Dear Parents/Guardians I hope you are all keeping well. As we are well into the third term all staff are delighted how well the children have done to date. We have a number of activities & trips organised for the next few weeks. Where there is bus travel we would ask the children to bring €2 to help cover the cost of the buses. The class teacher will remind the children when this is the case. Please find below a list of recent and upcoming events. Relationships & Sexuality Education (RSE): Relationships and Sexuality education is an integral part of the S.P.H.E programme. The sensitive elements of the Relationships and Sexuality education programme are covered under the Strand Units, ‘Growing and Changing’ and ‘Taking Care of my Body’. We will be completing these Strand Units with all class levels in the forthcoming weeks. In the past the school has arranged for an outside facilitator to speak to the children in 5th & 6th class about the sensitive areas of the R.S.E curriculum. On the last occasion I felt that the programme could have been delivered better so I have decided that I will be teach the programme myself this time. Please find attached the home/school links pages of the Relationships and Sexuality manual which outline the material that will be covered in class and encourage further discussion on the topics at home. If you have any concerns, please make an appointment to see the class teacher. https://www.pdst.ie/sites/default/files/RSE%20in%20Primary%20School%20Parent%20Tips_0.pdf https://www.pdst.ie/sites/default/files/parent_booklet_going_forward_together.pdf https://www.kilchreestns.com/rse-content-overview/ Hurling & Camogie : In preparation for the upcoming schools hurling & camogie championships the hurling & camogie teams are playing a primary schools blitz on Tuesday 30 th of April in St Thomas’ Gaa grounds. The Blitz is being organised by Peterswell N.S. & we are grateful to Principal Michael Mulkerins for the invitation. The school hurling team will be playing their Cuman na mBunscol Blitz on Friday 17 th of May in St Thomas’ Gaa grounds. The school camogie team will be playing their Cuman na mBunscol camogie blitz on Friday 24 th May at 10am in Cappataggle. Confirmation: Congratulations to the boys and girls in 5th & 6th class who received the sacrament of Confirmation on Wednesday...
Read MoreDear Parents & Guardians, I hope you are all keeping well. Please find below a list of recent & upcoming events. Staffing: Ms Hannah Flanagan will be teaching 3rd & 4th class for the remainder of the school year. We are delighted to welcome Ms Flanagan back to the school. Confirmation: 5th & 6th class children are making their confirmation on Wednesday 17 th of April at 11am in Castledaly church. Bishop Michael Duignan will be present to perform the ceremony. Preparations are under way & we are looking forward to having our school choir present to add to the occasion. The school will provide a bus to bring the children in the choir to the church on the day. The 5th & 6th class children will wear their school uniforms on the day of the Confirmation. Solar Panels: The school is being fitted with Solar panels over the Easter holidays. We received a grant from the Department of Education & JFW Renewables were awarded the contract. Hopefully this will make a significant difference to our ESB bills. 6 th Class Trip to Dublin: The girls & boys in 6th class had a very enjoyable trip to Dublin on Wednesday 13th of March. The children went to Glasnevin Cemetery, Kilmainham Gaol & Island Bridge. The trip was very kindly organised by Fr Roche for all the 6th class children from the schools in his parishes. Credit Union Table Quiz Teams: Congratulations to our table quiz team of Sarah Larkin, Greta Gallagher, Sarah Smyth & Liam Burke that participated in the Chapter Stage of the Credit Union Schools Quiz on Sunday 3rd March in the Menlo Park Hotel, Galway. It was a great achievement to get to this stage & thanks to Ms. Keely for all her hard work preparing the children. World Book Day/Lá Glas: Well done to the children & parents for making such an effort for World Book Day & Lá Glas recently. There was great excitement in the school on both occasions. Child Protection Policy: The schools Child Protection Safeguarding Statement & Risk Assessment was reviewed & is available to view on the school’s website. Dates for your attention: School Closures. The school will be closing...
Read MoreDear Parents & Guardians, I hope you are all keeping well. Please find below a list of recent & upcoming events. Staffing: The process to find a replacement teacher for Ms Hayes’ maternity leave has commenced. This post will begin the week prior to the Easter Holidays. I will communicate with you when the position has been filled. Ms Hayes has decided to take early leave and 3 rd & 4 th class will be taught by Mr Costello & Mr Niland for the next two weeks & by Ms Connolly from the teachers supply panel after that. First Penance: Congratulations to all the children who celebrated their First Penance on Thursday 8 th of February in Castledaly church. Thanks to Ms Cusack for preparing the children so well, the children that came to sing in the choir & to Fr Roche. Reading World Cup: Our annual Reading World Cup for children from 1 st -6 th class took place in January. This is one of our initiatives to promote reading in the school. Well done to all the children who took part. Catholic Schools Week: We celebrated Catholic Schools week in January. The theme was Communities of Service. Once again the importance of the role that Grandparents play in the lives of children was emphasised. We were delighted to welcome the Grandparents of the children into the school on the Friday to celebrate Grandparents Day. Thanks to parents Laura Mahon, Regina Fahy & Sharon Herr for organising the catering on the day. It was very much appreciated by everyone. We were also grateful to music teacher Yvonne Barrett for coming in on the day to help the children perform their tin whistle tunes. Swimming Lessons: Children from 3 rd to 6 th commenced Swimming lessons in recent weeks. The lessons will go on for 6 weeks. We are very grateful to all the parents who have agreed to give up their time to help with supervision. Solar Panels Talk: The children from 3rd -6th had a talk from Ryan in JFW renewables about Solar Energy on Tuesday 6 th of February. 6th Class Trip to Dublin: The girls & boys in 6 th class are going to Dublin on...
Read MoreDear Parents & Guardians, We would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year. Please find below a list of recent & upcoming events/dates. St. Thomas All-Ireland Club final: Best wishes to Manager Kenneth Burke and all the St. Thomas’ players in their upcoming match vs O’Loughlin Gaels in the All-Ireland Club final on Sunday. We hope they can bring back the Tommy Moore Cup for a second time. Thanks to the club who very kindly gave a St Thomas’ flag to every pupil in the school. The children can wear their St. Thomas’ colours on Friday if they have them. Reading World Cup: Our annual Reading World Cup is ongoing at the moment for children from 1 st – 6 th class. This is one of our initiatives to promote reading in the school. It might be a nice idea to get your child to retell the story of the book they are reading in sequence. Catholic Schools Week: We celebrate Catholic Schools next week, starting Monday 22 nd of January. The theme is Communities of Service. Once again the importance of the role that grandparents play in the lives of children is emphasised. We are going to celebrate Grandparents Day on Friday 26 th of January. We would like to invite the children’s grandparents to visit the children in their classrooms. We would appreciate if you could let us know through your children’s diaries or email if grandparents are attending. The children will share some of the work they are doing in school with their grandparents. The schedule for the visits are: Infants 11:30am-11:45pm 1 st & 2 nd 11:50am-12:10pm 3 rd & 4 th 12:00pm-12:40pm 5 th & 6 th 12:50pm-1:10pm Christmas Concerts: I would like to congratulate & commend the children for their performances at this year’s Christmas Concerts. In addition, I would like to thank the teachers for preparing the children so well. Swimming Lessons: Children from 3 rd to 6 th will commence Swimming lessons on Wednesday 31 st of January for 6 weeks up to the Easter holidays. The letter with further details will go out this week. To comply with our school policy & child protection guidelines, we require a...
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