Letter 26/09/2022

Feb 14, 2023

Dear Parents Issue: 02 September 27th 2022

Important Dates to note:
• Thursday Sept 29th Staff Meeting Term 1 – all the children will go home at 1.15pm
• Thursday October 20th: Cash for Clobber collection
• Monday October 31st to Friday November 4th: Halloween Break
• Thursday Nov 24th Staff Webinar Term 1 – all the children will go home at 1.15pm
• Monday February 6th: St Brigid’s day bank holiday
• Thursday February 16th & Friday February 17th: Mid-term break
• Tuesday March 22nd: School Photographer
• Monday April 3rd to Friday April 16th: Easter Holidays

For 6th class pupils:
• Open Night Coláiste an Eachreidh: Thursday Sept 29th
• Open Night Presentation College: Tuesday Oct 11th
• Open Night Clarin College: Wednesday Oct 12th

Aladdin:
• Please make sure that you have downloaded the Aladdin app and have notifications switched on, as teachers may be using it to correspond with you during the school year.
• If your child has been absent from school please record the reason for the absence on the Aladdin app (you will need to wait until teacher has marked your child absent first, before you will be given the option to record the reason).
• If at all possible, please pay monies due for Book Rental and School Costs via the Aladdin app.

PE Clothes:
 Children may wear their PE clothes to school on the day that their class is doing PE (and they will stay in their PE clothes for the day i.e. no need to change back into their uniform).

Sport:
There has been great activity in Scoil Chroí Naofa since our return to school:

• Athletics:
o We held our Cross Country run at the Pres pitch on Tues Sept 13th. All pupils in every class took part in the event and it was a great success.
o The fastest runners from 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th class qualified to represent the school in the Cumann na mBunscoil Athletics event in Renmore on Tues Sept 20th. The girls had a great day and all ran very well
o Sincere thanks to the Parents Council for funding the cost of the bus to Renmore
• GAA:
o Cian (the local Galway GAA coach) is taking Ms Alani’s 3rd class girls for camogie training every Friday for 6 weeks
o Camogie training for 6th class girls takes place every Friday at the Pres pitch
o Mr Naughton has chosen a panel of 10 to represent SCN in the Cumann na mBunscoil mini 7s camogie blitz on Wednesday of this week in Carnaun
o Mr Naughton will also choose a panel of 10 to represent SCN in the Cumann na mBunscoil mini 7s Peil na gCailíní on Tues Oct 4th in Coolarne
o Coaches from Monivea Abbey gaelic football club will come to the school in October to give the girls in Mrs Monson’s (3rd / 4th) and Mrs Greally’s (4th) classes 3 sessions of gaelic football training
o Sincere thanks to the Parents Council for funding the cost of the buses to Carnaun & Coolarne.
• Soccer:
o Mrs Greally’s 4th class will be taking part in the FAI’s “Futsal in the yard” programme again this year. It focuses on introducing participants to the game of Futsal, using fun games and activities to improve agility, balance and coordination, while also emphasising important Futsal techniques
• Gymnastics:
o All classes from senior infants up to 6th class had their first gymnastics session in the Senshin sports centre last week.
o Sincere thanks to the parents council for funding the cost of these sessions for so many of the pupils.

Art:

• Scoil Chroí Naofa 6th class girls have been selected to do a number of creative workshops with a Macnas artist over the coming weeks.
• Funding for these workshops has been provided by Galway Co. Council
• Macnas will be doing a large-scale instillation in October and the girls in both 6th classes are working as one groups to create pieces of art that will form part of this instillation.
• All the girls need to bring an over-sized shirt or t-shirt to school for the workshops, as it promises to get messy!!!

Music:

• Mr Kelly’s class will be taking a trip to Tuam on Wednesday Sept 28th
• They will be attending a concert presented by globally-renowned violinist Sergey Malov, called Meet the Violins, where he will introduce children to many instruments in the string family through iconic pieces of both contemporary and classical music. The concert is hosted by “Music for Galway” and takes place in The Mall Theatre in Tuam.
• The children are asked to contribute €5 each toward the cost of the concert. The Parents Council will cover the cost of the bus to Tuam.

