Newsletter 3
February 6th 2019
1. Summary of School Calendar 2019
Term 2…
Peace Proms Waterford Sunday February 10th 2019
PA Clothing Collection Monday February 11th 2019
PA Valentine’s Day Cake Sale Friday February 15th 2019
Mid-Term Break Closing Friday February 15th 2019 at normal times
Re-opening Monday February 25th 2019
Do This In Memory Of Me Mass Sunday March 3rd 2019
Credit Union Quiz – 2nd Round Sunday March 3rd 2019
World Book Day Dress Up Friday March 8th 2019
Thursday March 14th 2019 – Cyber Safety Talk with Dr. Maureen Griffin
For St. Patrick’s Day Closed Monday 18th March 2019
First Penance 2nd Class only – 7.30pm – Tuesday 19th March 2019
PA Pedal Power Cinema Friday 29th March 2019
Easter Closing early (11.45/12) Friday April 12th 2019
Term 3 Re-opening Monday April 29th 2019
Bank Holiday Closed Monday May 6th 2019
First Holy Communion Saturday May 18th 2019
Bank Holiday Closed Monday June 3rd 2019 AND Tuesday June 4th 2019
Summer Holidays Closing early (11.45/12) Friday June 28th 2019
2. Cyber Safety Talk
On Thursday March 14th Dr. Maureen Griffin will visit our school and speak with our senior classes during the school day (3rd to 6th) and all parents in our wider community (not just current Shanbally NS parents) that night. Dr. Griffin (BA,MA phi) is a forensic psychologist who specialises in the need for education/ training for children. Her company MGMS Training provides psychological services in the areas of online offending and safety. She recently presented in Carrigaline Community school. The content of her talk to the students will include:
- Social networking & Chatting Apps (The importance of parental involvement & permission, dangers of accepting people you do not know in real life as friends, sharing personal information etc.)
- Searching Online (how to safe search, pop-ups)
- Cyber-bullying (what it is, why it happens, the role of the bystander, exclusion, what to do if you are the target of cyber-bullying)
- Online gaming (the dangers of addiction, the need to have a good balance between online and off line activities, the dangers of conversing with strangers, the impact of the material on your life)
- Screen Time & Sleep (how technology can interfere with sleep and how to create good habits)
The parent talk “Social Media: Challenges for Parents” will provide an overview of what is currently popular among Irish students, what the potential dangers are and offer practical advice on how to protect children when they are online or using their mobile devices. Issues such as social networking sites (e.g. Instagram); social messaging/chatting apps (e.g. snapchat); video-streaming sites (e.g. YouTube); mobile device safety; gaming; screen time & sleep; grooming; and cyber-bullying will be addressed. The parent talk is not about blocking content online; it is more about teaching children how to be responsible when online, by making parents aware of the dangers and highlighting some practical tips. The parent talk lasts for a little over 1 hour in length with time afterwards for questions and answers. We would strongly request a representative parent/guardian from each family to attend. The talk will begin at 7pm sharp on March 14th. Venue to be confirmed. A specific note with these details will be issued within the next few days.
Please see below newspaper article of Saturday Dec 15th on the importance of Cyber Safety.
3. Peace Proms 2019
This coming Sunday February 10th approximately 40 students will head to Waterford (WIT) to take part in the Peace Proms. Our students have prepared diligently for this event under the guidance of DP Claire O’Connell. We wish to acknowledge the commitment shown by all, especially over many lunch breaks to help to prepare for the big day. No doubt the children and parents who are travelling will really enjoy a fantastic experience and create memories that will last a lifetime.
4. Parents Association
I wish to thank and acknowledge the PA for the organisation of the raffle and Santa’s visit to Shanbally NS on Thursday December 20th 2018. This was as always a truly magical experience for the children.
The PA have asked me to highlight a number of upcoming events (poster attached):
- Clothing Collection on Monday 11th of February
- Valentine’s Day Cake Sale on Friday 15th of February
- Pedal Power Cinema on Friday 29th of March
5. Amber Flag Initiative
To help us further develop an inclusive, healthy school environment, we are engaged in an application process to apply for an Amber Flag by April 1st 2019. To achieve this goal, we have established an Amber Flag team consisting of 7 6th class students and 4 staff members. This team meet weekly to plan and execute tasks which promote emotional well-being. An example is that our theme for January and February is “Resilience” where our children have given presentations on resilience and what it means to them. Our 4th class students are currently working on a very exciting musical collaboration with Gary Mac and soon we hope to have exciting news about this venture.
