Present

Yvonne Garrigan, Deirdre Flanagan, Tara Crawford, Isobel O’Duffy, Janice Doyle, Sue Martin, Máire Christie, Vanessa Shipman

Apologies: Sinead Watson, Aoife Kelliher

1. Recap of old business

  1. School photos – Photos have been sent home.
  2. Valentine’s Day bake sale – The Valentine’s Day bake sale was a great success, with €440 raised. Thank you to everyone who donated and bought cakes on the day, and to those who volunteered to help with selling.
  3. From The Heart – The From The Heart evening is on hold for the time being. We are keen to organise it before we leave Marine House. Date to be announced.
  4. My Marine House commemorative postcard project – As we have not gotten an exact move date yet, we are still accepting submissions for the postcard project. Entry forms are still available from the school or to download from the school website, and can be dropped into the box in the foyer.
  5. Farewell to Marine House – We have sketched out a plan for all of the classes to do a performance as part of our Farewell. 5th class will most likely perform their excellent “History of Marine House”. A contact list is also being compiled of past pupils. Date to be announced.
  6. Purple Day for Laura – The day was a great success, the school was flooded with all shades of purple and €400 was raised for Cancer Research/local Hospice. Thank you to everyone who donated and joined in by wearing purple on the day.
  7. Coicis na Gaeilge – We are in the midst of Coicis na Gaeilge, and hopefully everyone is having a go at speaking Irish. Our Siopa Stáiseanóireacht is in full swing in the foyer.
  8. Flag raising ceremony – The flag raising ceremony will take place on Tuesday the 15th of March at 11am. All are welcome to attend this brief ceremony.

2. Lions Club Table Quiz

The final of the Lions Club Table Quiz will be held in the Grand Hotel Wicklow at 8:30pm on Thursday the 10th March. The Lions Club are looking for at least two teams of four from WETNS on the night. If anyone is interested they should contact Yvonne.

3. 6th class graduation and yearbook

Preparations for the 6th class graduation and yearbook are starting now. Contact Máire Christie if you would like to get involved in the organisation. 5th class parents will be asked to help with refreshments on graduation day.

4. International Food Day

This year’s International Food Day will most likely be happening on Friday 29th April, but this date is to be confirmed. We will be discussing changing the format of the day at next month’s PTA meeting (5th April).

5. St. Patrick’s Day 2016

This year there is a prize of €1,000 for the best parade entry, so we are going all out to try and win it for the school.

There is a costume/prop making session this Sunday the 13th March from 12-3pm in Marine House. If you have some spare time to come and help sort costumes and more it would be greatly appreciated! We also need volunteers to help with face painting on the day.

Below is a rundown of the varied guises Marine House has had over the years which will be featured in our parade entry, and the characters we would like to portray in the parade.

1917-1922 De La Salle Brothers technical school.

We need: 2 adult males to be De La Salle Brothers (costumes provided) and a few older boys (5th/6th class) to be the pupils in grey trousers and white(ish) shirts.

1922-1923 Irish Free State Army.

We need: An adult to carry the Fear Dearg/Captain A.N. Redman costume and an a minder to guide them as visibility inside the costume is poor.

Late 1920s – early 1930s Wicklow UDC.

We need: families – parents & children – to dress in period(ish) costume from 1920s/1930s (costume advice/suggestions will be provided and accessories where possible) and carrying water damaged cardboard suitcases (provided). We have provisionally allocated this section to 2nd class pupils & parents.

Late 1930s – mid-1940s ITGWU.

We need: Union Men and women – train drivers, miners, tradesmen, factory workers, shop stewards in brown shop coats. Adults & children required.

Late 1940s – early 1950s Textile factory.

We need: Adults & children to dress as textile workers (advice/suggestions will be provided).

Mid-1950s – mid-1960s Sisters of Mercy Order, Rathdrum.

We need: 2 adult females to be our holidaying nuns in habits, shades & sunhats (costumes & props provided) and children in shorts and t-shirts with buckets and spades.

1960s-1990s SV Delahunt bottling plant.

We need: 10 children dressed as 10 green bottles (we’ve earmarked a group from 4th class for this section). Costumes will be provided but the 10 children MUST stay together and need to be able to sing “10 Green Bottles” until they’re green in the face!

1990s-2003 Wicklow Bay Hostel.

We need: adults and children dressed as backpackers and international flags bunting will be provided.

2003 – 2016 WETNS.

We will be covering our time at Marine House with a selection of previous Paddy’s Day costumes. We will need to allocate certain of these as follows and costumes/props will be provided:

Junior & Senior Infants

The Sea & Seagulls (from WETNS Ahoy! 2011)

Parents & 5th/6th Class pupils – Sea Captains & Rainbow Sails (from WETNS Ahoy! 2011)

1st Class – Sunflowers (from 2006)

2 or 4 Children of Lir (swans) (from Celtic Myths & Legends 2015). We need 2 or 4 5th/6th class girls. Others – Dress as your favourite Celtic mythical character if you wish.

2 or 4 Valkyries. We need 2 or 4 5th/6th Class girls. We will also be using elements from our Viking longship (dragon’s head & tail, shields & sail) (from Vikings 2014). |Others – Dress as a Viking if you wish.

Parents & children – Happy Hats representing subjects covered in WETNS (from Happy Hats 2010) – possibly 3rd class parents & children?

Parents & children – The Rainbow – 7 groups of people dressed in one single colour each with a cone hat. (from The Rainbow 2009). This section is unallocated as yet. Mixed age group.

Baker & Cake – 1 adult dressed as a chef with a scaled model of our 10th birthday cake. Outfit & cake provided. (from 10th Birthday Party 2013). Dress in your birthday party fancy dress if you wish.

Notes:

  • Children from Junior Infants up to and including 3rd class must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
  • Contact number for all children in the parade must be provided. Contact information forms should be filled in and returned to school.
  • Children must be collected at the end of the parade (at Wicklow Gaol) if not being accompanied during the parade.
  • Please be at Whitegates at 2.30 pm (no earlier as children get restless if they’re waiting around too long) in costume where possible.

Any queries/advice/offers of help please contact Tara 085 724 6689 or Yvonne 089 418 5867 on [email protected]. See y’all on the 17th. Let’s do this Paddy thing!

6. Next PTA meeting

The next PTA meeting is scheduled to be held at 9am on Tuesday the 5th of April.