May 2024
Dear Parents,
Dates for your Diary:
Monday the 6th of May: Bank Holiday school closed.
Tuesday the 7th of May: Camogie Blitz in Moystown
Monday the 13th of May: Open Evening for incoming Junior Infants
Tuesday the 14th of May: Hurling match in Carrig @ 12.30pm
Wednesday the 15th of May: Send in clothes for Clothes Collection
Saturday the 18th of May: First Holy Communion at 11am
Thursday the 30th of May: Board of Management meeting @ 8pm
Friday the 7th of June: School closed – Elections
Monday the 17th of June: 150 Year Celebration
Cumann na mBunscol: Parents of children involved are aware of the schedule. We will look to organise another match or two in May/June, to give children the opportunity to play and represent the school. Apart from last week, when the weather was excellent, it’s been very difficult to get a run at getting down to the field. In fairness to the boys and girls, any opportunity they get, they go down to the field. Here’s hoping they’ll get their due rewards by getting back to Birr to play in a final, later in the month.
Athletics: You were furnished with an email on Tuesday, explaining all in this regard. I would encourage you, if you get the opportunity, to do a little bit of practice with your own children.
Standardised Attainment Tests: Standardised Testing will take place for pupils from 2nd to 6th class this month and into next month. Senior infants and 1st class will also engage in various assessments in the coming weeks.
First Holy Communion: We wish all the boys and girls in 2nd class all the best on their big day which takes place on Saturday the 18th of May at 11am. Great credit goes to Ms. Kelly and Fr. Reddan for having them so well prepared.
Clothes Collection; A clothes collection will take place on Thursday the 16th of May. Those who are dropping in clothes can drop them into the school on the days of the 14th and 15th of May. Please spread the word of this collection among family, friends and neighbours. All support is much appreciated.
Well Being Week: This will take place on the week beginning Monday the 20th of May. The following is a brief outline of what will take place during the week:
Monday: Yoga with Nessa
Tuesday: Crazy Hair Day
Thursday: Mindful Doodling workshop with Laura.
Morning Dance - lead by 6th class each morning.
Ms. Murphy will communicate further details to you via email, closer to the time. We thank Ms. Murphy for organising all of this.
Open Evening: The Open Evening for our incoming infants will take place on Monday the 13th of May at 6.30pm. To date we have eleven enrolled to begin life in Seir Kieran’s NS in August. If you are aware of anyone else who wishes to enrol their child and wants to attend on the evening, please inform them and ask them to let the office know with regard to their attendance.
150 Year Celebration: Preparations are really in full swing for this celebration which will take place on the Monday the 17th of June. We had been fixed on Friday the 14th of June for some time (this was actually the only Friday available to us in June). Bishop Niall Coll had been aware of this as he was invited, but due to other entries in his diary, he was then not in a position to attend on the 14th, so he then requested that we move it to the 17th of June, as he really wants to join us on the evening. We are delighted that he is now in a position to lead in the celebration. All the staff have been brilliant in working to date in preparing for the day. To tell the truth I don’t know the half of what is going on, between collecting photos, planning to bring in an old theme to the original part of the school etc, all the staff are working away. John Kirwan and Colm Makim (Board members) have been working away getting the grounds ready. You will receive a google forms survey in the next day or so, regarding your intention to purchase copies of the book to mark the celebration. The school is not seeking to make any great amount of money on the sale of the book. If we can cover publication costs, we will be more than happy. The cost of the book will be in the region of €20 per book. We would appreciate it if you could respond to the survey, as this will provide us with an indication of the number of books that will go to print. To mark the celebration, we will be seeking to develop our school garden for the use of all children. In this regard we will be putting up an ‘I donate’ page online, to raise funds to do this. We will notify you when this goes online. Again, all support would be much appreciated, to enable us to develop our garden space.
Internet and Internet Device Use: Míle buíochas to all families who responded to our parental survey. We have surveyed the staff and the parents. The last part of the jigsaw is the pupils and we plan to do this survey in the next week. We had a 95% response from parents, so this was a very comprehensive response. The following is a summary of your responses.
The following were some of the noteworthy findings which came out from the survey.
School Tours: Our school tour will take place on Wednesday the 19th of June for the whole school to Castlecomer Discovery Park. On the day class grouping will be doing the following from 9.45 to 1pm:
Juniors – 1st Class: 2nd – 4th Class 5th – 6th Class
Woodland Adventure Course Water Scientists Archery
Bouncing Net Fossils & Dinosaurs Team Games
Water Scientists
The cost of the tour is €35 per child and this can be paid on line at your earliest convenience. Many thanks to Ms. Murphy who organised all of this.
May/June is a very busy time, with all sorts of things going on. We all look forward to working with you in the very best interests of our children.
Dates for your Diary:
Monday the 6th of May: Bank Holiday school closed.
Tuesday the 7th of May: Camogie Blitz in Moystown
Monday the 13th of May: Open Evening for incoming Junior Infants
Tuesday the 14th of May: Hurling match in Carrig @ 12.30pm
Wednesday the 15th of May: Send in clothes for Clothes Collection
Saturday the 18th of May: First Holy Communion at 11am
Thursday the 30th of May: Board of Management meeting @ 8pm
Friday the 7th of June: School closed – Elections
Monday the 17th of June: 150 Year Celebration
Cumann na mBunscol: Parents of children involved are aware of the schedule. We will look to organise another match or two in May/June, to give children the opportunity to play and represent the school. Apart from last week, when the weather was excellent, it’s been very difficult to get a run at getting down to the field. In fairness to the boys and girls, any opportunity they get, they go down to the field. Here’s hoping they’ll get their due rewards by getting back to Birr to play in a final, later in the month.
