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September 2010

Castaheany Educate Together School Newsletter
September 2010

Fáilte ar ais!
Welcome back to all our pupils, staff and families. We extend a very special welcome to our new pupils and staff, who are settling in at Castaheany ETNS. Congratulations to Marie, whose beautiful baby daughter, Eliza, was born last month! Marie, Kate and Brietta are currently on maternity leave and Niamh, Jane and Sheila will be working here with us until they return later in the year. We welcome new teachers Gillesa, Siobhán and Úna to our staff this year and say “Farewell” to Nell who came to Castaheany in 2005. We wish Nell the very best of luck with all her future plans!

School Staff 2010/11
Principal: Mary
Home-School-Community Liaison teacher: Ciara
Junior Infants: Claire and Diana Senior Infants: Aideen and Muireann
First Class: Gráinne and Laura Second Class: Deirdre and Siobhán
Third Class: Sharon and Renata Fourth Class: Louise and Connor
Fifth Class: Gillesa and Caitríona Sixth Class: Erica
Learning Support Team: Kate, Jane, Sarah, Emer, Úna, Peadar
Language Support Team: Marian, Dónal, Marie, Niamh, Brietta, Sheila
SNA team: Maeve, Joanna, Nadia, Denise, Elisha, Isobel
Secretary: Deirdre Caretaker: Willy

A New School Bear

We have a new Castaheany Bear who came from China this Summer. This bear will be travelling around Ireland and around the world with our families in the years to come. If you are travelling abroad or going on a day trip in Ireland, you can borrow the school bear, take a photo of the bear on your trip/holiday and then bring the photograph back to Mary with the bear. If it’s a really famous place, that would be fantastic! We will be making a display of all the places our school bear visits and this will help us learn about our country and our world. The first photo will show the bear sitting on the Great Wall of China!
This week we are holding a competition to name the school bear. The children can suggest a name by writing it on a piece of paper, along with their own name, and giving it to their class teacher before Friday. The winner will be announced at Friday’s assembly. Good luck!

Traffic and Parking

As previously communicated, the school gates will remain closed each morning and afternoon, allowing families to walk safely in and out of the school grounds. So far, there have been very few traffic problems and we thank everybody for your co-operation. We ask parents not to drive or park near the school gates and not to park at Barry’s Lane in front of residents’ homes. There is plenty of parking space in the village car park and a short walk-through to the school gate.
Pupils have been asked to walk safely along the path in the school car park and not to race each other to their lines in the morning. We have also reminded them to step off their bikes and scooters at the gate and walk to the yard, for safety reasons. Please remind your children again at home.

Dates for your Diary………

School will close at 12 for staff meetings on Thursday 16 September and Thursday 14 October.
School will be closed on Friday 15 October for a whole-school planning day.
School will be closed for one week,25-29 October for the Autumn mid-term break.

Religion Classes

Catholic religious instruction classes will be starting up again shortly. (Days and times to be decided) Pupils from
1 – 5 class can be registered for First Communion preparation classes by contacting Veronica McPartlin at
085-1430715 and pupils from 5 or 6 class can be registered for Confirmation preparation classes by contacting Lisa Brady at 087-2223496. Please contact Veronica or Lisa before Wednesday 15 September.

Coffee Mornings

Wednesday mornings are coffee mornings at Castaheany Educate Together! After you drop your children to school on a Wednesday, pop in to the Home-School room for a cuppa and a chat. We’d be delighted to see you there!
Wednesday 29 September will be a special Grandparents’ coffee morning as part of Positive Ageing Week and to mark International Day of Older Persons on 1 October. It would be lovely if lots of our pupils could invite their Grannies and Grandads to school on the 29!

Savings Club

Last year we started a Savings Club in Castaheany for the children from 3 to 6 classes. Over eighty children joined and saved regularly during the year. We would like to say a big “Thank You!” to Ben and Ellen’s mum, Niamh Costello, and to Dónal for all their hard work in organising the Savings Club up to now.
from next Tuesday 14 October the children from 3 to 6 classes will, once again, have an opportunity to develop the important habit of saving throughout the year.
are pleased to announce that Blanchardstown & District Credit Union will be taking over the organisation and runningthe Savings Club and there will be a few important changes:
Each participating child will have their own individual Credit Union membership with their own account book, complete with Photo ID
Parents will need to give their consent for their child to participate.
In future, all cash withdrawal transactionsbe done in the Blanchardstown & District Credit Union branch office on Clonsilla Road.
Dónal will be speaking to all of the senior classes during the week and distributing application forms to all of the children interested in participating.

