Newsletter March 2019

St. Peter’s National School 26th March 2019 Come and See Day We wish to thank all those who attended our special ‘Come and See’ Day. There was a super turn out! The hall was full with Mums and Dads, Grannies and Grandads and lots of other special family members who excitedly came to see the children shine. The atmosphere was hugely positive as the children gathered into ‘The Oak Centre’ for their special assembly, which was a celebration of one of the school’s key values ‘kindness’ and how it is promoted across all class levels. A big well done to each class - everybody was brilliant and all the children sang their little hearts out! Additionally, big congratulations must be given to Cian and Isabelle in 6th class who led our special Assembly – they were absolutely fantastic! All of the teachers were really proud of the children and the work they showed. Have a look on the website to see some great pictures of the event – a big thank you to Annie for taking such great photos on the day! St. Peter’s National School’s ‘Come and See’ day was such a success that we would like to hold a similar event, which will be open to the wider community, on the evening of Thursday the 2nd of May. More details of this event will follow closer to the date - we would love to see you all there! Board of Management News Staffing and Classroom arrangements 2019/2020 The DoES have released the circular (0019/2019), which outlines the staffing arrangements for Primary schools for the 2019/20 school year. This circular informs all schools of their staffing entitlements for the coming school year. Every schools staffing allocation for the following year is based on their numbers enrolled and submitted to the department on the 30th of September of the previous year. In September, we had 74 children enrolled in St. Peter’s National School. As a result, St. Peter’s National School will not retain their 4th Mainstream Class Teacher and will consist of 3 mainstream class teachers for the school year 2019/2020. We will continue to retain our two SET posts, filled by myself and Ms Flynn.

Although this change in classroom allocations will require a reshuffle, the teachers’ positive attitude and continued ‘can-do’ approach to all that they do affirms the positive influence this will have on our school community. Class allocations have been based on individual class numbers and are as follows: •

Miss Coyle à Junior Infants, Senior Infants and 1st class

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Miss Middleton à 2nd and 3rd class

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Miss McGovern à 4th, 5th and 6th class

As always, we will advise of any changes or additions to this staffing schedule for next year – this is always subject to change. New School Build The Board of Management have been working extremely hard in their efforts to try and push forward the new school build for St. Peter’s National School. The DoES has issued a schedule of accommodation for the new school. Our new school build will be reflective of our current school buildings’ capacity, consisting of 5 mainstream classrooms. In addition, we warmly welcome the inclusion of 2 special education classes (ASD Special Needs units) in St. Peter’s new school accommodation. The project has been devolved to the LMETB and we have received an estimated time schedule for the new school, which I have included for your reference. This is only an estimate. Outlined below are the stages of the build and the timeframe for each. Stage

Timeframe



Current stage 2 months

Appoint design team - The project has been advertised to the members on the Departments Framework for Type 2b projects, which our project falls under. The closing date for return of tenders is Thursday 18th April.

Stage 1:

Preliminary Design (assessment of site and location suitability and

1-2 months

initial sketch scheme) Stage 2 (a):

4 months

Developed Design (design development to a stage where the project is fully cost planned and can be prepared to lodge for statutory approvals)

Stage 2 (b):

7 months

Detailed Design (planning and other statutory permissions and preparation of tender documentation)

Stage 3:

3 months

Tender Action (including appointment of Contractor)

Stage 4:

12 months

Construction (including Contract Administration)

Stage 5:



Handover and Final Account (including Defects Liability Period)



