Admission to Junior Infants September 2025
The process for admission to Junior Infants 2025 will open on Monday 30th September and will remain open until Friday 25th October.
The following are the dates applicable for admission to Junior Infants 2025/2026:
The school will commence accepting applications for admission on | 30th September 2024
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The school shall cease accepting applications for admission on | 25th October 2024 @ 3:00pm
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The date by which applicants will be notified of the decision on their application is | 15th November 2024 |
The period within which applicants must confirm acceptance of an offer of admission is* | 29th November 2024 @ 3:00pm |
The school cannot accept applications for Junior Infants 2025 before this process commences.
All details including relevant dates/forms/policy etc are now available on www.hollyparkgns.ie.
Once the admissions process is open, applications may be posted to the school or delivered by hand. As original documents supporting the application must be included, applications cannot be made by email.
School Calendar 2024/2025
The 2024/2025 calendar is available on www.hollyparkgns.ie
Key Dates: Term One
Opening of the School Year Mass | Tuesday 24th September | 2nd - 6th Class GNS & BNS |
Wellbeing Week: Bí Cineálta! | Week beg Monday 23rd September | Whole School |
STEM Week | Week beg Monday 14th October | Whole School |
GOAL Jersey Day | Friday 11th October | Whole school |
Hallowe'en Dress Up Day | Friday 25th October | Whole school |
Midterm break | 28th October - 1st November inclusive | Whole School |
PT Meetings | Week beginning Monday 18th November | 1st - 6th Class |
Weaving Wellbeing Fiona Forman: Talk for parents | Monday 18th November | All parents (GNS & BNS) welcome |
Christmas Play | Wednesday 11th December | Junior Infants |
Christmas Play | Thursday 12th December | Senior Infants |
Last day of Term One (early finish) | Friday 20th December | Whole school |
First day of Term Two | Monday 6th January | Whole school |
Start & Finish Times
Start Time | Finish Time | |
Senior Infants | 8:30am | 1:10pm |
1st & 2nd Class | 8:30am | 2:10pm |
3rd- 6th Class | 8:40am | 2:20pm |
Junior Infants: Full School Day
We had our best Independence Day ever last Thursday. Well done to our Junior Infants! From tomorrow Thursday 12th September our Junior Infants will attend for the full Infant day - 8:30am - 1:10pm.
School Uniform
Girls should wear the school tracksuit on PE days only.
For health and safety reasons, girls must wear appropriate sporting footwear in order to avoid injury.
School uniform trousers, as an alternative to the school uniform skirt, are available from our uniform suppliers The Schoolwear House.
For health and safety reasons, stud earrings only are permitted. Dangly earrings (to include hoops) are not permitted.
Nail polish, lip gloss, make-up (including mascara), fake tan, fake eyelashes and fake nails are not allowed. Pupils will be asked to remove make up on arrival in school. Wipes will be supplied.
Smart Phones and Smart Devices
The Hollypark GNS community strives, in line with best practice, to create a calm and safe sanctuary, free from the distractions and potential complications posed by social media and the use of personal smart devices. To this end, Hollypark GNS is a phone/smart phone/smart watch free campus. Children are not permitted to use phones/smartphones or smart watches whilst on school grounds (including the yard and the astro pitch).
We acknowledge that parents/guardians may wish to track their child's journey to and from school. We encourage parents/guardians to explore the wide array of tracking devices on the market at present as a viable alternative to the smartphone/ smart watch.
We also encourage parents to broach the subject of smart device ownership with other parents in the class. It is very important that we, as the adults in our school community, have an open and informed discussion about the children's use of smart devices. The opening paragraphs in Keeping Childhood Smartphone Free (published by the Department of Education) provide a good overview of the situation at present in the Irish context.
