St. Bride's N.S.

Its World Book Day in St Bride’s!! Classes had great fun dressing up as characters from their favourite books and sharing their love of books with the whole school. WE LOVE READING!!!!!!

Pancake Tuesday turned out to be a very busy day for the children in St. Bride’s NS. Our GP room was transformed into a pancake making factory for a good part of the day with our senior pupils taking on the role of Masterchefs. They measured, whisked, fried and flipped pancakes for all the other classes in the school and the staff.

Our senior pupils took part in the FAI Primary School 5-a-side competition recently in Lecarrow. A girls and boys team were entered and both teams represented the school with great pride and effort but unfortunately were unable to progress to the next stage of the competition.

Our 3rd & 4th Class quiz team acquitted themselves very well for their first time representing the school at the Credit Union Quiz held in Athlone on Sunday 9th February. The 5th & 6th class team were in contention until the very end only to be pipped at the post into 2nd place. It was a brilliant effort and both teams deserve huge credit for the work they put in.

The children from 3rd to 6th Class were very busy on Thursday 30th January making St. Brigid’s Day crosses for themselves, their families and the wider community. These crosses were then distributed at a wonderful mass in celebration of our school’s Patron Saint on Friday 31st January.

Over the past number of months, a group of parents of pupils, attending St Bride’s National School in Ballintubber, have been actively engaging with the school community to seek support in implementing a Smartphone Free Agreement at the school. Following the guidelines issued by the Department of Education in a document called: Keeping Childhood Smartphone Free, this voluntary agreement asks parents to delay the introduction of the smartphone to their child until secondary school. This complements the existing school policy on mobile phone use and is an important element of the schools Wellbeing Programme.
Advocates for this approach highlight the importance of preserving a childhood free from the pressures of social media and the distractions of constant connectivity. This approach has enabled parents/guardians to make decisions collaboratively that will directly affect our children’s mental health and wellbeing.
This is an ongoing initiative and will continue to support parents/guardians in the coming years. When the Junior Infants begin at St Bride’s National School, the Smartphone Free Agreement letter will be issued to parents/guardians to consider. The voluntary agreement was a combined effort by the Principal, Teachers & Staff, the Parents’ Association, and a community of parents. This has sparked valuable conversations around screen time, health, and the importance of creating genuine connections during these developmental primary school years. Everyone is encouraged to continue these conversations and support our children as they navigate through this digital maze.

Well done to all the families who contributed to this year’s Team Hope Shoebox Appeal. 68 shoeboxes were collected and they are on their way to needy families in Eastern Europe and Africa. St. Bride’s N.S. has a proud tradition of supporting this charity since 2012.