On Wednesday March 29th, the Ratheniska Parents Association held an Easter raffle. We had a very special visitor who came to the school and help us with the raffle. There was great excitement as the Easter Bunny met each class. We had winners from each class along with a class raffle. The children and families did a great job selling lines for the raffle and we will have the final count on the amount that was raised soon. The money raised will be going directly to the school to help with ongoing costs and skills development. Wishing all the families of Ratheniska National school a Happy Easter and don’t forget to drop into the Community Hall after Mass on Easter Sunday for a cup of tea and a sweet treat.
Merry Christmas 2022
RatheniskaSmiles all around this morning as the children received their Christmas Annual and Class Photo as a gift from the Parents Association. We would like to wish all the teachers, staff and families of Ratheniska National School a Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year.
Halloween Disco 2022
RatheniskaThe Ratheniska Parents Association were delighted to host the much anticipated Halloween Disco in the Community Hall last Wednesday. A big thanks to DJ Tim Chambers for his spooktacular music. The kids had great fun and danced the night away. Also a special thank to Brian Phelan for his hard work and creativity in transforming the hall into a place of horror and terror!!
Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable Halloween break.
First Communion 2022
RatheniskaOn Saturday 21st May, 2nd class celebrated their First Holy Communion. Fr Ciprian celebrated the Mass where 22 boys and girls received their First Communion. Pupils from 3rd-6th class provided beautiful singing which enhanced the ceremony. Many thanks to Louise Kavanagh for leading the choir.
After the ceremony the Parents’ Association hosted a party in the GAA clubhouse. This was a great success and gave the boys and girls time to chat and have some fun. Many families came and it was lovely to hear the buzz back in the community. It really made the day special for the boys and girls of 2nd class. Many thanks to all the parents who helped out on the day, dropped sandwiches and treats and for setting up the night before. Your help is really appreciated.
A special thanks to Ms. Michelle O’ Byrne and Ms. Pauline Dunne for preparing the children for their First Holy Communion.
Thank you to the GAA club for the use of the clubhouse on the day. It truly is a great facility to have in the community. Photographer Denis Byrne was there to capture the family photos along with Videographer John Brophy who recorded the ceremony as a keepsake for families.
Nadia Tavolieri surprised us all on the day with a fabulous cake. She has recently set up her business of D’Laois Cakes. Thank you for the delicious cake, Nadia!
Jersey Day and Raffle
RatheniskaOn Friday the 20th May we held a very successful Jersey Day in Ratheniska NS. Many club and county jerseys were on display on the day. Thank you to all the parents for their generous donations and we are delighted to inform you we raised €1561.92. This funding will be used to cover events between now and the end of the school year. Check out a photo of some of the jerseys here.
Towards the end of the day, and in the presence of the entire school community and staff, we held a raffle and we were very lucky to have some sporting celebrities in attendance on the day to help out.
Representing their clubs were Enda Shortall, Kieran Lillis, Enda Rowland, Jamie Baldwin and Gareth Dillon who presented the winners with their prizes.
The prizes included vouchers for Roll ‘n’ Bowl, Kirsten’s Cakery, Pippa’s Parlour, McDonalds, Supermacs, wine from Peig’s Bar and Bracken’s Gala, chocolates, doughnuts and a fruit hamper. The prizes were well shared out among the classes and staff and we would like to thank sincerely all those who organised and sponsored them.
There was great excitement among all the children on the day and thanks to all the lads for coming and inspiring the boys and girls in Ratheniska NS.
Click here to see the excited winners!
AGM 2022
RatheniskaAt our recent AGM, the following officers were elected.
Chairperson – Laura Baldwin
Secretary – Michelle Clear
Treasurer – Olivia O’Donovan
And the Winners are…..!
RatheniskaThe winners of our Christmas Draw are as follows:
1st – Mattie Fingleton (Conor and Abbie Sugrue’s card)
2nd – Sé Ramsbottom (Brian Ramsbottom’s card)
3rd – Dan Mortimer ( Millie Sydes card)
4th – Alan Roberts (Valérie Mahé’s card0
5th – John and James Fingleton (Fingleton’s card)
We would like to express our gratitude to all those who organised the draw and to all those who contributed so generously. 
AGM Report Ratheniska Parents Association
RatheniskaRatheniska Parents Association held their first ever virtual AGM on Thursday 19th November 2020 and we are delighted to report no technical problems arose!
The following officers were elected:
Chairperson: Chris Knowles
Vice Chairperson: Evelyn Roberts
Secretary: Dawn Kavanagh
Vice Secretary: Claire Downey
Treasurer: Maeve Conroy
Vice Treasurer: Ronan Fingleton
We welcome all new and returning officers and thank the outgoing officers, namely Teresina Dermody who has served as secretary for the past 3 years and Sara O’Hara who was vice treasurer last year.
It was discussed that a factor in the poor attendance in Parents Association meetings might be a lack of awareness of what a Parents Association does, so to this end we refer you to the National Parents Council website and a detailed description of same http://www.npc.ie/
On the financial end of things our income for the school year 2019/2020 included €800 from Halloween Disco, €809 from the Christmas Cards and €256 from the Table Quiz. We thank you most sincerely for your continued generous support. A contribution total of €2000 has been made to school, with €1000 paid Dec 2019 and a further €1000 November 2020.
It what has been an unprecedented year we wish to express our most sincere thanks and offer our support to the Principal, Board of Management and all the staff for their tireless efforts in making our school a safe and happy place for our children to enjoy their education in.
We understand that the financial demands on the running of the school are heightened this year with all the costs of covid compliance. To this end a fundraising subcommittee has been established with representatives from Board of Management and Parents Association. We extend the invitation to anyone wishing to get involved to just contact ourselves or the school and we will be delighted to hear fresh voices and ideas on same, as it will require a bit of different thinking on our traditional fundraisers.
Our contact details are: ratheniskaparents@gmail.com
We look forward to 2020/2021.
Table Quiz 2020
RatheniskaWe held our annual Table Quiz on March 11th this year. We had a packed hall with teams from our own school, Stradbally, Cosby, Timahoe and the Heath. All rounds were hotly contested and at the end of a very enjoyable night , the winners were announced and Ratheniska came in first, second and third place.
Thank you to all who helped organise this event.
Halloween Disco 2019
RatheniskaOur first event of the new school year was the annual Halloween disco which we held on Wednesday 23rd. All the boys and girls were in awe as they entered the spooky wonderland. We would like to thank all who attended and who helped make the night a huge success.