18th October 2010

Dear Parents/ Guardians,

Welcome to another school newsletter.

Departure of Fr. Joe - As you may be aware Fr. Joe will be leaving soon to take up a post in a new parish. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fr. Joe for all the support he has given the school, not only as Chairperson of the Board of Management but also for the support he has given us in preparing the children for the sacraments. Much of the work Fr. Joe does behind the scenes may go unnoticed but myself and all of the staff here in the school greatly appreciate it. All members of our school community are invited to a celebration mass for Fr. Joe in the parish church this Thursday at 7.30p.m. Mass will be followed by tea and sandwiches in the school hall.

Musician in Residence - This year we are starting a new project in the school. For several years the school has supported the purchase of recorders through the voluntary contribution. Over the next eight weeks a music teacher will come to the children between 1st and 4th class to teach recorder for half an hour a week. We think this will be of great benefit to the children and are sure they will really enjoy it. This project is being funded through the voluntary contribution.

School Calendar - All families will receive a new school calendar this week which includes school holidays and dates for staff meetings. The calendar features the art work of last years 5th class art project supported by the artist in residence programme. We would appreciate it if a one euro donation per family was sent to the school to help fund the project for this year’s 5th class students although the donation is totally voluntary.

ICT - This Halloween we hope to bring our project to equip the school with interactive white boards (IWB) to completion. Seven more IWB boards will be installed over the break bringing to twenty five the total number in the school and ensuring that our children have access to the most up to date technology available. This work has been made possible through a combination of funding from government grants and the voluntary contribution. A huge thanks to Ms. White McKenna for bringing this project to fruition.

MS Readathon - The children from 2nd to 6th class will once again take part in the MS Readathon this month. This project has two aims:
(1) The project encourages children to read as many books as possible over the period of a month with the support of their parents who sign for each book read. We would ask parents to take a general interest in each of the books the children choose, have a chat about their favourite characters or favourite moments in the stories.
(2) The children raise a small donation to aid sufferers of Multiple Sclerosis in Ireland. Of course we are not asking pupils to wander the village looking for sponsorship. A minimal donation per card is more than adequate.

Swimming -Our third class children will attend swimming lessons in the coming months as part of our P.E. curriculum. We were delighted with the success of this project last year and are sure this year’s group will greatly benefit from it. The project is part funded through the voluntary contribution.

Attendance -This week we will continue our programme to support attendance in our school. We will present Attendance Certificates to all children who have been present every day this term. As you know we encourage full attendance of all our children as there is a direct link between attendance and achievement in school.

Community Garda -The Community Garda is visiting all our senior classes this week. They will focus particularly on safety around Halloween time.

After School Activities -There is a huge amount of sporting activity going on at present. Well done to all involved, be it in football, basketball, athletics, hurling, soccer or rugby. Choir is also working hard after school while the children in the Games Club seem to have thoroughly enjoyed the sessions to date. I would like to thank all the teachers who give their time after hours for the benefit of the children.

Jolly Phonics -We held a meeting with the parents of Junior Infants during the past month to introduce the Jolly Phonic programme. We were delighted with the turn out and hope it helped parents as they support their child in the reading process.

Resources -A large quantity of resources such as maths equipment and new reading schemes have been purchased this month. We have particularly focused on upgrading resources in our junior classes from Junior infants to 2nd class for the moment and we are sure that the children will benefit from the new equipment in their rooms. Once again this equipment was part funded through the voluntary contribution.

Regards,

Paul Comiskey.

Principal.

Principal: Paul Comiskey, B.Ed., Dip. Ed. Man., M.St.

Deputy Principal: Peggy O'Connor N.T., D.A.I.