September 7th 2015
Dear Parents,
I am delighted to welcome you back as we begin another exciting school year. A special welcome to all our new families joining the school. Best wishes to our past pupils as they begin life in secondary school and at Third Level.
A very warm welcome to Aidan O’Mahony who joins our staff, teaching as part of our Special Education team and also to Fiona O’Donoghue who re-joins the staff as SNA. We are of course thinking of Mrs. Barry and Helen Fox who are enjoying their first few months of retirement. We also welcome Ms. Liz Nash who is substituting for Ms. Kelly following her accident before the summer. Ms. Kelly continues to make progress and we hope to see her back towards the end of September. We send her best wishes for continued recovery.
Our staff list for 2015-2016 is as follows:
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Teachers |
SNA (base class) |
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1. Principal David Nolan 2. Marion O’Donovan Junior Infants 3. Naomi O’Donovan Senior Infants 4. Mary Sheahan 1st Class 5. Margaret Ryan 2nd Class 6. Patricia Kelly 3rd Class (currently MS Nash is covering) 7. Kathleen Tuohy 3rd Class 8. Claire O’Connell 4th Class 9. Aideen O’Mahony 5th Class 10. Sandra Moran 6th Class 11. Mairead Tate Language Class 12. Oonagh Cunningham Special Ed Teacher 13. Padraig Clifford Special Ed Teacher 14. Eilish Callanan Special Ed Teacher 15. Nollaig Boland Special Ed Teacher 16. Aidan O’Mahony Special Ed Teacher |
1. Mary O’Reilly (Junior Infants) 2. Noreen Meehan (Senior Infants) 3. Dee Allen (3rd Class) 4. Regina Landy (5th Class) 5. Fiona O’Donoghue (SSLD)
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A reminder of the School calendar:
- Tuesday September 8th Parents Association AGM at 8pm
- Tuesday September 15th Staff Meeting, school finishes at 12.30 for (Jrs/Seniors+Siblings) + 12.45 noon for rest of school to facilitate the appointment process for a new Deputy Principal and to coordinate the launch of several new educational initiatives. It is my intention to publish a separate newsletter following our meeting focusing exclusively on these initiatives and learning in the school.
- Tuesday September 15th Indaver Information night in Shanbally NS Halla, open from 6-9pm
- Wednesday September 30th Waste Water Treatment Plant Community Information Night, open
from 6-9pm)
- Thursday October 1st Carrigaline Community School Parent Information Evening @7pm
in the Carrigaline Court Hotel
- Monday 26th October Mid-term break
to Friday 30th October incl.
- Tuesday December 22nd Close 11.45 (Jrs/Seniors+Siblings) + 12 noon for rest of school for
Christmas holidays
- Wednesday Jan. 6th 2016 Back to school after Christmas holidays
- Thursday 18th
To Friday 19th February incl. February mid-term break
- Wednesday 16th March Finish early 11.45 (Jrs/Seniors+Siblings) + 12 noon for rest of school
for Easter holidays
- Monday 4th April Back to school after Easter holidays
- Mon 2nd – Fri 6th May incl. School closed for week
- Saturday May 14th 2016 First Holy Communion @ 10.30am
- Monday June 6th School closed for bank holiday
- Thursday 30th June School finishes early 11.45 (Jrs/ Seniors+ Siblings) + 12 noon for rest
of school for summer holidays
* Please note that the date for our Confirmation will be arranged following the completion of the voting process which is currently underway in 5th +6th classes. Please remember to return all voting slips by this Thursday.
School Uniform I would like to remind you that certain flexibility around the school uniform can be introduced at this time of the year i.e. the month of September.
It is permissible to wear grey polo shirt on school uniform days. I’d like to remind you that school uniform days for Junior/Senior Infants are Monday and Tuesday and Monday to Wednesday for the other classes. Tracksuits must then be worn on other days. Grey pants/skirt can be interchanged with tracksuit shorts/ tailored grey shorts. No other additions or variations are acceptable unless required for PE/sports activities e.g. Tag Rugby on Mondays for certain classes commencing with 3rd class today for 3 weeks.
Information Update on Secondary Schools:
Carrigaline Community School: We have been notified of an open for children in 6th Class to visit the school on Thursday September 24th. There is an Open Evening from 6.30-8.30pm that evening also. As mentioned in our Calendar they are hosting a Parent Information Evening on Thursday October 1st at 7pm in the Carrigaline Court Hotel.
Coláiste Muire Crosshaven: Our 5th class students have been invited to visit the school on their Open Day on Thursday September, followed by an Open Night for parents of all prospective students from 7-9pm. More details will follow re arrangements.
Edmund Rice College Carrigaline: This school is currently accepting enrolments for September 2016. The closing date is Friday September 11th. See www.erst.ie
School Drop-off and Collection
Gates are open by 8.35 a.m. If pupils arrive before then with the gates locked, they must wait at the front or side gate until opened by the Principal or a Teacher. The Board of Management accepts no responsibility for unsupervised children in the morning.
