September's Newsletter
ST PATRICK’S AND ST
JOSEPH’S
FEDERATED PRIMARY SCHOOL
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Tirkeeran
GARVAGH
BT51 5BA
(Tirkeeran Site)
Tel: 028 2955 8039
Fax: 028 2955 8039
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Brockaghbuoy
GARVAGH
BT51 5BD
(Glenullin Site)
Tel: 028 2955 8641
Fax: 028 2955 8641
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Principal: Mr Aidan Raffertywww.stpatricksandstjosephs.com
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8
September 2016
Dear
Parent/Guardian
Welcome
/ Fáilte to all our pupils, back for the new academic year.
A
special welcome to our Primary One pupils:
Emma
Boylan, Finian Bradley, Nellie-Rose Bradley, Aoibhín Close, Aoife Farren, John
Higgins, Rona Kearney, Odhrán Kelly, Michael Leadon, Caitlin McFadden, Jacob
McIlvar, John Joe McIlvar, Alfie and Barry Mullan-McNicholl, Bronagh McNicholl,
Niamh McNicholl, Ellie Mae Mimnagh, Oisín Mullan, Grace Niblock, Josie
O’Connell, Senan O’Kane and Rory Sheenan.
Collection of Children from NEELB Bus
It is important to note that,
according to the NEELB Transport policy, our school bus driver cannot let
children off the bus unless a responsible adult is there to collect them.
Monday After
School’s Club – Glenullin site
Monday
After School’s Club
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12 September- 17 October |
Sewing with Mrs Ball & Miss McCloskey 12- 26 September with P6 & P7 (3 weeks) 3 - 17 September with P4 & P5 (3 weeks) |
Glenullin site
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24 October – 5 December (6 Mondays)
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Tin Whistle with Miss McCollum for P4 & P5. Tin whistles cost £2; please send money in advance if tin whistle required. |
Pupils must be collected
promptly at 4.00 p.m.
P7 Pupils – Transfer
Anyone who is considering
entering their child for an external entrance examination should please note
the cut off dates in the accompanying list of dates.
Allergies / Medical Needs
A number of children within the school are allergic to
nuts and or eggs. As an anaphylactic
reaction to these foods can be potentially life threatening we ask that all
parents ensure that no nut products (e.g Kinder eggs/ bars) or egg (such as egg
sandwiches) be brought into the school.
Any parent who has a child
requiring any medication during school
hours (this includes Calpol and asthmatic inhalers) must always fill out the
appropriate forms available from the school office prior to the child taking or
bringing the medication to school.
A reminder for parents whose
child has agreed medication stored in the school that the onus is upon the
parent to ensure that the medication is always within its expiry date.
Whole School Assembly
The
Whole School Assembly on Friday 30 September will be led by P7 in the Glenullin
site. It will commence at 9.15 a.m. and everyone is welcome
Uniform
Thanks to all for your
continued support of our uniform policy.
Please remember that, for footwear pupils are asked to wear trainers –
shoes are not part of the school uniform. NB: Please mark all sweatshirts and coats
with your child’s name and class.
P.E.
Uniform
On P.E. days it would be appreciated if girls could
wear trousers or shorts below their skirts, and have long hair tied back. Any standard trainer is the recommended
footwear, shoes should not be worn.
Football tops are not viewed as necessary and the ordinary white polo
top is all that should be worn.
P.E. days are as follows:
P1
– Tuesday P5 –
Friday
P2 – Wednesday P6
– Friday
P3 – Wednesday P7
– Monday
P4
- Tuesday
Song and Irish for
the Month
As Tipperary have beaten
Kilkenny by nine points in the Liam McCarthy cup final we feel this song is
appropriate. Slievenamon is a 721 metre mountain situated northwest of Carrick
on Sur in County Tipperary.