The LMETB have stated that this timeline is an estimate only and indicate that a 36 month timeframe from the date of sanction (current stage) is more realistic due to various variables which may arise throughout the project. However, the BoM remains positive and proactive in keeping this project moving and will make every effort to ensure the new school build is completed as soon as possible. We will continue to keep you updated and informed throughout the project’s progression Voluntary Contributions The Board of Management wish to extend a big thank you to all families who have voluntarily contributed to the school fund this year. As the voluntary contribution letter stated, the practice of requesting a voluntary contribution to our school is necessary, if we are to sustain the high standards we work hard to maintain. Unfortunately, the allowance provided from the government does not cover our running costs, let alone cater for improving our school; therefore, we greatly appreciate your contributions. Below are the areas in which the BoM are focusing on improving this year. The total costs incurred by these improvements are not covered by government grants; therefore, it is only by voluntary contributions from parents, in addition to working alongside the PTA, that we are able to improve the following: •

Improve Literacy and Numeracy resources – the BoM have part funded (50%) new literacy books (50% funded by PTA) to ensure the teachers could implement the new ‘Building Bridges’ programme as part of our new English Reading Policy (available on the website). This is a 2 year cyclical programme and the books necessary for next year’s ‘year 2’ will need to be purchased in June. This will be reliant on BoM funds available from parents’ voluntary contributions. The results from the children’s questionnaires filled out as part of the School Self-Evaluation on Literacy, highlighted that the ‘Power Hours’ in which these books are used are a firm favourite of the children’s. The teachers are thrilled with this new programme and acknowledge the increased opportunities for children’s comprehension growth and development. This, along with the children’s reported enjoyment clearly highlights the success of this programme as one worth investing in!

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Purchase further I.T equipment – part funded by grants but subsidised by BoM funds. So far, this year we have installed 3 new Promethean Boards, one each in the JI & SI classroom, 1st and 2nd classroom and 3rd and 4th classroom. The teachers are hugely grateful to these new improvements as the old boards were so worn they couldn’t even be seen with the lights on – learning in the dark is not that effective!

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Improve general digital access for our pupils – the BoM wish to improve children’s digital literacy and endeavours to continue to improve digital access for the children. Although the DoES provide I.T grants they are not sufficient in updating the equipment St. Peter’s requires –

therefore your voluntary contributions are greatly appreciated in the efficient updating and renewing of our equipment. When BoM funds allow, the purchase of Chrome Books for the school to teach word processing, research and presentation skills is the next digital priority. This is supportive of our Digital learning Plan which will be available on our website very soon – keep an eye out! •

Invest in staff development – The BoM support staff continuous professional development to ensure all staff members can access courses and events, which keep us up to date. These courses are sometimes department funded in which case the course is free; however, if the course runs during the school day (which is often the case) many times sub cover is not funded by the DoES. In these instances the BoM endeavour to pay for sub cover when available rather than split classes (which unfortunately is sometimes unavoidable). We are very lucky in St. Peter’s N.S that the staff often give more of their time and attend evening courses when available to avoid these extra costs. However, the provision of BoM funds to supply cover in certain cases is required.

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Improve school storage facilities – this year the BoM have improved P.E storage, art resource storage and library and SET storage. These storage solutions are greatly appreciated by the staff and have greatly improved the efficiency and organisation of school equipment. This is only possible due to the parents’ voluntary contributions. Once again, we sincerely thank you for your kind and generous contributions. If you wish to make a contribution please contact the school office.

Policies We are continuing to work hard on updating our policies. The following policies have been developed/reviewed and ratified by the Board of Management. The BoM would like to extend a sincere thank you to the staff who are continuously working hard to develop and update the policies which inform the teaching and learning in our school. Curricular •

S.P.H.E Policy

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Stay Safe Policy

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Polasaí Léitheoireachta Gaeilge

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Polasaí Scríbhneoireachta Gaeilge

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Polasaí Téanga ó Bhéal Gaeilge