Athletics: You were furnished with an email on Tuesday, explaining all in this regard. I would encourage you, if you get the opportunity, to do a little bit of practice with your own children.
Standardised Attainment Tests: Standardised Testing will take place for pupils from 2nd to 6th class this month and into next month. Senior infants and 1st class will also engage in various assessments in the coming weeks.
First Holy Communion: We wish all the boys and girls in 2nd class all the best on their big day which takes place on Saturday the 18th of May at 11am. Great credit goes to Ms. Kelly and Fr. Reddan for having them so well prepared.
Clothes Collection; A clothes collection will take place on Thursday the 16th of May. Those who are dropping in clothes can drop them into the school on the days of the 14th and 15th of May. Please spread the word of this collection among family, friends and neighbours. All support is much appreciated.
Well Being Week: This will take place on the week beginning Monday the 20th of May. The following is a brief outline of what will take place during the week:
Monday: Yoga with Nessa
Tuesday: Crazy Hair Day
Thursday: Mindful Doodling workshop with Laura.
Morning Dance - lead by 6th class each morning.
Ms. Murphy will communicate further details to you via email, closer to the time. We thank Ms. Murphy for organising all of this.
Open Evening: The Open Evening for our incoming infants will take place on Monday the 13th of May at 6.30pm. To date we have eleven enrolled to begin life in Seir Kieran’s NS in August. If you are aware of anyone else who wishes to enrol their child and wants to attend on the evening, please inform them and ask them to let the office know with regard to their attendance.
150 Year Celebration: Preparations are really in full swing for this celebration which will take place on the Monday the 17th of June. We had been fixed on Friday the 14th of June for some time (this was actually the only Friday available to us in June). Bishop Niall Coll had been aware of this as he was invited, but due to other entries in his diary, he was then not in a position to attend on the 14th, so he then requested that we move it to the 17th of June, as he really wants to join us on the evening. We are delighted that he is now in a position to lead in the celebration. All the staff have been brilliant in working to date in preparing for the day. To tell the truth I don’t know the half of what is going on, between collecting photos, planning to bring in an old theme to the original part of the school etc, all the staff are working away. John Kirwan and Colm Makim (Board members) have been working away getting the grounds ready. You will receive a google forms survey in the next day or so, regarding your intention to purchase copies of the book to mark the celebration. The school is not seeking to make any great amount of money on the sale of the book. If we can cover publication costs, we will be more than happy. The cost of the book will be in the region of €20 per book. We would appreciate it if you could respond to the survey, as this will provide us with an indication of the number of books that will go to print. To mark the celebration, we will be seeking to develop our school garden for the use of all children. In this regard we will be putting up an ‘I donate’ page online, to raise funds to do this. We will notify you when this goes online. Again, all support would be much appreciated, to enable us to develop our garden space.
Internet and Internet Device Use: Míle buíochas to all families who responded to our parental survey. We have surveyed the staff and the parents. The last part of the jigsaw is the pupils and we plan to do this survey in the next week. We had a 95% response from parents, so this was a very comprehensive response. The following is a summary of your responses.
The following were some of the noteworthy findings which came out from the survey.
- 74% of parents believe that primary aged children should not own their own smartphone, while 16% of parents believe primary aged children should own their own smartphone. 10% of parents didn’t hold an opinion on it on way or another.
- 34% of parents said that they feel pressure to boy their children devices as everyone else has one! 66% of parents responded that they feel no pressure to do so.
- 37% of parents indicated that they are concerned about the time their children spend using devices. 63% responded that they had no issue with the time their children spend on devices.
- 11% of parents said that they do not put parental controls on their children’s devices.
- On social media accounts, 13% of parents believe it is appropriate for primary school children to have a social media account. 87% of parents believe it is only appropriate for secondary school children to have a social media account, when they are in secondary school.
- 58% of parents responded that their children play games online.
- On games which their children play, 11% of parents responded that they are not aware of the content of the games, which their children play.
- 58% of parents responded that they do not know where to report cyber bullying, fake accounts, inappropriate content, grooming and harmful content. 85% of parents said that they would like information on where to report these issues.
- 82% of parents indicated that they do have regular discussion with their children about online safety. 18% of parents responded that they do not have these discussions with their children.
- Parents did show a good awareness when it came to their children being online. Addictive behaviours, cyberbullying, inappropriate content and grooming were some of the risks which they really identified with.
School Tours: Our school tour will take place on Wednesday the 19th of June for the whole school to Castlecomer Discovery Park. On the day class grouping will be doing the following from 9.45 to 1pm:
Juniors – 1st Class: 2nd – 4th Class 5th – 6th Class
Woodland Adventure Course Water Scientists Archery
Bouncing Net Fossils & Dinosaurs Team Games
Water Scientists
The cost of the tour is €35 per child and this can be paid on line at your earliest convenience. Many thanks to Ms. Murphy who organised all of this.
May/June is a very busy time, with all sorts of things going on. We all look forward to working with you in the very best interests of our children.