Song
for the month: ‘Slievenamon’
Irish
for the month:
Dia duit - Jeea ditch : Hello ( when speaking to one person)
Dia is Muire duit - Jeea is Mura ditch : Hello ( response to one person's greeting)
Dia daoibh - Jeea deeve : Hello ( to greet more than one person)
Dia is Muire daoibh -Jeea is Mura deeve : Hello ( response to more than one person's greeting)
Slán go fóill - Slan go foil : Goodbye/ See you later
Go raibh maith agat - Gura maith agat : Thank you
Colours
in Irish can be accessed fromhttp://ccea.org.uk/curriculum/gaeloideachas/piaschand then click on
Language and Literacy.
Grammar for the month
‘Yous’ and ‘Youns’ No
such word! X Incorrect
You (singular) and You (plural) ü Correct
I seen X
Incorrect
I saw ü Correct
I have seen ü Correct
Health Promoting School
As
part of our Healthy Breaks Policy children are encouraged to eat fruit and or
bread products from Monday to Thursday.
Friday is a treat day when they may bring anything of their choice. Each child is also asked to bring a bottle of
water (sports top) to school each day which they are allowed to sip during
class. We would ask that the bottles be
labelled with the child’s name.
School
Dinners and Free School Meals
School dinners currently cost £2.50 per day. Please make cheques payable to the Education
Authority.
The number of pupils who are on the free school
meals’ register affects the school budget.
If you are in any doubt as to whether you are entitled to free dinners
please complete a Free School Meals’ form which is available from the office in
the Tirkeeran site, even if you do not wish your child to actually take dinner.
Notice Boards
Notice
Boards are provided on each site to:
- Highlight pupils or
past pupils achievements outside of school.
- Include local notices
and important dates for the children, for example gaelic, camogie or music
information.
Anyone
who wishes to include any information, please submit to Mrs Bradley, the school
secretary.
The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning
A coffee morning in aid of
Macmillan Cancer Support will be held in the Garvagh Community Building on
Friday 30 September from 10 – 12 noon.
Admission £3, everyone welcome.
McNicholl School of Irish Dancing
McNicholl School of Irish
Dancing recommences for children of all ages on Friday 9 September at 4.00pm in
Glenullin GAC. All newcomers welcome.
New Staff
We
extend a warm welcome to Mr Murphy in P7, Miss McCloskey in P5, Miss Coyle in
P4 and Miss McCollum in P3.
8
September 2016
‘Boomerang Lunches’
Dear Parent/Guardian,
As part of
our Eco- Schools programme, we have a ‘Boomerang Lunch’ policy in school. The aim is to greatly reduce waste from
lunches and to encourage pupils and family to rethink about the way they
prepare and package lunch and snack foods.
The
‘Boomerang Lunch’ programme works on the idea that all items of lunch are
returned to their source. All
pre-packaged waste from your child’s lunch will be returned home in his/her
lunchbox. This includes any packaging,
plastic bags and wrapping. ‘Boomerang
Lunches’ will enable parents to see what their child has eaten during the day
and will provide parents with first-hand knowledge of the eating habits and
preferences of the child. By bringing
home the leftovers, you will see what has been eaten and what has not. Hopefully this will increase what pupils eat
and reduce food waste.
Having
just received our Eco- schools ‘Green Flag’ for the fourth time, we hope that
you will support us in this initiative.
Thank
you for your support.
Miss
R Coyle (Eco- Schools Coordinator)
‘Boomerang Lunch’ –
Frequently asked question
What can I do to ensure my child doesn’t
come home with a messy lunchbox?
The
easiest way to do this is to send all food items in sealable, reusable
containers. Therefore, the only items
returning in the lunchbox will be in sealed containers ready to be washed and
used the next day. If you choose to send
disposable containers such as yogurt pots and juice boxes, your child will be
encouraged to place the empty container in their lunch boxes. Please mark all lunch boxes and containers
with the pupil’s name and class.