Administrative •

Code of Behaviour

School Self Evaluation This year we have engaged in a two-year cycle of school self-evaluation. Based on the most recent WSE report and staff collaboration and discussion the focus for our SSE has been identified as the transfer of skills across languages, English and Gaeilge. This focus began with gaining information from parent questionnaires, pupil questionnaires and whole staff discussion. The results highlighted the following strengths in Literacy in St. Peter’s N.S. 1. Most pupils enjoy reading 2. Most children appreciate themselves as ‘good’ readers; however, 20% are unsure of their quality of reading 3. Most pupils know the skills which are important in becoming a good reader 4. Most pupils feel they are good at writing 5. Most pupils know the skills, which are important in becoming a good writer; however, ¼ of children 2nd-6th class are unsure if they know the skills or not. 6. 84% of parents are happy with how their children are doing in English 7. Most pupils regularly read books outside their school readers; exposing them to increased vocabulary 8. Most parents feel their children are doing well at reading 9. Parents report their children use a wide range of phrases and vocabulary 10. Pupils and teachers enjoy and see the benefit of team teaching and Power Hour. 11. Pupils and teachers enjoy and see the benefit of in-class support The analysis of the information gathered resulted in the following target for the remainder of this school year and next year (2019/20): ‘Pupils will experience targeted teaching of vocabulary and spelling in order to promote the transfer of skills in the areas of the acquisition and use of vocabulary, phonological and phonemic awareness and spelling, demonstrating progression in the milestones and their written work’ This target has been subdivided into three targets: •

Pupils will increase their use of WOW words – focusing on vibrant, exciting and adventurous language in their oral language and in their writing.

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Teachers will explicitly teach phonics from Junior Infants to 6th class, following the phonics sequence in St. Peter’s N.S English Reading Policy (Appendix 3) and Polasaí Gaeilge Leitheoireacht (Rang 1-Rang 6) (Available on the website).

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Teachers’ planning and preparation document clear and differentiated learning outcomes, which are based on the analysis of assessment data. Learning objectives reflect a developmental and incremental approach to progressing pupils learning in relation to phonics, spelling and vocabulary development.

A full school self-evaluation report has been written up with further detail as to how these targets are going to be implemented and hopefully achieved in school. A copy of this report has been uploaded to the website. Please do have a look! The information from this evaluation will be used along with the WSE and staff collaboration to inform the production of a 3 year School Improvement Plan for St. Peter’s National School. This will be devised over the coming weeks and parents will be informed of its completion and publication. We wish to thank you all for your engagement in the process – there was a great rate of returns in the parents’ questionnaires. This is extremely valuable information and has greatly informed our planning for the future. Thank you! Engineering Day Engineering Day took place on the 14th of March. A big thank you to Miss Coyle, Claire, Kate and Pip for leading this day for us. •

Junior and Senior Infants had great fun making exploding volcanoes!

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1st and 2nd class were very creative making constructions out of spaghetti - hoping they would be earthquake proof!

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3rd and 4th class had lots of fun doing the egg challenge – how to drop an egg so it won’t break!!

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5th and 6th class had a super time creating robots!

The children had lots of fun and I’m sure we have inspired some future Engineers! Have a look on the website for some great photos of the day! PTA Once again this year we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to do a bucket collection outside the Metallica concert in Slane on Saturday 8th June. Volunteers are needed for the day, which would involve being there from about 2pm to 8pm. It is a long day but we believe that if we had enough volunteers we might be able to split it into shifts. We have never cancelled a PTA fundraising event in the past however since the last letter went out looking for volunteers we have had only one person volunteer. A list for volunteering has gone up in the office – please sign up your name if you are free on the 8th of June to volunteer. Without your help – this event may not go ahead. Once we have gathered some names we may be able to divide the day into shifts.