Children are requested to follow our “Meet and Greet” policy as they line up in their appropriate class lines. Official supervision begins at 8.35am.
All children should be on time in the morning to enable them to participate in the line-up of classes at 8.50 a.m. to hear various school announcements etc.
Parents are welcome to accompany their children in the mornings. To develop independence and self-management skills, we would encourage children, from an early age, to enter and prepare for class independently.
The normal hours of finishing are
(i) 1.30 p.m. for Junior and Senior Infant classes. Junior Infants finish at the earlier time of 12 noon until Friday 11th so from Monday 14th they stay until 1.30pm. For the moment, in the mornings you should continue to bring Junior Infants directly to their classroom from 8.35am.
(ii) 2.30 p.m. for 1st to 6th classes
Parents can wait at the front or side gate for their children. If some parents would like to come in, that’s acceptable too.
Car-pooling is encouraged and has huge benefits.
All children should be off the school premises by 1.35 p.m. (Juniors + Seniors) or 2.35 p.m. (rest of school). If there is a genuine reason for being late, this should be explained to the Principal. If a phone call is made ahead of time, Ruth in the office will inform the class teacher who will assist in making arrangements until the parents arrive.
No responsibility will be taken for children who are collected at 1.30pm and who remain on school grounds after that time. Please note that children are not allowed play anywhere on the grounds at this time. We respectfully request that all children stay off the grass areas and not climb railings under any circumstances. At the 2.30 p.m. finish time children awaiting collection should remain on school grounds outside main door. No responsibility will be taken for children who leave the school grounds after 2.30p.m.
We are currently organising a number of after-school activities
Guitar Lessons (through our 5th Class Teacher Claire O’Connell) for 3rd class up to 6th will be held on Mondays and Thursdays after school. A number of guitars are available in the school for the children taking part. A note is being sent home today from Ms. O’Connell regarding same.
French classes after school are being offered by Nathalie Lynch who previously taught French during the school day. This is an opportunity for children to learn a new language and aspects of French culture. Nathalie will send a note home in the next few days.
Art Classes are being organised at the moment and will hopefully start next week. Details to follow.
*All after school activities are dependent on sufficient uptake*
Parents Association Please support our Parent’s Association by attending the AGM tomorrow night at 8pm. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the wonderful events which took place towards the end of the school year which were organised by the PA, in particular, our 6th Class Leaving Day, Graduation Night and a Transition Workshop for 6th class students. These will be remembered by everyone who attended.
I would also like to acknowledge the wonderful work of all our school community in the last term of 2015 in particular. A lot of time and effort was put in to organising the iPad Raffle and the Money Snake. Sincere thanks to our Golf Classic Committee who organised a wonderful event on Monday June 29th which raised in excess of €5,000 for the school. We are grateful for the work which the PA has put in to our Book Rental scheme this year again. I know at first-hand how much organising, collecting, checking and double checking needed to be done to put these in place successfully, even through the summer. They deserve huge credit for its smooth operation. These projects worked due to the unwavering support of our parent body throughout the school year and we sincerely thank you for same.
Activities during the School Day
Starting up again is Tag Rugby with Coach, Vincent who starts off on Mondays with our Third Classes. Third and Fourth classes will be attending swimming classes in the last term of the school year. We are very grateful for the help that Mary Anne and Laura provided to the swimmers last year, not to mention the excellent presentation during Drowning Prevention Week in late June.
Charity Events
Past pupil, Sarah Jordan will host a Ceol Le Croí fundraiser in aid of the Mater Hospital Foundations Heart & Lung Appeal on Thursday September 17th at 7.30pm in the Carrigaline Court Hotel. Tickets are €20. For more information please call Sarah on 087-7641896 or visit www.materfoundation.ie
Following the appointment of our PA Committee for 2015/2016 it is our intention to hold a School Walk Fundraiser to benefit Breakthrough Cancer Research and Marymount Hospice.
Other News
- Kathleen Tuohy, as most senior staff member in school, is our acting Deputy Principal. We are beginning the process of selecting our permanent Deputy Principal and we will update you in due course.
- This term we welcome two teaching practice students, past-pupil Caoimhe Corkery and Grace O’Sullivan. Caoimhe will be interacting with various classes over her fifteen weeks TP. Grace will be based in Senior Infants for her two week placement from November 16th to December 4th.
- Colin Murphy, 5th Class had a busy summer. As part of the Belgooly AC team he won gold in the boys under 12 in the Munster championships breaking the Munster record in the process , and in July they won the under 12 boys all Ireland relay title in Tullamore, Co Offaly, breaking a national record in the process. Well done, Colin. Past pupil, Grace McKenzie has been awarded a four year Athletics Scholarship in McNeese State University, Louisiana, USA. Congratulations and best wishes to Grace. Please keep us updated on pupils’ and former pupils’ successes as we are always delighted to share such good news.
Thank you,
David Nolan