17th January 2025
I’m not sure if it’s all the extra planets that are visible in the night sky or what but this is not feeling like the normal dark and cold January. The mornings have been beautifully bright and the sunrises are exceptional. Hopefully this keeps up and next Monday which is called the saddest day of the year might not be so bad. If you are still looking for resolutions could I ask that you work on the parking around the school. Thank you for not parking on the hill of Mount Pleasant Place but Jackie has asked me to warn you all about the clampers who were very busy and several of our parents who were here early for choir didn’t have the nicest start to the day.
Thank you to everyone who has been making an effort to aim for the 08:30 start time. It is really beneficial to all the children. If you do arrive after 08:45, just let your child go to class and you can then sign in at the office.
Paula was in from ‘Don’t be Mean’ behind your screen talking to the children from Rang 3-6. The line that struck me the most was, ‘We protect our children when we go outside, do we protect them as much inside when they go into the digital world?’. If your child has a device, ask them what Paula talked about and keep checking in with them.
The children in Rang a 2 agus a 5 said slán to Cully and Sam as they went on their adventure to the other side of the world yesterday. Rang a 2 marked it with some procedural work making pizzas. I got to sample the work myself which was one of the tastier lessons I’ve had.
I keep stopping by the door to Rang a 5 to admire the wonderful artwork. I love what’s on the wall at the moment and I’m really looking forward to seeing their work inspired by Matisse which they were working on this week.
Rang a 1 have been looking at maps and made their own 3D maps of their classroom.
Rang a 4 were in the library selecting books for their shared reading plan with Rang a 1. I’m looking forward to seeing this project develop. Our buddy system which seems to expand each year is a really great community practice where our older children get to support, encourage and get to know the younger classes.
Rang a 2 will be heading to the forest next week. The Annas, Aoileann and Claudia were busy preparing for it this week.
Seán has been having a great week working with Senior Infants as he works with and learns from Sara.
The extra curriculars are all up and running. Thank you to everyone. It wasn’t easy getting the info out and forms back ready to start for week 2. In future it might be easier to have the list sent out pre Christmas with a start date for the new term. We’re still tweaking the digital applications so if you have an opinion on how to make it easier please let us know.
Next week we will be hosting teachers from three other Irish schools as part of a ‘Community of Practice’. This is a research project coming from DCU which is looking at how connecting teachers and working together can improve the learning experience for children with Dyslexia. It’s a very exciting event as it is also an international community of practice.
Have a lovely weekend everyone,
Paul
From the Student Council…
The student council are working on getting opinions for what will make yard time more fun and what we would like to happen on the roof garden. The climbing frame is proving to be a hit but what else would we like.
So far slides and therapy dogs seem to be high up on the list.