Two years ago the bucket collection at Slane raised €2240! Therefore, it would be very disappointing if we have to forgo this opportunity due to lack of volunteers. Unfortunately it is not possible due to health and safety concerns to have children with you on the day. So far this year the money raised from bag packing, from the Christmas Fair and from Spooky Walk and other fundraising events is going towards: •

the provision of some buses for school outings and events

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purchasing of books

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PE equipment

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Science equipment

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Upcoming workshops for the children

Evidently, your time as a volunteer greatly benefits your child and the school community as a whole. Please sign up as a volunteer in the office or email us your interest to: [email protected] Book Week and Book Fair The Book fair was a great success – thank you to the PTA for organising it all. The children loved browsing the books and had great fun choosing their book to bring home. Over € 800 was spent at the book fair which means we have almost €500 to spend towards school books from Celtic Travelling books (unfortunately, they don’t supply the Building Bridges Programme). This is a great amount of money, which will be well spent towards our Literacy resources in school. Book week was brilliant fun too with lots of different activities organised for each class. The buddy reading with Junior & Senior Infants and 5th & 6th class is great fun to watch. They really had a great time and love reading together! Internet Safety Day We were very lucky to be invited up to the Gaelscoil to share in their Internet Safety day organised event on the 7th of February. Children’s lack of education and knowledge regarding the dangers of Internet usage can cause them to act irresponsibly and disrespectfully online. This online behaviour can have detrimental affects on a child’s overall wellbeing. With every action online, there is a consequence. Therefore, this educational event was very information and hugely beneficial for all the children and teachers alike. It is imperative that children are taught the importance of how to stay safe online. These workshops were age appropriate covered these themes: •

Online gaming

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Cyberbullying

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Peer pressure

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Digital footprint

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Social media

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Being a Good Digital citizen.

Paula, who facilitated the event, identifies that as parents/guardians we have a responsibility to educate and inform ourselves about the issues facing our children online. It is imperative we are kept informed and updated as to how we can best protect our children online. The Gaelscoil organised a parents information evening following the children’s workshops. There have been numerous positive reports on the benefits of this evening for parents, which I am delighted to hear! If you were unable to make it on the night Paula has a Facebook page called Don’t Be Mean Behind the Screen, which you may like to check out if you would like some additional information about how you can best support your child online. A big thank you to the Gaelscoil for facilitating these events and for inviting us along. Also, thank you to the PTA for making a contribution of €300 towards this event. Active Flag A huge thank you to Miss McGovern for her continuous work towards our next Active Schools Flag. She has organised lots of fun events for all the classes and is currently working on the planning of our Active Schools Week. If you have any particular skills you would like to share please do not hesitate to contact Ms. McGovern – we welcome all sorts of activities for Active Week! Active Week will take place during the week 27th – 31st of May. St. Peter’s N.S Sports and Fun Day will take place on Thursday the 30th May, during Active Week. GAA All children Junior Infants – 6th class are engaging in a 6 week block of GAA lessons. These lessons are taking place every Monday and they just finished their second session this week. The children are learning great skills during theses sessions and are enjoying every minute. Teresa from the local GAA has kindly offered to facilitate these sessions – thank you Teresa, the children are loving it! Aldi Stickers Thank you all so much for bringing in your Aldi Stickers! The poster has been filled and has been now entered into the competition. Big thanks to Anita for organising the poster for us. The children loved counting the stickers as they have came in! HSE Screening Vaccinations Big well done to the Junior Infants who were all little superstars. They were very brave having their vaccinations on the 13th of March.

Sight and Hearing Tests Reminder to all Junior Infant parents that the sight and the hearing tests will take place on the 28th of March. Important dates for your diary! •

28th March – Sight and hearing Tests (Junior Infants)

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11th April – School Progress Meeting @ 7.30 pm

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2nd May – School Open Evening @ 7pm.

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14th May – Meath and Kildare Diocesan Service attended by 5th and 6th

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27th May – JI-4th class school tour to Causey Farm and 5th&6th class sports Blitz with the Gaelscoil

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30th May - Sports Fun day!

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11th June – Junior Infant (2019-2020) Induction evening for parents @7pm

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12th June – Junior Infant (2019-2020) Induction day for children and parents @1.30-2.00

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18th June – 6th class graduation

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21st June – 5th and 6th class trip

As you can see we are all working very hard in St. Peter’s National School and enjoying all the fun learning each day is bringing. As always we thank you for your continued positivity and support. Miss Blennerhassett J