Parents Association After-School Activities
The Parents Association After-School Committee offers a variety of sporting, musical and creative after school activities. Being involved in activities outside of the classroom enables students to widen their social skills, build lifelong skills and develop a sense of belonging to our school community. We encourage all students to make the most of these amazing opportunities.
There are 3 types of after-school activities (ASA) in GBDMS:
- The teacher-run after-school activities. These are subject to change but have included languages (French, Spanish..), art, and sports (hurling/camogie…). The teachers will contact parents directly regarding those.
- The music activities, run by private music teachers (initial expression of interests are gathered by the Parent Association)
- The Parent Association activities. These are detailed below.
Dates
- Term 1 will commence the week of the 10th October 2022 and run for 9 weeks.
- Term 2 will commence the week of 16th January 2023 and run for 10 weeks approximately.
- Term 3 will commence in April 2023, dates TBC.
ASA for Junior Infant begins in Term 2, to give them a chance to settle into school life. ASA runs from Monday to Thursday.
Registration for ASAs will go live on Thursday, 5th January 2023
You will then be able to express your interest here
The Form will close Monday, 9th January 2023 at 8pm.
Registration and Payment
An Expression of Interest Form will go live at the start of each term. Details of dates are published via the school newsletter, school email and class whatsapp groups. Parents should fill in the form before the deadline for their children to have a chance to participate in the activities.
The ASA Committee will issue an Invoice by email and payment will be requested via our on-line Stripe Payment System. Payment is required to secure a place in advance of the class commencing.
Supervision
We have a supervisor on-site to assist the younger children to the activity and bring the children to Sherpa or Collection point. All external tutors are Garda-vetted through the School Garda vetting system.
ASA Guidelines and Policy
- ASA places are allocated randomly following the child's class preference (1st choice vs 2nd choice, etc.) and the number of places already offered to that child (to ensure fairness across children).
- If a class is over subscribed and your child is not offered a place in that class, you will be notified via email that your child is on a waiting list.
- Where possible, the allocation will prioritise siblings in the same activity.
- In the event an activity is canceled at short notice due to bad weather or a tutor being unable to perform, you will be notified via the school’s text system. The ASA committee will notify you via email if an extra date at the end of term can be facilitated or alternatively a refund may be issued.
- ASA runs parallel with the school calendar and activities will not be held during Mid-term breaks, School Holidays or on Bank Holidays.
- The ASAs are provided by third party companies, therefore once enrolment has been accepted, payment is required for the full term.
- All children attending any ASA are under the same Code of Conduct as during school hours. Any child who is continually disruptive will be asked to leave the class.
- Children must be collected on time. In the event your child is absent from school or cannot make a class, please notify the supervisor prior to the class. Contact details for the supervisor will be provided upon enrollment.
Activities
Soccer
Smart Soccer Academywww.smartsocceracademy.ie
2 classes: (1)Junior & Senior Infants Kickers at 1.20pm and (2) 1st to 4th Class at 2.20pm.
Coach: Redouane / Cost per Term: €85
Smart Soccer Academy takes a new approach to football, by teaching players how to understand soccer. These sessions build ABC fundamentals. Through fun games, kids receive technical instructions, which help them make their own decisions in play and enjoy soccer away from the pressure of teams and clubs. It’s the SMART way!
Chess
Class: 3rd to 6th Class
Coach: April / Cost per Term: €58.50
The Chess course will be facilitated by April Cronin, former Irish Ladies No. 1 chess player and retired principal teacher. April has been teaching chess and running school chess clubs throughout her career and has a wealth of experience to share. April also teaches chess to Rang 2 students in GBMDS.The sessions will be active and engaging, with plenty of time given over to practicing the concepts.
Hip Hop Dance Class
Catch Dance Academy www.catchdanceacademy.com
2 Classes: (1) Junior & Senior Infants at 1.20pm and (2) 1st to 6th Class at 2.20pm.
Tutor: Lauren / Cost per Term: €97.50
Lauren is trained in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, ballroom, musical theatre and Irish dancing. Lauren has QQI level 5 qualifications in dance performance and dance production. Students will learn hip hop foundations, weekly choreography as well as freestyle. This class is very dynamic and helps children improve flexibility, musicality, rhythm and coordination.
