St. Colmcille’s Boys’ National School, Chapel Lane, Swords, Co.Dublin K67 WP65

(01) 8405132

St Colmcille's BNS

Ní neart go cur le chéile

December 2017

Enrolment – Junior Infants, for School Year 2018 / 2019

Parents are advised to collect application forms from the School Secretary and return completed forms accompanied by a birth and baptismal certificate (if applicable) by Wednesday, 31 January 2018.

New Language Curriculum

 A new language curriculum for English and Irish is being introduced. During this academic year, teachers are beginning to engage with the Oral Language element of the New Primary Language Curriculum for boys from Junior Infants to 2nd Class. There will be training for teachers on the reading and writing elements of the curriculum on Wednesday, 18th April 2018. The school will be closed on that day.

Refurbishment of Toilet facilities

 We are very grateful to the Department of Education and Skills for providing the funding for the refurbishment of our toilet facilities. To date, three classrooms have been fitted with new toilets, flooring and ceilings in the cloakroom areas, fitted storage cupboards with sliding doors, new sinks, and warm water. The work on each room takes approximately 6 days to complete. The extension and refurbishment of the staffroom has brought welcome space to a growing staff. The work is making a tremendous difference to the facilities in our school. We are extremely grateful for the goodwill we have encountered while the work is underway.

No-Uniform Day

At this time of the year, the emphasis among our school community is on giving rather than on receiving, and the teachers, ancillary staff and pupils will be making contributions to the St Vincent de Paul Society. There will be a no-uniform day on Friday, 22 December. A voluntary contribution of €1 (or more) may be brought to school.

Post Primary Transfer

Parents and Guardians are advised that they should contact their Post Primary school of choice at the earliest opportunity. Some schools in the town operate a waiting list system, and therefore take names of boys as early as Junior Infants, while others do not take names until the boys are older.

Administration of Medicines

 Parents and Guardians are reminded that children are not permitted to bring medicines to school without the prior written agreement of the Board of Management. If a pupil needs to take any prescription medicine (including inhalers, epipens etc.) during school hours, you should ask for a permission form. Non-prescription medicines cannot be taken at school.

Traffic in School Grounds

 Our insurers have asked that attention be drawn to the importance of preventing unauthorised access to the school grounds by people driving children to school. There is no permission for parents / guardians to drive cars into the school grounds.

Parking at entrances to the school grounds

 Parents are asked to be mindful of local residents when parking their cars or dropping/ collecting their children. Local residents have expressed their frustration at being unable to move their cars from their driveways because of other cars blocking them.

Book- ‘Celebrating 50 Years of  St Colmcille’s B.N.S.’  In June of this year, we launched our book ‘Celebrating 50 Years of St Colmcille’s Boys’ National School’. This 80 page book describes the history of the school, includes interviews with past pupils from each of the five decades as well as interviews with past and current staff. It details many events of the school’s 50 year history. There are a small number of books still available. They can be purchased from the secretary’s office at a cost of €12. They can be delivered abroad –details available from the office.

Parents’ Association – Cake Sale

Sincere thanks to the members of the Parents’ Association who organised the extremely successful Cake Sale. The amount realised was €1,165. Thanks to all who baked or bought the lovely confectionery which was on display.

– Raffle

The winning tickets in the Raffle will be drawn on Wednesday, 20 December. Many thanks to those who donated prizes, bought / sold tickets or helped in any way.

– ‘Design your own Christmas Card’ initiative

A huge thank you to the parents who helped to organise this initiative. There was a lot of organisation to run this project for over 400 children and their families. We hope the cards are enjoyed by friends and loved ones.

Parent / Teacher Meetings

Many thanks to the large number of parents and guardians who attended Parent / Teacher Meetings last month. It is fantastic to see such a large number of parents attending the meetings.

Duty of Care / Behaviour in Yard Prior to 8.50 a.m.

This is a reminder with regard to the commencement of the School’s Duty of Care. It is important to bear in mind that parents/ guardians are responsible for their children prior to 8.50 a.m. The boys should arrive in the school grounds between 8.40  a.m. and 8.50 a.m. They should walk directly to their lines and wait until they are collected by their teachers when school begins. Parents or an assigned guardian must remain in the Junior Yard with the younger pupils until they are collected from their lines. We ask the co-operation of parents/ guardians to ensure the safety of our pupils.

Thank You

  • to the parents who have donated uniforms, books and stationery
  • to those who donated toys for the Aistear programme in Infant Classes
  • special thanks to Derrick Mahony who gave an insightful talk on ‘Keeping your Children safe Online’ in the school hall on the same evening as the AGM of the Parents’ Association.

Christmas Arrangements

Monday 18 December                     Quiz for 3rd and 4th Classes

Tuesday, 16 December                    Quiz for 5th and 6th Classes, Visit from Santa!

Wednesday, 17 December              Raffle

Thursday, 18 December                  Carol Service

Christmas Vacation:

School closes for Christmas Holidays at 12.00 on Friday, 22 December 2017

School re-opens at 8.50 a.m. on Monday, 8 January 2018.

  

 Dates for your Diary

 First Penance: Tuesday, 6 February 2018

Mid-term break: 12  – 16 February 2018 (inclusive)

School Closed 18 April 2018

Confirmation: 19 April 2018

First Communion: 12 May 2018

2017 / 2018 Academic Year

 Details of holidays and closures for the remainder of this school year are available on the school’s website www.colmcilles.net.

 Nollaig shona agus Athbhliain faoi mhaise do mhuintir na scoile