Hello everyone and welcome to the latest PJP Newsletter! We have had a busy few weeks here in PJP and it is hard to believe that we are at the end of our second term for this academic year!

A very warm welcome back to Mr Leahy who has returned to us and is working as a Special Education Teacher with second class. We look forward to welcoming back Ms. Farrelly next term too.

We want to wish Ms. Martin the best as she begins her maternity leave and look forward to welcoming Ms. Ryan to PJP in her place.

Thank you to Ms. Magner for organising an excellent Seachtain Na Gaeilge. Bhaineamar an sult as gach rud! It was wonderful to see such an array of different activities in the school and to hear Irish timpeal na scoile.

Thanks also to Ms. Garland for coordinating a very successful world book day! We have been focused on building up our library this year and we have even managed to create an outdoor space. I hope that as the weather improves more classes will be able to take advantage of this area. We have more worked planned on the area and Gregor will be very busy making it an even nicer space for our students!

A big well done to all the fifth class students, teachers and Ms. Hayden on a very successful visit to Science Blast. The judges were so impressed with the standard of our five projects. We have placed a real emphasis on STEM in the school over the last two years and are thrilled that our students are benefiting so much from this.

The final term is always a busy one, I look forward to all that madness that it will bring; more sports teams, matches, maybe even a final, Ceremony of Light. First Confession, First Holy Communion, Confirmation, School Tours, Sports Awards and all of the every day Teaching and Learning. I hope that everyone can relax and recharge over the Easter Break.

Ms. Markey.

We celebrated World Book Day on the 7th March 2024. We got to go to a book fair. We bought a few books and a bit of stationery. We also dressed up. The 6th Classes came to our class to announce the winner of the Battle of the Books. The winner was Diary of a Wimpy Kid. We went to Ms Reddy’s class where a lady read a book called Mr Leon in Paris. Then we had a a sheet and that sheet had a picture of a water bottle on it so we had to design a sticker from Mr Leon’s adventures. We had a great day.

By Evie and Hannah

Ms Garland’s 2nd Class

We celebrated World Book Day on March the 7th, a Thursday! We dressed up as our favourite book character. Lots of us dressed up as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. We also brought in money because there was a Book Fair, where we could buy lots of books! Our class bought a book called ‘Rise of the Zombie Pigs’ to read together. The book is good so far. We had a visitor who read us a French Book called ‘Mr Leon in Paris’.

By Mia

Ms Garland’s 2nd Class

Every year, at our World Book Day fair, our school earns rewards based on the number of books sold. Our reward is... you guessed it! More books!!! Ms. Garland and the rest of the teachers were very busy ordering new books for our class libraries which have now arrived in the classrooms and are in high demand!

4th Class Students from Ms Osbourne and Ms Hoy’s class enjoyed a reading in the Library Garden. We look forward to warmer weather and being able to use the space more often.

The PE hall was very busy on World Book Day as there was a steady stream of children and parents in and out looking at and buying new books. We would like to extend a massive thank you to Ms. Garland and the Parents Association who co-ordinated this for us.

The 2nd Class students had a visit from author and translator Deirdre McMahon. They followed the adventures of Mr Leon through Paris.

On world book day, our students are encouraged to dress up as their favourite characters from the world of books. Take a look at some of the awesome costumes on show!

Ellie and Sarah from Ms Huldberg’s 3rd Class wrote a letter to their favourite author, J.K. Rowling. They received a response.

Seachtain na Gaeilge in PJP ran from 11-15th March this year. We had a very busy week with plenty of activities going on. We were thrilled to welcome some guests to the school. Fifth class participated in yoga sessions 'as gaeilge' with Róisín from Óga Yoga. Ms Carr's 4th class attended a special comic book character creation and story writing workshop with cartoonist Aidan Courtney in Malahide Library. Mary Grimes was back with many of our junior classes this year to teach them some Irish dancing moves.

There was plenty of ceilí dancing happening around the school . There were tables quizzes as gaeilge,many of our classes played some of the new Irish language games the school has invested in thanks to the Gaelbhratach sponsorship.

Our fifth class students experienced an extraordinary day as they showcased their STEM projects at the ESB Science Blast Primary Fair, held at the RDS on March 4th and 5th. ESB Science Blast is a free, non-competitive educational programme tailored for primary schools. It involves the entire class delving into the scientific inquiry behind a simple question, followed by the opportunity to present their findings at the prestigious RDS venue in Dublin.

