First and Second Class November Assembly

Opening Prayer

Lord, we wait for the coming of Christmas with feelings of joy.
We remember all we have to do along the way, We think of those people who find Christmas a lonely and sad time. Amen

In our assembly today we spoke about advent. We know that God is with us at all times. The end of November is the beginning of Advent. Advent means arrival and it is the season of waiting and preparing for the birth of Jesus. There are four Sundays leading up to Advent. The first candle in the Advent wreath symbolises hope. The second candle represents peace. The third candle symbolises joy and the fourth candle symbolises love. The last candle is lit on Christmas Day. The circle of the wreath reminds us of God. The evergreen branches and leaves symbolise the everlasting life which God gives us.

Prayers of the faithful Room 17

Prayer 1 Advent is a season of waiting, for the coming of Jesus. We all have to wait in our lives for different things. Mary and Joseph waited patiently for the birth of Jesus on that very first Christmas. We now wait too. Lord Hear Us.

Prayer 2 Advent is a time of joy. Mary and Joseph waited with joy in their hearts for the coming of the baby Jesus. We remember and celebrate the joy that the people felt as they waited for the arrival of Jesus all that time ago. Lord Hear us

Lord graciously hear us

Prayer 3 Advent is a time of hope. Mary and Joseph like all new parents were filled with hope as they waited . We look forward to and wait in joyful hope to celebrate that first Christmas. Lord Hear Us

Lord graciously hear us

Trick or Treat for Temple Street 625 Euro

Thank you to everyone who made the effort to dress up for Halloween and for bringing in money for Temple Street. We raised 625 euro. The money has been sent to the hospital and we have received a certificate back from them. Well done everyone.

Homeless Collection

Thank you to everyone who brought in sweets and treats for our homeless collection after Halloween. It is nice to be able to help people who don’t have much. The goodies were delivered to homeless families in Dublin last weekend.

Diocesan Visit

We had a visit from Kathleen and Maureen of the diocesan team last week. They visited all classrooms in the school and spoke to the teachers and children, and listened to some songs and prayers. They were particularly impressed with all the Sacred Spaces in the classrooms and the excellent behaviour of the children.

Active Schools

From the 11^th of November to the 6^th of December is National Active Break every day challenge. Each class will try to do some form of exercise/movement break each day. We also have our active lines on the yard on Mondays and Fridays. We are doing active homework on Thursday evenings. We are hoping to run from Ashbourne to Lapland and back which is 3866KM over the next few weeks. I know you are all focusing on balancing this month through the gymnastics strand and I see some excellent balancing as I’m passing through the hall while different classes are at PE. Thank you to Mr Farrell who is our active schools co-ordinator and Ms Quinlan, Ms Joyce, Ms Mc Dermott Ms Curran and the children on the Active Schools Committee.

Christmas Concerts

I know you will be working really hard with your teachers preparing for your Christmas concerts. I was so impressed last year and I can’t wait to see the performances this year. Remember when you are on the stage with your class make sure to behave yourselves as your time is precious and teachers will be very busy trying to get everything ready for the show. Good luck to all of you

Science Week

This week is Science Week in St. Declan’s. All classes will be doing different experiments during the week. We are looking forward to the Science Fare tomorrow. Thank all your teachers for their hard work as all the extra things we do in St. Declan’s takes time and we are extremely lucky to have such enthusiastic teachers. Thank you to Ms Molloy for organising Science Week.

Awards/Prizes

Student of the month trophy