SONG OF THE MONTH
SEPTEMBER
2016
Slievenamon
Dates for Term One
Mondays |
5 September – 17 October incl.
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Swimming for the P5 class |
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Thursdays |
8 September – on-going |
Each class will, in turn, visit Garvagh Library on a Thursday morning. |
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P7 – Thursday 8 September |
P6 – Thursday 15 September |
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P5 – Thursday 22 September |
P4 – Thursday 29 September |
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P3 – Thursday 6 October |
P2 – Thursday 13 October
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Friday |
9 September |
Closing date for application for AQE entrance examination (Dalriada, Ballymoney and Coleraine Academical Institution)
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Mondays |
12 September – 7 November incl. |
Additional numeracy and literacy
classes for P7 pupils with
Mr Rafferty from 3.10 – 4.10 pm .
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Monday
After School’s Club
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12 September- 17 October |
Sewing with Mrs Ball & Miss McCloskey 12- 26 September with P6 & P7 (3 weeks) 3 - 17 September with P4 & P5 (3 weeks) |
Glenullin site
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24 October – 5 December (6 Mondays)
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Tin Whistle with Miss McCollum for P4-7. Tin whistles cost £2; please send money in advance if a tin whistle is required. |
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The Friday Website Reporter |
16 September – 7 October |
Friday 16 September – Meabh Boylan & Oisin Bradley Friday 23 September – Willie John Bradley & Theo Brolly Friday 30 September – James Francis Burns & Rhiannon Comer Friday 7 October – Keira Culleton & Eamonn Hasson
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Friday |
23 September |
Closing date for application for GL Assessment examination (
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Friday |
30 September
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Whole School Assembly led by P7 at the Glenullin site commencing at 9.15 a.m. Parents welcome.
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Tuesday |
4 October |
School photographer in the Tirkeeran site at 8.30 a.m. -uniform format this year. Each child will be photographed individually. If any family group photographs are required please send a written note to the school with the oldest child on the day. Other family members are welcome to come along to be photographed.
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Thursday |
6 October |
Information Sheet 2
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Mondays |
24 October – 12 December incl.
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Swimming for the P6 class |
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Friday |
28 October |
Whole School Assembly led by P6 at the Glenullin site commencing at 9.15 a.m. Parents welcome.
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Monday - Wednesday
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31 October – 2 November incl. |
Hallowe’en holidays |
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Wednesday |
2 November 9 am – 5 pm
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Parents, Teachers’ Meeting at the Glenullin site. Parents will have an opportunity to view lost property and collect any items belonging to their child/children at this time. Any property remaining will be given to charity or sent for recycling.
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Thursday |
10 November |
Information Sheet 3
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Thursday |
1 December |
Information Sheet 4
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Friday |
2 December |
Whole School Assembly led by P5 in the Glenullin site commencing at 9.15 a.m. Parents welcome.
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Monday |
19 December |
Christmas Show in Glenullin Hall at 7.30 p.m.
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Tuesday |
20 December |
Mass in Glenullin site at 10.30 a.m. School closes at 12 noon for Christmas Holidays.
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Wednesday |
4 January |
School reopens.
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Mondays |
9 January – 19 June 17 incl. |
Swimming for the P7 class |
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8 September 2016
Safe Guarding Children / Child
Protection Policy
Dear Parent / Guardian
Detailed below is a summary
of the contents of our Safe Guarding Children Policy.
Our policy includes:
- The principles upon which the policy is
based. The first being that
‘The child’s welfare is paramount and overrides all
other consideration.’
- The context in which it is set
- The procedures which all staff must adhere to and
staff’s four main areas of responsibility are;
- Prevention
- Recognition of the four types of child abuse
i.e. Physical, Sexual, Emotional or Neglect
- The response by staff
- Referral procedures for staff.
- A Code of Conduct which all staff must adhere to
- A record of staff training in this area
- The names of the teachers and Governors with
responsibility for safe guarding children,
- Overall responsibility Mrs Catherine Ball & Mrs Claire
McCloy
- Deputy Mrs Laura Heron
- Chairman of the Board of Governors Mr Michael James
- Governor with Safe Guarding children
responsibility - Mrs Anne Marie McKenna.
Please note that a full paper
copy of this policy is available upon request from the office on the Tirkeeran
Site and an online version is available on the school web site.
Yours sincerely
Aidan Rafferty
Principal