
On Friday we held a ‘Wear Your Bright Colours Day’. All of the girls dressed up in their brightest colours and were encouraged to donate €2 to charity. Well done and thanks to all of the girls for dressing up in such colourful outfits and for their generosity.
I think it is fair to say that life for many of us, children and adults alike is very busy and taking time to reflect and have a look at our selves and our own wellbeing is always time well spent. We hope that the week has given the girls a chance to do this and to find alternative activities away from what would be commonly chosen such as television time or time spent on devices. Regarding devices and their use, we continue to encourage all parents to be aware of what their children are doing online, to monitor both how devices are used by their children and the time spent on them. Although technology has huge benefits and is very much part of our daily lives, it is having a huge negative impact on many including children which is something that we all must be mindful of and protect our children against.
We hope all of the girls enjoyed the week and thank you to Mrs. Shanahan for all of her work in putting everything together.
Parents’ Association Easter Raffle
Our annual Easter Raffle was held by the Parents’ Association on Thursday of this week. Thanks to the Parents’ Association for all of their hard work in putting the prizes together, sorting raffle tickets and holding the raffle itself. There were 18 prizes to be won in the main raffle and Easter Eggs were raffled off in each class as well. Thank you to everyone who contributed, whether you donated a prize or bought or sold a ticket. Over €700 was raised which will be used, as always to enhance the learning experience of all of the girls here in Good Counsel.
Out Door Learning in the School Garden – Spring 2025 Update
Over last number of weeks, first class, fifth class and sixth class have been busy planting a variety of vegetable seeds. These include early potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions, garlic, lettuce and radish. In May we will plant beans. Our school are yet again involved in the Incredible Edibles Programme 2025. We are hoping to retain our Gold Standard status that we achieved last June. This year, also, we are engaged in the GIY school garden project.
A big thanks to Mark for helping us prepare the raised beds and he will be keeping a watchful eye on them over the Easter break. With the warmer weather and a little luck, we will hopefully enjoy some wonderful vegetables before long. Planting is part of our science studies, and learning about growing your own plants and vegetables is a great life skill. It’s a wonderful experience for the girls to see and learn about the seeds and to feel and to work with the soil and compost. We love looking after nature and we benefit when we celebrate its wonder.
Miss Kelly
Trócaire Lenten Campaign 2025
During Lent, our Trócaire Ambassadors from fifth and sixth classes have been busy visiting the classrooms and collecting coins and coppers for the Lent appeal. Lent is the season of preparation which comes before the celebration of Easter. The Ambassadors also presented during our Friday assembly outlining this year’s Trócaire Box story about a family in Guatemala. They told the story of IIma and Julio and their family, who are struggling to cope with the effects of climate change on their local area, their crop growth and how all this threatens their children’s chances of an education and their future. Well done girls. Thank you to everyone for your generosity and support. As we approach Easter, we wish everyone and their families a Happy Easter.
Miss Kelly
5th Class Special Assembly – Easter
Thanks to Ms. White and 5th Class who had a beautiful Special Assembly on Thursday of this week for Easter. 5th class told us all about the importance of Easter and its origin by presenting it, singing songs and finished with some ‘Lámh’ where they showed all of the girls how to sign different words associated with Easter.
Mrs. Ryan’s 3rd Class showed us their Easter Bonnets which were made during the week. The girls are so creative in putting the bonnets together as is the tradition in Mrs. Ryan’s Class. Well done all!
Basketball
Our basketball team represented the school in the Annual Basketball Blitz in Our Lady of Mercy’s sports hall on the last Friday in March. The girls played four games and enjoyed a great day out. Thanks to Mrs. Burke and Ms. White for looking after the team.
Camogie
On Wednesday of this week, we played a strong Ballyduff Upper N.S. in the schools 7 a-side final in Dungarvan GAA grounds. Unfortunately we weren’t successful on the day but the girls gave their all, learned from the experience and will look forward to other days out. Well done to Ballyduff Upper on their well deserved win on the day.
A big thank you to all of the parents and family members who made the trip to Dungarvan. Your support is much appreciated! The girls have made great progress in the 7 a-side this year having won the Eastern side of the competition – well done to you all for your hard work and dedication.
Traffic
Traffic at both drop off and collection times, although things are moving well especially with regards to entering our school, can become congested when leaving at the temporary traffic lights beyond the Abbey C.C. Thanks to parents who have been patient throughout all of the disruption. We hope that this issue will be improved when the final parts of the work are carried out on the Abbey Road and when the permanent traffic lights are set up.
Of course, if you walk to school (and are close enough to walk), you should not experience any of these issues. We see many more children and families walking as the weather gets better and encourage as many of you as possible to walk to school as long as it is safe to do so.
Dates for your Diary
Return after the Easter Break – Monday, April 28th
School Closed – Monday May 5th (May Bank Holiday Weekend)
Wishing you all a Happy Easter. We look forward to seeing you all again in two weeks after the break.
Yours sincerely,
J. Nagle
Principal
March Madness!
