We feel incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful and dedicated Parents Committee. They are a group of volunteer parents who support the teachers and staff by providing activities and events to further enhance the pupils enjoyment of school throughout the year.
Our parents committee organise various events each term. These events are designed to be inclusive for all pupils catering for sporting and other interests. They introduce the pupils to new experiences and aim to preserve the traditions and ethos of the school.
Some of their events include:
First Holy Communion brunch:
This special brunch is organised by our Parents Committee and is for the pupils of Second Class and their families. This is tradition in Monkstown Park Junior School becomes a great memory for all the pupils and their families.
Tea and Coffee Morning
The Committee starts the year with a welcome Tea and Coffee Morning for the parents of new students. This provides a great opportunity to get to know some of the parents they will be sharing many memories with over the next eight to fourteen years!
Halloween
October brings Halloween and, with it, the Annual Cake Sale, Cake Decorating and Mask Making Competitions. This is the main fundraiser of the year and the proceeds go to all the activities undertaken throughout the year, most especially, the First Holy Communion Brunch. The students are responsible for decorating a cake in a Halloween-themed design and both their masks and cakes are then judged by completely independent judges. Every year they have a difficult but fun time doing their very important job!
Science Week
November is when we bring some science-theme visitors to the school to mark Science Week. Each class has the opportunity to take part in this event and all students really enjoy learning about science and technology - usually both!
Christmas
December is a busy month in the school. The Committee decorates the school and provides tea, coffee and some seasonal treats at the Carol Service. The Library sub-committee organises the hotly-contested Christmas Quiz where the house teams from Second Class to Sixth Class battle it out for precious House Points (while enjoying the treats provided!). The Committee also arranges for Santa to visit the students from Junior Infants to First Class with a present for all. Thanks to the generous donations of food items from the parents, the Committee provides some beautiful hampers to the local branch of St. Vincent de Paul.
Mobile Farm
The Spring Term sees the some wonderful animals coming to visit the school. We have the Agri-Aware mobile farm visit our school each year. The students have a chance to get up close to some great animals ranging from little baby lambs and chicks and lots more.
Confirmation
The Committee provides light refreshments for the Sixth Class pupils and their families in the Parish Centre after they celebrate their Confirmation each year.
Chess Club
The very successful Chess Club runs at lunchtime twice a week in the Library. It begins with lessons and friendly games and ends with the very exciting annual Chess Competition. Pupils from each class participate and the Library is always packed for the final game! A team is also selected from Fifth and Sixth Classes represent the school each year at the AIJS (Association of Independent Junior Schools) chess tournament which takes place in Rathgar Junior School.
Nutrition Committee
The Nutrition Committee provides healthy and tasty Nutrition Days a number of times each term. The students are encouraged to try foods they may have avoided trying before, sometimes surprising themselves! We do occasionally sneak in a little treat for them too.
The Library
Our newly refurbished school Library is run by parents from the Committee and is open every Tuesday morning for the pupils to borrow new books each week. MPJS recently took part in the Scholastic book fair.
During World Book week we have visiting authors in to the Library to chat to the younger pupils. The older classes take a trip to see authors in a local book shop in Dun Laoghaire.
End of Term Class Raffles
At the end of each term the Committee holds a free raffle for all the students during Friday Assembly. Depending on the term the prizes could be Christmas selection boxes, Easter eggs or various sports items.
Rugby Training
Saturday morning rugby training is run by a team of parents (mostly, but not exclusively, fathers) who help to coach the teams from Second Class to Sixth Class - it's not clear quite who enjoys the training more, the Dads or the boys! The parents also help out during home and away matches. The Committee provides refreshments for parents and players at all the home matches.
Sports Day
Finally, to finish the year on a sweet note, the Committee brings in the ice-cream van and all the students get to enjoy a whipped ice-cream to cool them down!
Our school is very lucky to have wonderful dedicated parents who volunteer their time and help out in various ways throughout each year. We couldn't do it without you and it really enhances the students enjoyment of school life. If you would like to join the Committee or help out at any of our activities feel free to get in touch with us - our email address is Parents.Committee@mpjs.ie.
