January
Happy New Year
Welcome to our January newsletter. 2017 has started off as a very uncertain time in the world and it has never been a more important time to remember that respect for all must be paramount in everything we try and do. We are lucky in Educate Together schools that this is cemented in our ethos and the messages of Learn Together to Live Together and No Child an Outsider are central to everything we do in this school. This doesn't mean that we always agree with each other but everyone has the right to be included in all aspects of school life and there is never a time where a child feels they cannot take part because of their culture, background or identity. As parents, this will mean different things to you as it does for me as a teacher and parent. We are always very proud of our pupils' achievements and this month, we have seen some amazing work from all of our classes - everything from cooking scrambled eggs from scratch to researching CO2 levels in our classrooms. Whatever age or ability, all of our pupils work hard everyday to be the best they can be. We're also delighted that the adults in our school are starting the new year with vigour. We have Tuesday morning Bootcamp classes for parents and our staff are having Bootcamp classes after school. We've also opened out school up to the wider community and our hall is now in use by Fusion Fitness who are running their classes in the school. Next month sees Mindful Homework coming back so you'll be hearing more about this soon. Also, our Science for Fun and Maths for Fun starting and we're looking forward to welcoming our parents and families to this. We'll also be holding our annual Friendship Week and there's going to be some wonderful events throughout, including a Bake Off and Puppet Show. It's going to be a busy 2017! Until next time, keep happy, safe and learning.
Things you need to know...
February Mindfulness
We will be focusing on mindfulness again this year with our pupils. Based on the feedback received, we have decided to try out a month of mindfulness from 6th February to 1st March. Each day, children will take part in a five minute mindful programme in school. Every Wednesday, children will receive some Mindful homework. After the 1st March, we will be looking for feedback from parents, pupils and staff and will use this information to plan for the rest of the year.
Young Scientists Fair
Thank you to the parents to came along with our 4th class to the RDS Young Scientist Fair in Limerick. The children had a great day and thanks to Susanne for all her work with the class.
Welcome Back
A big welcome back to Edel who has returned from maternity leave. Edel will be working in Learning Support for the remainder of the year. Thank you to Ashleigh for her work while Edel was away.
Friendship Week
Friendship Week will take place from 13th to 17th February. Final touches are being put to the timetable but there will be a cake event on Tuesday the 14th for Valentine's Day and on Friday there will be a Puppet Show as well as some food for everyone. Keep an eye on your email over the next week or two and we look forward to seeing you throughout the week
Science for Fun and Maths for Fun
We're delighted to welcome back these parent initiatives for 3rd and 4th class. If you'd like to take part, please contact Nicola and she'll be delighted to have you on board. Children love to see their parents coming to the school and it's a great opportunity to see how the classroom dynamic works.
Half Day 3rd February
Just a quick reminder that Friday 3rd February will be a half day for all pupils due to staff training.
Regular Updates
Breakfast Club
Our Breakfast Club is open for all children from 8:30am Monday to Friday. Come and join Simon, Marita, Vera and Laura for a slice of toast, juice and a chat before starting the day. There's no need to sign up - simply show up in the morning,
Cake Fridays
Join the Parents’ Group for their weekly Cake Fridays in the Parent Room after drop off.
Homework Club
The homework club is running well with nearly 20 pupils taking part. To sign up, contact the office and Marita will give you a call.
Attendance and Lateness
We are monitoring attendance carefully this year.
Attendance per month is
September: 95% | October 93% | November 92% | December 90.5% | January 94.3%
Overall: 93% | Target: 95%
- 19 pupils have missed 14 days of school or more (15% of school time)
- 21 pupils have been more than 10 minutes late for school more than 10 times.
Please ensure that your child is in school on time. The school opens at 8:30am for breakfast club and 8:35am for morning supervision. Classes start at 8:50am and all children must be in school by then. There are a number of children coming to school after 9am and classes are well underway by then. Our attendance team will be in touch to talk to families of children where this is proving to be a persistent issue.
Second Level Campaign
Please register your interest if you’d like Carlow to have a second level Educate Together school. https://secure.jotformpro.com/form/52224353965962. The group also has a Facebook Page, which we’d recommend you to join.
Volunteer
We’re always thrilled to have parents and families volunteering in the school. We had over 100 parents in school last year and we’d love to see more of you.
Nut Allergy
We have two pupils in our school with nut allergies. It is vital that no nuts ever come into our school. We cannot police every lunchbox so we are relying on you to cooperate with our nut ban.
Upcoming Dates For Your Diary
February
- 3rd: Half Day for Staff Training (12pm)
- 13th - 17th: Friendship Week
- 20th - 24th: Mid Term Break
Social Media
You can find us on various social media platforms:
YouTube – Search for Carlow Educate Together
Facebook – http://facebook/com/carlowetns
Twitter – http://twitter.com/carlowetns
News from around the Classes
Junior Classes
Roisin's class have been very busy the last two weeks learning all about winter and the Polar Regions. We went exploring the North and South Pole during Aistear. We made penguins at the creative table. We learned all about them and wrote little stories about penguins. We designed wooly winter hats and painted winter pictures. It was all great fun!
We are learning all about Tom Crean and Antarctica in Senior Infants and First Class. In Aistear we are pretending to be explorers, building Igloos, creating Antarctic animals, pretending to be Tom Crean on the Terra Nova ship. We created beautiful art after reading Tom Crean Rabbit.
1st class were having great fun doing their rolls in gymnastics
Tricia's class had great fun yesterday cycling and scooting around the playground. Thanks so much to play together group for lending us their equipment
Senior Classes
Very proud of our wonderful 4th class who were superstars in Limerick at the RDS Young Scientist Fair. A big thanks to Susanne and Marlene for looking after the pupils so well and to the parents who gave up their full day to join them and mind them so well.
Mark's class made a tasty, healthy breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast on Friday. Everyone had a turn to help with the cooking.