June 2022

It's a Wrap!

As we come to the end of the school year, I want to thank you for all of your support and good wishes. It's been wonderful to see the school come back to (almost) full normality. We were delighted to be able to welcome all of the families of our 6th class to celebrate their graduation this year. We are very proud of our 6th class and we wish them all the very best in the future as they take the next step in their education journey.

As you know, the last couple of years have been very challenging for everyone including those of us working in schools. I am very lucky to have a fantastic staff who managed all the changes to daily life in school so well and ensured that our children were happy and safe. We've spent a lot of time embracing outdoor learning and we now have a wonderful school garden and outdoor space for learning. We're looking forward to expanding on this in the next couple of years. Our staff also organised some great activities including a soccer world cup tournament, orienteering, a massive sports day, and several GAA blitzes! Inside the school, we had some amazing projects with excellent technology use. Most importantly we had the return of school tours! The excitement on the buses each morning was brilliant to watch - to think it's been 2 years since the children were last on tour! Watching 1st class, in particular, was very special as they had never been on a tour before.

Today you will be receiving your child's end of year report. Please make sure to download the Aladdin App to view it. If you would like us to print out your child's report, please ring the school and we'll send it out to you. However, you'll find everything you need on the app. You may be curious about your child's "standardised score" in their tests. Up until last yar we sent results as STEN scores, which was a number between 1 and 10. Standardised scores are simpler to understand - much like most standardised tests, a score of 100 is considered an average score. Below is a table to understand what your child's standardised score means.

You'll also see who your child's teacher is next term. There are a few gaps as we have to interview for some positions so as soon as that is done, we'll let you know. In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful summer break. We'll be here until the 28th July for the July Programme so if you need anything, we'll be here.

Until then, keep happy, safe and learning.

Simon

As we come to the end of the school year, can we remember to keep to the traffic management scheme please? Remember, we have over 300 children leaving the building at 2:30pm and many are now walking or cycling home and will be crossing the roads. Please ensure to drive under the speed limit of 10kph and please do not use your phones while driving. As you know, children can run out very suddenly, and it's simply not worth the risk.

Your child(ren)'s school report will be sent to you via the Aladdin App. If you haven't done so already, the Aladdin App can be downloaded on Android or Apple phones. It is also available on any browser at aladdin.ie. Aladdin is an excellent tool that allows you to see all of your child's information that is stored in the school. You can even send your child's teacher an absence note if your child is not in school. All assessment results are also stored on Aladdin and you can read those on the app.

Our school has moved away from giving STEN scores, which was a score out of 10, to indicate children's progress. A more meaningful way of showing scores is a Standardised Score. You wil probably be familiar with Standardised Scores if you ever did an IQ test - a score of 100 is considered average. The table below gives a general indication of what your child's standardised score means:

Our class allocations for 2022-23 have been finalised and below is the name and room of where your child's teacher will be. As we have 2 of every class next year, it also shows you your child's current teacher so you know which teacher it is! There are a few gaps to be filled as we have to interview for some positions in July. Once they are in place, we'll let you know. In the meantime, here is your child's teacher for 2022-23: