Wednesday 6[th] November 2024
Friends of New Row St Patrick’s AGM
Our last AGM took place on Tuesday 14[th] October 2023, with the re-election of officers for the incoming year – Claire Coleman as secretary, Pat Hanson as treasurer and myself, Grainne Diamond, as chairperson, all conducted and approved by Mrs Deirdre Graffin.
The past year has been as successful as every other year, with many fundraisers, donations to local charities and support given to our school community in different ways!
Quick review of the year
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The big focus for the year was the official adoption of St. Patrick to the school’s name. It was agreed that the official launch would be 9[TH] March 2024, which would coincide with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. A fantastic display of artwork, song, music, dance and prayer took centre stage to celebrate the new chapter in life at New Row St. Patrick’s. There was a strong sense of community as everyone came along to the beautiful mass and tea celebration. Many thanks to Fr. Gates, Fr. Juan, CCMS, Marie and the kitchen staff (for their delicious goodies!), all the staff and our very own FoNRSt.P for helping make this occasion as wonderful as it was.
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We held our 2[nd] Christmas Movie night on 19[th] December, which was a huge hit again for both parents (who were getting a little free time!) and children. The school council helped choose the movies, and many thanks to everyone who helped make the treat packs up for every child! Very well supported by our helping hands within the committee and staff members from the school, this event proved valuable in the wellbeing and happiness of everyone within the school community.
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Our annual calendar was as successful as ever, and without the support of our loyal sponsors this would not have been so rewarding. Of course, we wouldn’t have any sponsors without the dedication and hard work of our own team, specifically Natalie Erwin and Madeline Gribbin. Massive thanks to Madeline for all the photographs and organising of adverts that she does for the calendar.
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The annual Easter Raffle took place, with an abundance of prizes donated from local businesses. A final total of £1650 showed how successful it was. This event always creates a great buzz around the school and the visit from the Easter bunny always adds to the excitement! Many thanks to the local businesses who supported it, to Christy’s for the tickets and to our own FoNRStP members for collecting the donations, but our main thanks goes to the families and friends of the school who continue to buy and sell tickets, and help to make this a huge success every year.
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First Communion was another special day shared with the school community, that saw the hall and outside area filled with laughter, fun and food! Special thanks to Laoise who provided the beautiful balloon displays, to Marie for the wonderful hospitality and to all the Friends of New Row St Patrick’s, who helped make this day special for the Primary 4 children.
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All these events, alongside our usual events such as Neon Day and the Sponsored Walk took place, enabling the committee to help support different occasions within the school - every class went on an end of year trip, the P7 children were presented with beautiful leavers hoodies, our new P1 children received their schoolbags, to name a few.
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We were in a lovely position last year again, to hold a ‘ Thank You’ raffle for the families within the school. Every child’s name was put into a raffle where they could win some vouchers from local stores. FoNRStP were delighted to support the costs of this to say our thank you to them for their continued support throughout the year.
Development of the school’s resources are ongoing, with particular focus this year on the Senory areas within the school. FoNRStP continue to work closely alongside the staff and children within the school to help continue with the development of these very important areas.
Final thoughts…….
Thank you to all the members of the FoNRStP committee. Without the commitment of a strong team, these events are not possible. Thank you to Mrs Graffin for continuing to lead us in the right direction, and for always making good use of the money raised (!). The children are exceptionally lucky to have such a focussed, driven leader who has their best interests at heart. Thank you to the entire school staff – a staff who genuinely care about each child, wanting the best for them academically, emotionally and physically. Thank you to Marie – we hope she never retires! Nothing is ever a bother, and she never ceases to amaze us in going above and beyond what is expected. Thank you to Ciara Shivers for her ongoing professional support and advice.
Finally, thank you to our parents, children, families and wider school community – without you, there is no FoNRStP.
I look forward to a new school year and continued successful events, in terms of both fundraising and health and wellbeing needs.
Mrs Grainne Diamond Chairperson