Ferrybank, Waterford
During the month of September we have been learning about our bodies. We learned about what happens as we grow up, and the different things we need at different stages. We played in the doctor’s surgery, drew self-portraits, painted and much more.
We have also been working on our fine motor skills; building up our finger muscles so we can do great colouring, drawing and writing.
It has been a great first month in school getting to know all the girls and settling in.
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 girls enjoyed some hands on learning in Senior Infant maths last week, revising full, half full and empty in different capacity focused activities.
The girls had a great first day today. They played together, did some colouring and painting, went outside after small lunch and then met their 6th class buddies. We read a story before home time and each girl left with a smile on her face. Looking forward to seeing all the girls again tomorrow morning. Miss Hall
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
