World Book Day – Share a Story
Dear Dads, Mams, Pupils and Staff,

Next Thursday, March 1st, is World Book Day. Children and adults all over the world will be sharing their favourite books and enjoying reading. At our school, the girls can celebrate by dressing up as a character from a book. There is no need to buy a costume. Something creative and homemade will be perfect. It might even be as simple as a mask or a hat. I wonder if Miss Trunchbull will make an appearance again this year!!!!!!

On World Book Day, the girls may bring their favourite book to school to share with their friends. Each girl will receive a World Book Day token. If you take the token to a local bookshop before March 25th, you will be able to buy one of these books:
Oi Goat!
Mr. Men – My Book About Me
Paddington Turns Detective
Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story
The Baby Brother From Outer Space
Terry’s Dumb Dot Story
Brain Freeze
The Bolds
The Girl Who Thought She Was a Dog
Avengers Greatest Heroes
Rugby Roar
Of course, you don’t even have to buy a book to enjoy reading. It’s free to join the local library (for children and adults!) and there are hundreds of books there for you to read. February is ‘Join the Library’ month so why not sign up now and be ready for World Book Day.

Yours sincerely,

____________________________
C. O’Reilly – Principal
First Penance
Congratulations to all the girls in Second Class who made their First Penance on February 13th. They were well prepared by their teacher Ms. Finucane and their Mams and Dads. Thank you to the priests who were present – Fr. Dempsey, Fr. Crotty, Fr. Irenaeus, Fr. Cyprian and Fr. Walter.

Parents’ Association News
Hello everyone, as you know we have held a table quiz for the last number of years in an effort to raise funds for the school. However this year we have decided to hold an Easter Raffle instead.
The raffle tickets will be sent home with the girls after the St. Patrick’s Day bank holiday and there will be some lovely Easter eggs as prizes.
We will send a reminder nearer the time and look forward to your continued support.

Reminder
On March 2nd, school will close at 12.30p.m. for all pupils. This is to allow for staff in-service training in the new Child Protection procedures.

Condolences
The Board of Management, Staff and pupils offer sincere condolences to Eugene Power and his family on the death of his father, Dick. Eugene was the Deputy Principal of Abbey C.C. and he also served as Chairperson of our school’s Board of Management.

Working with the Community
We are very fortunate that our school has strong links with lots of organisations in the Ferrybank community. One of those organisations is Foróige. Foróige is the leading youth organisation in Ireland and has been working with young people since 1952. Currently, it works with over 50,000 young people aged 10-18 each year through volunteer-led Clubs and staff-led Youth Projects.
This week, Ferrybank Foróige has begun two programmes in our school. Sixth Class girls are taking part in an Alcohol Awareness programme. This is very appropriate for them as they prepare for Confirmation and make decisions about taking pledges not to use alcohol or harmful drugs.
The girls in Fifth Class have begun an Internet Safety and Cyberbullying programme. As we all know, technology and social media are wonderful tools for learning. However, just as we teach our young people to keep themselves safe when they are out and about with their friends, we also need to teach them how to keep themselves safe online.
We are very grateful to Karen and her team for giving us their time.

Staying Active
Tomorrow, the girls in Fourth Class will begin a four week Cycle Safety programme. The bicycles, helmets, wet weather gear and tuition will all be provided by Donal Jacob of Greenway Waterford Bike Hire. Donal is accredited to teach the Cycle Right programme and we are delighted to have him back with us again. Watch out for the bicycles around the school yard! Maybe this is a good time to dust off your bicycle after the winter and make sure that it is roadworthy for the months ahead.

Peace Proms
It won’t be long now until Mr. Dooley’s class and Miss Anderson’s class travel to Kilkenny for the Peace Proms concert. We have been enjoying their singing while they practise all their songs. We wish you the best of luck on March 4th girls. It will be a wonderful experience for all of you.

To Make You Smile
Here’s a little joke from Anna Maria (6th Class)
What do you call cars in a jar?
A traffic jam!

February Calendar
1st St. Brigid’s Day
2nd Candlemas
3rd St. Blaise
11th Our Lady of Lourdes
13th Shrove Tuesday
Mahashivrati
14th Ash Wednesday
St. Valentine’s Day
15th Mid-Term Break
16th Mid-term Break
Chinese New Year
Lithuania National Day
17th Kosovo National Day
24th Estonia Independence Day