This remarkable event aims to foster the curiosity of primary school students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) within a supportive and collaborative atmosphere. The five projects featured from our school were as follows:

- "How Does Our Brain Store Memories?" – Mr. Freeman’s Class

- "How is Obsidian Formed?" - Ms. McCarthy’s Class

- "Can Video Games Improve Real Life Skills?" - Ms. McKenna’s Class

- "Why do we have a Sense of Taste and How Does it Work?" - Ms. Bennett’s Class

- "Why Hasn’t the Leaning Tower of Pisa Fallen Over?" - Ms. Ní Chonchubhair’s Class

In addition to presenting their projects to the public and esteemed judges, our students had the opportunity to engage in various captivating STEM activities. These included exploring other primary school project displays, attending live demonstrations, and participating in hands-on STEM exhibits.

The event proved to be an invaluable learning experience and a day filled with enjoyment for all participants. We eagerly anticipate the possibility of participating again next year. A huge thank-you to all fifth class teachers, as well as to Ms. Hayden, Ms. Magner, Ms. Lonergan, Ms. Markey, Pauline, Nuala, and the parents who accompanied the children on this memorable day.

When we were invited to present a project at Science Blast, an event in the RDS, we immediately had to choose a suitable science question to investigate. After much discussion, our class chose the following question – Can Video Games Improve Real Life Skills?

Ms. McKenna then split the class into groups to research and gather information. We carried out surveys and practical investigations as well as creating our own video games for others to play! By the time Science Blast came around, we were well prepared.

We left school very early on the day of Science Blast and travelled by bus to the RDS. It took us 40 minutes to get there. Once we arrived, we were shown to our stand. Once we finished setting up our project at the stand, we had time to explore the exhibition hall.

There was so much to do at the RDS! There was a science show on stage which I went to. There was a bunch of cool STEM activities set up, a rugby ball throwing challenge, loads of delicious (but overpriced!) food and lots of other interesting projects by other schools. We all took turns in our class to present our project to visitors and to a judge. The judge came back to our stand later and gave us great feedback and awarded us a special plaque for participating in Science Blast.

At the end of the day, we took down our project and headed back on the bus for our journey back to school. There was a bit of a delay getting home as our bus was late picking us up, but we had an amazing day, and I would really love to go to Science Blast again.

In November, all of our fourth class students took part in the BEBRAS Computing Challenge as part of their STEM programme with Ms. Hayden.

The BEBRAS Challenge is an international competition which is run every year to promote Informatics and Computational Thinking in pupils of all ages. The challenge involves participants completing a number of online computational and logical thinking challenges.

We were delighted to recently receive the news that six of our fourth class students have qualified for the final of the competition which will be taking place in Maynooth University on the 20th of April.

We would like to congratulate and wish Ronan Lynch, Luka Steininger, Cillian Kincaid, Cormac Gilbane, Olan Dunphy and Ailish-Laila Asraf Sani the very best of luck in the final.

The school choir are busy rehearsing for the Sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation. They are sounding great so far! We will be sending home a note after Easter to check the availability of choir to sing at the afternoon masses. We will also be seeking a few volunteers to help supervise the children walking to/from the church on the day of the ceremonies.

At the beginning of term two, we began our five-week football programme with Klaaskickz Academy. There were four super coaches and the children really enjoyed the lessons. Here is what Casey and Dearbhla from fourth class made of it:

Klaaskickz
Klasskickz was really good. For the first week, the coach explained that if we did something that if we did something good like a skill or listening to him, we will get points. Whoever has the most points would get a prize. The first week, we did drills. The coach said if we were good we could play matches. The whole class loved Klaaskickz. It is really good.

By Casey Hayden and Dearbhla Rahill

Senior Girls' Football

PJP 1-9 vs 1-5 Gaelscoil Brian Boroimhe

PJP 2-17 vs 0-1 Ratoath

PJP 2-10 vs 0-6 Rolestown

Senior Boys' Football

PJP 2-12 vs 1-8 Ratoath

PJP 3-6 vs 2-5 Gaelscoil Brian Boroimhe

PJP 1-6 vs 5-12 St. Declan's Ashbourne

Boys' Soccer

PJP 4 - 0 Holywell ETNS

PJP 0 - 1 Scoil Assaim

Girls' Soccer

We are very lucky in PJP to have such large numbers of boys and girls interested in representing our school in Hurling and Camogie. 50 girls and 30 boys tried out and gave all the teachers involved a very difficult job of picking our strongest panels. Congratulations to all who made the teams. Games will begin after Easter!