Circus Skills
Circus Projectwww.dublincircusproject.com
2 Classes: (1) Junior & Senior Infants at 1.20pm and (2) 1st to 4th Class at 2.20pm.
Tutors: Peter and Selena / Cost per Term: €97.50
Dublin Circus Project runs a variety of youth circus training programmes for children of all ages. The benefits of circus skills include increased hand-eye coordination, balance, body and spatial awareness, increased focus and attention, and creative expression, all within a non-competitive atmosphere.
Music Classes
Junior & Senior Infants and 1st to 6th Class
Tutor: Rita Garland - Guitar Lessons
Rita Garland has been teaching Guitar at GBMDS since 2005. The lessons consist of teaching children how to play classical guitar and read music as well as acquiring simple chord shapes in order to accompany songs. There are elements of songwriting and games that encourage the child to explore their creative potential while learning guitar techniques in a playful way.
Rita studied Arts (Portuguese and English Literature) at Universidade de Coimbra in Portugal and in 1994 came to study in Dublin, UCD with the Erasmus Programme. Rita has studied with Eamon Sweeney, Conal Rae, Cecile Berranges and Alan Grundy. AVCM Royal Victoria College 2014, Grade 8 in DIT, 2018, and a Diploma in Community & Music Group Teaching at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, 2021.
Community projects:
Some of the past projects Rita has been involved with include monthly music sessions for mothers and children in the context of HSE’s “Community Mother’s” programme and guitar lessons/ music sessions facilitation with the residents at DEPAUL.
Rita has played with the Leonard Cohen tribute band, Leonard’s Corner, played gigs at the Spirit of Folk festival, D8 Live show, Blue light festival and the Unitarian Church. Rita enjoys playing in unusual venues such as public buses and Pearse St. Station for Poetry Ireland. Rita is a long term member of the Resistance choir, who sing in solidarity with social justice and human rights related causes. Rita's plays with a group called The Polytonitcs Guitar Quartet our aim is to explore the rich classical and contemporary repertoire for classical guitar ensembles.
As part of Rita’s Riam Diploma she created and facilitated weekly workshops with the Portuguese speaking community in Dublin. Rita also collaborated with a multicultural music group associated with Balfolk Dublin as a musician playing world music at festivals, folk dance workshops and other events.
Tutor: Arash Kazemi - Guitar Lessons
https://www.arashkazemi.ie/about
Arash has performed with Sophie Ellis-Bextor on the Late Late Show. He has won various prizes, such as Flood Trophy for Guitar Performance (2013) and RTE’s competition to attend a master class with the great flamenco guitarist Paco Peña and renowned classical guitarist John Williams. Arash was nominated for The Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year (2013). In 2012, Arash performed for President Michael D Higgins at the UN International Day, in Kilmainham, Dublin. Arash has completed a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance with First class Honors, 2013. Masters in Music Performance at the DIT Conservatory of Music in Dublin, 2016.
MUSIC LINK https://audius.co/arashkazemi
Tutor: Filipa Quintino - Vocal Coach
Vocal Coach and Early years music teacher Filipa Quintino graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Performance from Newpark Music Centre in 2014. Filipa did 2 years of training in the 3 year teacher/singer Complete Vocal Technique course in Copenhagen, Denmark. With a passion for teaching and broad understanding of music, she tailors each lesson to each individual/student creating an environment where you feel safe to explore and develop your voice. Jazz, MPB, Fado, Musical theatre, Pop and Rock.
“With The Flow” was Filipa’s debut album released in 2016. In 2020 Filipa released new music with wiremeproject.com in which Filipa and guitarist Chris Cole explore original music, Musical theatre and some singer songwriters covers creating a moment for their passion with improvised music.
Tutor: Caroline Moreau - Piano Lessons
Caroline is a French piano teacher, vocalist, performer, educator, composer and researcher in musical pedagogy.Piano Premier Prix (Marcq/Baroeul- France). Degree of DUMI (Pédagogie musicale-Diplôme Universitaire de Musicien Intervenant) University of Strasbourg. Director of “French Singing In Schools” since 2014
Contact Details
Queries can be sent directly to the ASA Committee at:
gbmdsafterschool@gmail.com or Eddie Fox at eddie.fox@griffithbarracks.ie