5th and 6th Class
Children in 5th and 6th class who need to bring a device to school in order to facilitate their journey to and from school must seek written permission from Ms. Gunning by completing and signing a Phone Request Form. [Please see our school's Acceptable Use Policy, Appendix A (page 16)]. If given permission, children must hand the device to their teacher at the beginning of each day, and they may collect it when they are going home. The school takes no responsibility for these devices during the day.
Homework
Homework should be within the capability of the attentive child, based on work already done. Homework enables parents to follow their daughter’s progress.
Homework should always be checked, and the journal signed daily by parent/guardian.
Homework is assigned for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday evenings and is not generally assigned for the weekend.
Recommended Times for Homework
Junior/Senior Infants: Class Teacher will advise.
1st/2nd Class: 20 – 30 minutes
3rd/4th Class: 30 – 40 minutes
5th/6th Class: 40 – 60 minutes.
These are suggested times. In practice, the time taken will depend on each child.
If parents feel a child is taking an excessive amount of time to complete work, they should discuss this with the Class Teacher.
Please click here for Homework Tips.
Frasaí na Seachtaine
"Tar isteach…..tá fáilte romhat! Go raibh maith agat!"
Welcome to 'Daly Exercise'
Glen & Sean Daly are two dedicated brothers with a shared passion for physical education and a vision to transform how PE is taught in Ireland's primary schools.
With years of experience, they have developed a unique approach that focuses on delivering fun, engaging, and skill-based PE lessons designed to inspire children to enjoy physical activity.
Their mission is to create a more dynamic and inclusive curriculum that fosters lifelong fitness habits and develops essential movement skills, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive both physically and mentally through PE.
Wellbeing Week: Bí Cineálta! 23rd - 27th September
We are looking forward to celebrating Wellbeing Week: Bí Cineálta! during the last week of September. We will share all details with our parents in the coming weeks.
Did you remember?
Junior Infant Photos
County Photos will be in the school on Thursday 3rd October for Junior Infant Photo Day. Class teachers will send reminders closer to time.
HSE - Vision, MMR, Flu
Vision & Hearing | Junior Infants | 10th - 13th September |
Immunisations | Junior Infants | 24th & 25th September |
Flu Vaccine | Whole School | 17th October |
Consent forms and reminders will issue to classes in advance of above.
Traffic Safety
Thank you to our parents who have taken on board the safety measures and parking etiquette below and as outlined in last week's newsletter.
The LFI has now agreed that their parents will no longer drive into the yard at drop off and collection times.
I will continue to liaise with our local representatives, the Gardaí, DLRCC and An Taisce to make our routes to school safer for our children and the wider Hollypark community.
Reminders:
Please use the church car park at drop off and collection times and walk the last 6 minutes with your child.
80% of our pupils live within 2 kilometres of our school. Please encourage your older children to walk with their pals to and from school.
Please work with our PA to action the Walking Bus initiative as soon as possible
Please ensure that younger children are held by the hand when walking with them to and from school.
Please do not block the driveways of local residents when parking. Many of our residents – often elderly - are virtual prisoners in their own homes at drop off and collection times. And when they speak up are often subject to abuse.
Please park legally and with care.
As things stand, in the event of an emergency, it is unlikely that a fire tender or ambulance would be able to access the schools, or any homes in the vicinity, at drop off and collection times.
Post-Primary Open Evenings
The Teresian School Thursday 19th September 4:30pm -7:00pm Loreto College Foxrock Thursday 19th September 6:00pm -8:00pm St Raphaela's Secondary School Thursday 26th September 5pm - 7pm |
After School Activities Timetable
Birthdays this week in Hollypark!
Kate Nolan
Sarah Tighe
Ciara Treacy
Zhexuan Shen
Áine Redmond
Emma Flattery
Hannah Wall
Luna Isabelle Matthews
Lara Ruby Martin
Kelly Mairead Gooney
Advertising on our school newsletter
If you would like to place an ad on our school newsletter, please email Suzanne at the office hollyparkgns@gmail.com for further details.
HPGNS
United in Friendship, Together We Strive!
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