The Senior Boys’ Football team have big shoes to fill this year, with last years team clinching the Premier Fingal League trophy in a thrilling Parnell Park cash before the summer. The target this year will be the very same for the boys who were focused from the first second in their opener vs Ratoath NS. With only 15 players available due to illness and injury, it was imperative that the boys got off to a good start.

The game was slow to begin, with possession trading sides for the first few minutes. When PJP finally settled in, they were quick to attack as several hand passes were put together allowing Conor Halpin to progress toward the goal from midfield. He was unlucky for his shot to narrowly go wide of the post. Tomás Mylan was denied by the goalkeeper after an impressive high catch from a Tadhg Dunphy pass. Cormac O’Neill finally broke the deadlock with a curled finish high above the crossbar. Lachlann Traynor added to this with a strong shot to the top corner leaving the diving goalkeeper hopeless. The highlight of the first half was the fantastic PJP passing play, as they strung together multiple hand passes to work the ball up the pitch. The boys were patient and sensible in possession and constantly working hard for their teammates. Lachlann Traynor added a second goal from distance in the middle of the half as his shot for a point dropped over the goalkeeper and into the goal. He followed this up with a fine point after dummying two points and sending the defenders in the wrong direction. Ratoath responded with a few points to keep them in the game. After Tomás Mylan won a throw ball from the referee, Conor Halpin popped another score over the bar with ease. Cian Power and Conor Halpin finished off the half with kicked and hand passed scores respectively. At halftime the score was 2-5 to 0-6.

The second half began with controversy as a PJP shot by Cian Power looked wide but was given as a score by the referee which prompted uproar from our opposition. Conor Halpin added 2 more points for PJP at one end of the pitch. At the other end, a shot on goal was excellently blocked down by Tadhg Dunphy with one hand. Cian Power and Conor Halpin added more scores from set plays. Ratoath responded with a goal of their own to set up a tense final few minutes where they still believed they could pull the result back. Two Conor Halpin frees and a final point from Lachlann Traynor ended the game on a high for the boys with a convincing 2-13 – 1-8 win. Having lost the Junior Fingal League semi-final to Ratoath last year, this is a show of strength for the boys as they aim for glory this year.

Panel: Evan Byrne, Dylan Cramer, Josh Dignam, Tadhg Dunphy, Rian Gardiner, Jack Gleeson, Conor Halpin, Aidan Harbourne, Tomás Mylan, Stephen O’Connor, Cormac O’Neill, Seán Osario, Cian Power, Daniel Spillane, Lachlann Traynor

As part of Seachtain na Gaeilge, we welcomed back seanchaí ( storyteller) Seosamh Ó Maolalaí who told stories and sang songs as gaeilge with rang a 2, 3 agus 4. This was a highly entertaining session for the children who loved listening to Seosamh!

It has been a super busy term for Chess Club where it has grown to the largest it has ever been. A massive thank you to Mr. Whiting and Ms. Lonergan for offering this fun club to all the boys and girls in our school

On Monday 11th March, we walked to Malahide Library. It was a nice, sunny day. Our class got picked to go to a comic book and cartoon workshop there. Aidan taught us how to draw Kermit the frog and how to draw a dog with different faces. He showed us how to make smiley faces on the dog and cross faces. Aidan showed a trick to help us create our own characters. He told us to draw four squiggly circles on the page. We had to look at the shapes and turn the page different directions and then we had to try and create our own characters from the shapes. Hollie created a girl wearing a wig, Daniel created a snake and Dara made a guy doing the moonwalk! When we were finished we have chance to create our own comic books using our new characters. Lots of the workshop was in Irish as it was Seachtain na Gaeilge. Our class made up fun comic strips 'as gaeilge' . When we were leaving Aidan surprised us by giving us all a copy of his comic book ‘Ruaille Buaille’. We had a great day!

By Dara Reilly, Hollie Donnelly and Daniel Conway