Dear families and friends of the school,
As you will read below, March has been a busy month here in Good Counsel. Firstly, well done and congratulations to the 6th class girls and to the boys in St. Marys B.N.S. who celebrated their Confirmation Day on Thursday, March 13th. The girls were a credit to the school and their families on their special day. Many thanks to Bishop Coll and to Fr. Whearty for a beautiful mass. It was lovely to hear some wise words from the Bishop regarding the modern world that we live in and the challenges that we all face on a daily basis – young and old. Thank you also to Mrs. Clare Burke for all her work with 6th class and for having them so well prepared on the day. We hope you all had a lovely day.
We have been busy dressing up and celebrating different events here in Good Counsel over the last few weeks. We celebrated World Book Day and Seachtaine na Gaeilge/Intercultural Week /National Colours Day during March. Well done to all of the girls and parents for the effort that you all put in to the costumes! It was great to see so many of you reusing and recycling items for your costumes too!
St Patrick’s Day/National Colours Day
There was plenty of excitement around the school for St. Patricks’ Day and National Colours Day. The girls, as is the tradition, went on their annual parade to the Little Sisters of the Poor and to Madonna house here beside our school. There was plenty of singing, playing of instruments and poems being recited by all of the classes!
The girls then returned to the school for a céili and some Irish music on the yard. Thankfully the rain stayed off…..just about! We even had some experienced Irish dancers do a reel or two! Thank you to Mrs. Kelly, Mrs Burke and Mrs. Hall for their work in organising events. It’s a day that we always look forward to here and thankfully this year was no different!
Intercultural Week and Seachtaine na Gaeilge
We are always very proud to celebrate our diversity here in Good Counsel. We have almost 200 girls here in the school, some of whom have come from different countries or have international family roots. Intercultural Week always provides a great opportunity for us to celebrate this diversity in an extra special way while giving all of the girls a taste of different cultures, languages and ways of life. Mrs. Kelly was busy throughout the week with many activities including storytelling and daily news updates in different languages such as Portuguese, Polish, Latvian, Hungarian Ukrainian, Spanish and Malayalam.
We also celebrated Seachtaine na Gaeilge during March. Some of the activities during the week included Nuacht an Lae from a different girl in 6th class everyday over the school intercom, Tráth na gCeist (Quiz) for 3rd to 6th class in the GP room and a St. Patrick’s Day Art Workshop. These celebrations fall hand in hand with the Irish Dancing and St. Patricks’s Day Parade mentioned above. Thanks to Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Burke for arranging all of the activities for Intercultural Week and Seachtaine na Gaeilge. Well done everyone!
FAI Soccer
We entered the FAI 5 a-side soccer tournament for the first time in February. This tournament took place in SETU Carriganore. We played three games, winning two and were knocked out in a three way penalty shootout where the winners progressed to the next round. All of the girls were excellent and represented our school so well. Thanks to Mrs. Foley for her work with the team and for looking after them throughout.
Camogie
Congratulations to our Mini Sevens camogie team who were crowned the Eastern Waterford champions in division 1 of the Cumann na Mbunscol in De la Salle GAA grounds last week. The girls demonstrated some excellent camogie skills and won an epic final against the Ursuline. We will face Ballyduff Upper National School in the county final on April 9th. The venue is yet to be confirmed. The girls’ success is down to their dedication to the sport and the support of their families and Ferrybank club. We are very proud of the girls and we wish them good luck in the final.
A special mention to Sinéad who has been chosen to represent our school on The Primary Game Camogie 2025 panel. She will be playing at half time in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday May 25th.
Mrs. Shanahan
Wellbeing Warriors
We introduced ketchup to the hot lunches on Friday. It went down a treat to the girls who like ketchup. Well done to the Wellbeing Warriors who campaigned for the introduction of ketchup. We will be having our Wellbeing and Friendship Week April 7th – 11th so we are getting organised for that. The highlight of the week will be our “Wear Your Bright Colours Dress Up Day” which will be on April 11th. We encourage you not to buy anything new and simply wear some bright clothing from the wardrobe. We will send more details closer to the time.
Mrs. Shanahan
Parents’ Association Easter Raffle
The members of the Parent’s Association are busy organising their Annual Easter Raffle. Raffle tickets will go out early next week to all families and we will send further information via Aladdin. The Easter Raffle will take place on Thursday April 10th. We are lucky to have a very active Parents’ Association and as ever, all monies raised will go towards positively impacting the education that all of the girls receive in Good Counsel.
Basketball
Best of luck to the Basketball Team who play in the Annual Basketball blitz this Friday which takes place in the Mercy Primary School. Thanks to Mrs. Burke and Ms. White for looking after the team.
Dates for your diary
Half Day today, Wednesday March 26th – Staff In-Service
Junior and Senior infants finish @ 12.10pm
1st to 6th Class finish @ 12.15pm.
Easter Holidays
Half Day on Friday April 11th (finishing times are the same as above)
School reopens after the Easter Holidays on Monday, April 28th @ 9.00am.
As you can see, the school is a very busy place with all of the activities that are on going. Needless to say, there is great work being done in all classes. You can keep up to date with some of these activities by having a look through the class blogs on this website.
I will be in touch again before Easter.
Yours sincerely,
J.Nagle
Principal