Band:

• Band practice will commence in the next week or two
• Children in 2nd class will be learning the tin whistle
• Children from 3rd up to 6th will be selected for either tin whistle, melodica, accordion, bell lyre or percussion.
• The children will bring home their instruments, so that they can practice their tunes every night as part of their homework. (This will be especially important this year as only the girls in our current 6th class have ever played a musical instrument in the school band).
• Please remind the children that the instruments are on loan to them from the school and they should take very good care of them, so that they can give them back to the school in the condition they received them.

Punctuality & Attendance:
• Punctuality: The staff of Scoil Chroí Naofa consider punctuality to be of paramount importance. Please ensure that your child is in school by 8.50am to avoid disruption to the beginning of the school day. Roll call is taken in the early morning, every day. If your child arrives late to school, they should go to the main front door (red door 1) where the secretary will let them in & bring them to their class.
 Absences: In accordance with Section 18 of the Education Welfare Act 2000, when a pupil is absent for part or all of a school day, parent(s) must notify teacher or Principal of the reasons for the pupil’s absence. If a pupil is absent for more than 20 days during the school year, the school authorities must inform the Education Welfare Board who consult with parents. In order to comply with the Act, staff and I need your cooperation with the following:
a. If your child is absent, please log the reason for the absence on the Aladdin app
b. If your child has to leave the school during the school day, the person who is collecting your child must sign him/her out at the Secretary’s Office.

Homework:
• On the very rare occasion that pupils are unable to complete their homework, parents should send a note to teacher to explain the reason why.

School Uniform:
• The Board of Management and I are considering changing the school uniform to a more comfortable / affordable uniform.
• The change would not come into effect until Sept 2023.
• There is currently a mannequin in the main foyer (beside fish tank) displaying the proposed new uniform.
• It consists of a pale blue polo shirt, a navy blue tracksuit bottoms and a crested top
• We would welcome parents’ opinions / comments before any final decision is made.
• A survey will be emailed to parents in the coming week
• A suggestion box has also been left in the main foyer for people to submit their comments
• We ask that all comments be submitted by Friday October 14th.

Digital Age of Consent:
• The digital age of consent in Ireland is 16. It’s 16 for a reason and that is because leaving it until this later age gives parents a decent chance to monitor and educate their children about what is appropriate and what is not in this regard. Parents are therefore urged to continue to monitor their children’s online activity and to refer to https://www.webwise.ie for the latest supports and advice.
• SCNs consistent advice to any family who shares evidence of untoward internet activity outside of school hours, is to take it to An Garda Síochána. The staff will continue to promote and educate the children re: safe and responsible internet use as best we can.
• We would ask parents to please ensure that your children are not on devices after 8pm on a school night. This is to ensure that pupils are well rested coming to school each day and fully able to concentrate in class.

Technology:
• The school received a grant from the Department of Education, which was secured through the EU NRRP facility. The purpose of the funding was for schools to address the “Digital Divide” in schools.
• We have invested these funds in Chrome books and charging stations. These devices are being used by the Senior classes (4th, 5th & 6th).
• Each pupil in these classes has the use of a Chrome book all to themselves.
• The girls will be taught typing and will have access to a suite of apps and infinite cloud storage (Google Classroom). We are all very excited about this new development!!
• This will free up the iPads for more frequent use by the middle & junior classes

Wellbeing:
• The school is using the “Welcome to Wellbeing” & “Weaving Wellbeing” programmes from Junior Infants up to 6th class, within the framework of the SPHE curriculum
• The programmes are grounded in evidence-based interventions from the rapidly expanding field of Positive Psychology and are underpinned by the concept that a state of well-being is not simply the absence of the negative, but the presence of the positive.
• This programme gives children the opportunity to weave positivity into their daily lives through a range of activities in a variety of areas e.g. resilience skills (including mindfulness) and developing self-efficacy through empowering beliefs.
• Enhancing children’s well-being can lead to a wide variety of other successful outcomes including increased academic performance, better relationships & increased resilience.

