January 2025

Storming into February

It's been a disruptive few weeks with some difficult weather conditions as we prepare for the big storm tomorrow. Please make sure to obey the weather warnings and keep safe over the next 24 hours. This newsletter has some really important information about the next few weeks including information on Friendship Week, our Parent Night, Smartphone policy progress, and more.

Keep happy, safe and learning

Simon

Storm Éowyn

Met Éireann has issued a status red weather warning for the entire country

11am, Thursday 23 January 2025

Status Red Alert: Schools closed on Friday 24 January.

Due to the extreme nature of Storm Éowyn and the threat of multi-hazard weather events on Friday 24 January, Met Éireann has confirmed a red weather warning. Based on this, the National Emergency Coordination Group has advised that all primary and post-primary schools in red warning areas will close for the duration of the red warning.

While the red weather warnings are expected to end between 10am and 3pm on Friday in different counties, schools will remain closed on Friday. Travel is not possible during the red warning period. After the red warning expires, safety checks may be needed to assess whether any damage has occurred and to ensure the safety of school communities, and parents and the school community would need time to prepare to return to school. Because of these factors, concerns about safe transport and the unpredictable nature of the red warnings, the Department recognises that it is not possible or practical for schools in red warning areas to open on Friday.

Friendship Week 2025

Friendship Week takes place from the 4th to 7th February this year with lots of activities planned. For parents/guardians we have two big events on Friday 7th - Cook Together and the Student Gallery. We really need your recipes for our annual cookbook. At the time of writing we still need at least 21 recipes so we'd really appreciate your support. The Student Gallery takes place during the day where you can walk around the school and look at the fantastic art and project work the children have been doing over the last few months. All are welcome!

Parent Night!

Last night, 22nd January, we had a brilliant evening in the school. Our first ever ParentMeet took place with 5 brave parents taking to the floor to talk about a passion of theirs. Laura spoke about skincare and the various ways we can keep our children safe by looking out for particular ingredients in products. Kate talked to us about the importance of playing with our children and how it transformed her family life. Marianna gave us a wonderful talk about living in a neurodivergent family and explained how they navigate it. She has produced a super guide for anyone interested, which is attached here in the newsletter. Next we had Catherine who spoke about some of the best places to visit in the world including USA, Australia and Mexico. Simon swapped his principal hat for his parent hat to talk about how his family are trying to navigate the world of smartphones as his son gets closer to the age where decisions have to be made. Finally Emma told us all about the joys of getting involved in your child's school and the positive affect it has. Afterwards, everyone got together to chat over a cup of tea and ask further questions. It was a wonderful evening and thank you to everyone who joined us. We'll definitely do it again!

NEURODIVERGENCY.pdf

Smartphone Focus Group

We are hoping to host a Smartphone focus group very soon. We have lots of parents that have not bought a smartphone for their children but we are severely lacking in parents that have, despite them being in the majority in the older classes. We really want to learn how to move forward with our policy. Sinéad Kirwan from our Board of Management has designed the focus group and the questions will guide us towards a really good policy. The focus group will take place during the school day. Please email Simon if you are interested.

Not receiving emails?

We are striving to be a paperless school. It is important to check your emails as most communication comes this way. If you aren't receiving emails, please check with the school to ensure that we have your correct address.

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