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

(01) 8405132

St Colmcille's BNS

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September 2018

Newsletter

Volume 22, Issue 1, 19.09.18

 Arrivals and Departures

  • We welcome the pupils who have commenced in St Colmcille’s BNS, and look forward to working with them and their parents during the coming years.
  • We also welcome Ms Rebecca Newbanks, Mr Conor Brennan, Ms Eimear Fallon, Ms Niamh Clare Butterly and Ms Fidelma Roche who have joined our staff.
  • We extend our best wishes to Mrs Maura Humphries, who retired during the summer break. We wish her well and thank her for her devoted service to our school and we hope that she will have a long and happy retirement.
  • We wish to thank Mr Cormac O’Boyle for his service to our school and we take this opportunity to wish him well in his new school.

Duty of Care / Behaviour 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 by their teachers.

Bicycles and Scooters

For safety reasons, bicycles and scooters should not be ridden inside the school grounds.  Pupils and parents who ride bicycles /scooters should walk with their bicycle or scooter until outside the school grounds.

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 in Fingal County Council’s Staff Car Park

We have been asked by Fingal County Council to remind parents/ guardians that the Fingal County Council’s staff carpark on Seatown Road is a private carpark and parents are requested to refrain from parking there.

Fun Run

Our Fun Run will be held on Tuesday 2 October, weather permitting. This fundraiser is the single biggest contributor to school funds. Last year, the money raised was used to purchase resources needed for day to day teaching and learning such as: PE equipment, footballs and other games for use at break times, entry fees to leagues, referees’ fees, rewards for the code of behaviour, books, teaching aids and equipment for Aistear (infant classes) and our multisensory room.

Absence due to illness.

If your son is unwell and unable to attend school, please send a note to his teacher on his return to school. If the illness is likely to affect other boys or staff (for e.g. Chicken pox, mumps, slapped cheek etc.) we would appreciate a phone call or email as soon as you are aware of the illness. From time to time, we have pupils and staff members who are receiving treatment for serious illnesses and this information may be important. In addition, there are a number of common childhood illnesses which can be harmful to pregnant women. We appreciate your thoughtfulness in this regard.

Internet Safety

We have arranged for a team from internet safety company Zeeko to speak with the pupils from 2nd—6th Class, on Monday 1 October. There will also be an information meeting for parents in the school hall at 7pm.

Meetings with Teachers

If you wish to speak to your son’s teacher, please make an appointment in advance. If there is an urgent matter which needs to be dealt with immediately, please phone the school office on (01) 8405132.

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 your son needs to take any prescription medicine (including inhalers, epipens etc.) during school hours, you should ask for a permission form. Non-prescription medicines must not be brought to school.

Cake Sale

The Cake Sale will be held on Wednesday, 24 October. Details will be circulated by the Parents’ Association.

Parents’ Association

We thank the members of the Parents’ Association for their support and co-operation during the past year, and wish them well for the coming year. We encourage parents to become actively involved in the Parents’ Association.

Sporting Activities

  • Training for the Athletics, Gaelic Football, Hurling and Soccer teams will be underway shortly. We extend our thanks to the teachers who give of their time to mentor the players.
  • The boys in fourth Class will begin their swimming lessons in the coming weeks. Many thanks to their parents/guardians for supporting this very worthwhile initiative.

The Daily Mile

The Daily Mile is an initiative aimed at improving children’s fitness and general health by running for up to 15 mins per day at school. We are introducing this initiative and hope that the boys will enjoy the activity and benefit from it!

New Language Curriculum

A new language curriculum for English and Irish is now in use in classes from Junior Infants—2nd Class. During this academic year, teachers will begin to engage with the New Primary Language Curriculum in classes from 3rd—6th. There will be further training for teachers on the new curriculum later in the year. The school will be closed on that day. The date of the closure will be communicated to parents in due course. 

Dates for your Diary

Presidential Election:   school closed Friday, 26 October 2018

Mid-term break:           29 October – 2 November 2018 (inclusive)

Christmas vacation:     school closes at 12.00 on Friday 21 December

First Penance:              7 February 2018

Confirmation:              3 April 2019

First Communion:        18 May 2019

2018 / 2019 Academic Year

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

Focal Scoir

The school year is now well under way. We would like to thank all families for their courtesy, support and co-operation as we endeavour to do our very best for the boys entrusted to our care.

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