6. KIDS INC
The Kids Inc February midterm camp will take place from: 18th-22nd February 2019 daily from 8.30am-6.30pm, with full and half day options available. This camp is open to all children in Shanbally NS, not just those who have engaged with them so far (poster attached). For more information or to book a place please contact Niamh Kinsella at 083-8785048 or emailNiamh@kidsinc.ie.
Similar camps will be run during the Easter holidays:
Easter Week 1: 15th-19th April 2019 – 8:30am-6:30pm
Easter Week 2: 23rd – 26th April 2019 – 8:30am-6:30pm
7. Collection for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind
On Thursday December 20th 2018 the Irish Guide Dogs visited our school and a cheque was presented to the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind for an amount of €365. This was the monies donated by our families during the coin collection in December.
8. VEX Robotics
On January 22nd a delegation of 6th Class pupils were accompanied by Class Teacher Mr. Cunningham, SEN teacher Miss O’Mahony and SNA Dee Allen to CIT to participate in the VEX Robotics Challenge. Over a number of months the children have learnt how to design, build, programme and operate their Class Robot. Educationally the pupils have gained massively and we are most grateful for the support shown by all which allowed them participate in this fantastic event. We hope that such experiences will continue to develop their love of maths, coding and computer programming and may set them on a pathway to a career in Engineering in the future.
9. Credit Union
Please note that the Credit Union Savings club has resumed. Please note that new children/families who may wish to join up can still do so.
We would like to congratulate our 12 representatives from 5th and 6th class who took part in the Douglas Credit Union regional table quiz last Friday and represented the school so well. We were thrilled that one of our teams consisting of Zach, Darcy, Sam and Diarmuid won the senior quiz, and will now progress to the next round which is called Stage 2 (Chapter Level) on Sunday March 3rd at 3pm in the Rochestown Park Hotel. The other 8 representatives were Eoin, Lily, Evan and Seán (6th Class) and Aaron, Reece, Matthew and Donncha (5th Class). Well done to all involved, especially Quiz Maestro Mr. Paddy Clifford and Mr Stephen Cunningham for organising these teams. A special word of thanks to our parents who kindly volunteered to drive on the day.
10. Congratulations to…
Joshua Busteed, 4th Class, who recently was awarded the National Award for the Irish Derby in Show jumping for the Under 10 category at a recent function in Athlone.
Molly Marshell, 2nd class, who was nominated for an Outsider Award in The Sugar Club Dublin last week.
Grace McKenzie, past pupil, recently broke an Irish Athletics National Record in her forte of the pentathlon, putting her name into the history books. Grace is currently on scholarship in McNeece State College and has added this 2019 success to a very successful 2018. We wish her all the best and hope that she pays us a visit when home next.
11. Soccer Shirts Appeal
A past pupil of Shanbally NS, Ava Brady, is travelling to Embu in Kenya for 3 weeks in June as a volunteer with the Moving Mountains Trust. She will be part of a team running a summer camp for the street children aimed at encouraging them to enter full time education, to get off the streets and into the care of the Moving Mountains Trust. She has been asked to bring some clothing for the children and has been advised by previous students who have travelled that the children love International and Premier league soccer jerseys.
Ava is making an appeal for the donation of any soccer jerseys that you may have in your homes that you no longer want. She would be extremely grateful, as undoubtedly the children who would receive them would be.
She hopes to give a presentation to the Shanbally NS children on her trip to Kenya and what they achieved on the trip on her return.
We would be happy to receive any donations of jerseys into the office on her behalf.
12. Guitar lessons 2019
We would like to welcome past pupil Caoimhe Barrett who has begun guitar and Ukulele lessons in the school. She may be contacted at 085-2835122 or caoimhesmusic@gmail.com for further information.
13. Reminder – Nut Free School
I would like to remind everyone that Shanbally NS is a nut free school and that our Allergies Policy is now in place and available to see on our website www.shanballyns.ie.
14. Car Parking:
As ever our main priority needs to be the safety of our children and all in the school community so I would urge you to continue to park up the road as much as possible towards Shamrock’s GAA in 2019. I would like to thank our parents and staff for their continued support with this.
David Nolan
Principal