September 4th 2013
Dear Parents,
Welcome back after our great summer. Looking forward to another successful and positive year. Here is a reminder of the school calendar for the year. We are still awaiting a date for our Confirmation from the Bishop. We will announce this date as soon as we receive it.
October
Mon 25th School is closed for October mid-term break from Monday 27th to Friday November 1st inclusive.
December
Fri 20th All schools close on Fri 20th December & reopen on Mon Jan 6th 2014
January 2014
Mon 6th School reopens after Christmas break
February 2014
Mon 17th Schools closes from Monday 17th to Friday 21st February (unless changes are required as part of contingency arrangements to make up for time lost due to unforeseen closures e.g. snow. If required the school may reduce the length of the mid-term break by remaining open up to and including Wednesday Feb 19th.
March 2014
Mon 17th + Tues 18th School is closed on these dates (St. Patricks Day + 1 extra)
April 2014
Fri 11th School closing for Easter holidays. School is closed from Mon 14th to Fri 25th incl. (unless changes are required as part of contingency arrangements to make up for time lost due to unforeseen closures e.g. snow. If required the school may reduce the length of the Easter break by remaining open up to and including Wednesday April 16th.
May 2014
Mon 5th Closed for Bank Holiday
First Communion Saturday May 17th
June 2014
Mon 2nd Closed for Bank Holiday
Fri 27th Closing for Summer Holidays
Carrigaline Community School: Their Open Day has been announced for Thursday September 26th at 6.30pm for parents/students.
Red/White Day: To mark Cork’s appearance in Sunday’s All-Ireland Hurling Final every school in Cork is holding a Red/White Day this Friday 6th. Children are encouraged to wear red/white clothing including Cork gear or red/white soccer jerseys if you have them already. We are taking this opportunity to fundraise for the Nathan Kirwan Trust, a local man who suffered a severe neck break in June 2013 resulting in a spinal cord injury. Nathan’s personal blog is available at http://nathansrecoveryblog.wordpress.com. We are asking children to bring in €2 to support this worthy cause. There are a number of events being organised including a BBQ on Saturday September 14th in Raffeen Creek GC. Tickets are €15 and are available from myself in the school. Best wishes to a number of our staff who will take part in the Ladies Mini Marathon on September 15th in support of the same cause.
We are currently organising a number of after-school activities
Guitar Lessons (through our 2nd Class Teacher Claire O’Connell) on Mondays after school. Costs to be confirmed. A number of guitars are available in the school for the children taking part. Please contact the school if interested.
Speech/Drama Classes available from Olive Vaughan. Classes cover speech work, diction, vocal technique, mime, role play, improvisation, communication skills, drama/acting technique and musical theatre. These will be after school on Tuesdays. You can contact Olive at 4894793.
Art Classes are being organised with Susan Coughlan (previously in the Gaelscoil/ St. Mary’s). Details to be confirmed.
Thank you,
David Nolan
Team Teaching
Team teaching is a form of teaching that involves a number of teachers working together with smaller groups of students from one class.
In Shanbally N.S. your child has probably experienced “Team Teaching” through our Literacy Lift Off groups or, perhaps, in some Maths groups over the last few years. This initiative has had a very positive effect on learning and teaching in the classroom and has been hugely beneficial for our students. Children get the opportunity to work in small groups, their difficulties are dealt with promptly as the teacher has more one-to-one contact and they are more likely to be attentive in this setting.
With Team Teaching and smaller groups, children at all levels benefit:
· Children who struggle with literacy/maths will continue to get the attention and support they need.
· Some children, who might find difficulty in certain aspects of literacy/maths but don’t require continual support, receive more attention in smaller groups and make good progress.
· Higher achievers may be challenged and encouraged to further reach their full potential.
Having had such a positive experience of team teaching and with the advantage of having a number of resource and learning support teachers in Shanbally N.S., this year we will incorporate team teaching in the areas of Literacy and Maths throughout the school.
Your child will be regularly withdrawn for group work with a teacher in the areas of Maths and Literacy. The content of the Maths / Literacy lesson will be discussed and planned with the team of teachers assigned to your child’s class for that subject. The class is divided into a number of groups and each group will be assigned a teacher.
Essentially, the class teacher will always know the content of the class and is always your first reference should you need to discuss your child’s progress.