Sensory Garden & Outdoor Classroom:
• There was a lot of additional work done on our Sensory Garden & Outdoor classroom over the summer holidays
• In addition to this, we also added climbing boards to the large wall on the bottom yard
• Some new play equipment was also purchased, which is currently being assembled
• Finally a new mural is in the process of being painted
• We are so proud of how it has turned out. You will be able to see photos on the school website & Instagram page when the final touches are complete.

Parents Council Information:
• A Cash 4 Clobber collection has been arranged for Thursday October 20th. Bags will not be brought into the school building. Instead we would ask that all bags be left in the shelter in the bottom yard on the morning of Thursday October 20th. As the bags will be left outside until the truck comes to collect them, please make sure the clothes are in plastic bags that are properly tied up and have no holes!
• The school has also signed up with www.designacard.ie again this year. Each child will be given the opportunity to design their own Christmas Card. A sample of their designs will be sent home in November, giving you the option to purchase a pack of Christmas cards designed by your child. A portion of the sales price will come back to the school and be used by the Parents’ Council to fund different things for the children.

Health & Safety Reminders:

  1. Please DO NOT WALK UNDER THE BARRIER. The barrier is in constant use from 8am til 2.30pm. Parents and children should use the pedestrian entrances (i.e. the gaps in the wall).
  2. No cars are allowed onto school grounds except in exceptional circumstances agreed with principal. All cars should be parked outside the school grounds in car parks outside the school gates and at the Church.
  3. Please ensure that your child does not walk on the wall.
  4. Please note that Coláiste an Eachréidh and Gael Scoil Riada are operating out of the old Presentation Secondary school building. As a result there will be difficulty parking and a lot of additional traffic.
  5. The Board of Management will not accept responsibility for children in the school yard before 8.40am or after 2.30pm, unless they are attending after school activities.

General Reminders:
We seek your co-operation with the following reminders:
 Staff request all outstanding monies for book rental and school costs be paid as soon as possible. Please do this via the Aladdin app, if at all possible. (Any issues please contact the office).
 Please label all children’s clothes and belongings clearly including lunchboxes, drink containers etc.
 Please ensure your child brings their raincoat to school for days that will be wet. Outdoor activity is being encouraged by the Department of Education.
 Your co-operation to ensure that your child wears the full school uniform every day (except on PE day) is most appreciated.
 Check your child’s hair to ensure that any infestation of head lice is treated at once. Long hair should be tied back. A copy of a flyer from the HSE is attached.
 Class teachers call the roll first thing in the morning, every day. If your child has an appointment in the morning, please notify the teacher the day before so that your child can be marked present.
 Birthday invitations should not be distributed on the school premises as it causes upset to the children who are not invited.
 Some children have a Severe Nut Allergy. Therefore, children are not allowed to have nuts at school.
 If you Change Address, Email or Phone Numbers, please inform secretary so she can update school records.

Youth Academy & CTY:
• University of Galway Youth academy for children from 4th, 5th or 6th class who have gotten a standardised test score of 123 or above in English, Irish or Maths. For information on this programme please check out: www.universityofgalway.ie/youthacademy
• Dublin City University Centre for Talented youth is aimed at students aged between 6-12 yrs who have Exceptional Academic Ability. For information on this programme please check out: www.dcu.ie/ctyi

Community Links:
• Brownies (Irish Girl Guides) for girls aged 7-10yrs re-opened in Athenry on Friday September 23rd from 6.30pm to 7.30pm in Clarin college. If you wish to register your daughter for brownies, please come along on Friday night. New members and volunteers are very welcome.

Yours sincerely
Fergal Naughton
Principal

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