School Reports

Many school reports from last year are still waiting to be collected in the office. If you have not yet received your child’s report please call in to Deirdre this week. Where stamped-addressed-envelopes were provided in June, reports were posted out to your home.We are currently updating our school files. If you have changed address or phone number during the holidays, please give Deirdre the new details immediately. Because we are a Green School, we are always trying to reduse the amount of paper we use. If you would like to receive our school newsletters via email, please let Deirdre know and make sure we have your up-to-date email address. Thanks a million!

Pre-Enrolment lists

Demand for school places in Dublin 15 is ever-increasing and, while new schools in the area are providing additional places, primary schools are under continued pressure and waiting lists are getting longer. Castaheany Educate Together School has no catchment area and takes pre-enrolments from birth. Our 2015 list is getting longer by the day! If you have any younger siblings at home who have not been registered yet, please get a form from Deirdre in the office immediately. Remember, we do not have a sibling policy and our enrolment procedure is strictly first-come-first-served. Pre-enrolment forms will only be accepted by post.

COURSES FOR PARENTS

Healthy Food Made Easy:
Take this FREE course and in just 6 WEEKS our trainers will have you excited about healthy food. With sessions lasting 2 hours and 30 minutes each week. You will have an improved knowledge of nutrition while preparing your meals at home.

Day: Wednesday Time: 10:30am-1:00pm Date Starting: September 15

Yoga Classes:
For this class please wear comfortable clothing and please bring along a mat. This is an 8-week course.

Day: Friday Time: 11:30am-1:00pm Date Starting: September 24

Computer Classes:
This 8-week course will give participants the opportunity to complete FETAC level 3.

Day: Wednesday Time: 9:00am-10:30pm Date Starting: September 22


English Language Classes:
This will be a ten-week course for parents who are looking to improve their English. It is a beginners course.

Day: Monday Time: 11:30am-1:00pm Date Starting: 27 September


Jewellery Making:
This is the first year that we have run this course. It is also an 8-week course in which participants will make their own jewellery.

Day: Thursday Time: 10:0am-12:00pm Date Starting: Septmember 30
Cost: 5 euro per class

Parents Plus Programme:
A Positive and Practical Parenting Course for Parents of Children aged 6 to 11 years
Parents are really important in helping their children develop and grow up well. Yet parenting can sometimes be a difficult job and everyone needs support and help. This course hopes to help you:
Develop a close and warm relationship with your children and to enjoy being their parent
Help your children learn, be confident and reach their full potential.
Solve parenting problems in a positive way that helps your child learn.
Manage difficult behaviour and discipline problems

Day: Tuesday Time: 10:30am-1:00pm Date Starting: October 5
*****If you are interested in any of these courses please ask Ciara or Deirdre for a registration form. Only participants who have completed these forms can take part in the classes. Please return the forms to Ciara or Deirdre.

Other ways to get involved in the school:

Baking:
Following on from the success of the baking with the children last year, the PTA have decided they are going to do some more baking with our classes. Below are the days and times for our different classes. We will be looking for parents to come in on the following days:

Friday- October 1 10-15-11:00am- Laura 1
11:15-12:00am-Grainne 1

Friday- November 5 10-15-11:00am- Deirdre 211:15-12:00am-Siobhan 2

Friday- December 3 10-15-11:00am- Renata 3
11:15-12:00am-Sharon 3

Friday- January 14 10-15-11:00am- Connor 4
11:15-12:00am-Louise 4

Friday- February 4 10-15-11:00am- Gillesa 5
11:15-12:00am-Caitriona 5


Friday- March 4 10-15-11:00am- Muireann Senior Infants
11:15-12:00am-Aideen Senior Infants

Friday- April 10-15-11:00am- Erica 6 Class


Friday- May 6 10-15-11:00am- Diana Junior Infants
11:15-12:00am - Claire Junior Infants

Green Flag Committee:
Last year we successfully won a green flag for our school. This year we will be working towards getting a second green flag relating to energy conservation. If you would be interested in sitting on our Green Schools committee, please let Ciara know.

Maths for Fun:
This programme is run over five weeks, for 45 minutes a week. We have set Maths board games for each class group. Parents then come into the class and play a Maths board game with a group of children. This programme runs from 1 - 6 Class and usually takes place on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. If you are interested in helping out please let me know.

Parent and Toddler Group:
This takes place every Monday morning from 9:00am-10:00am. A parent and toddler group is for parents/carers with children from ages 0-4years. This is an opportunity to get to know other parents, discuss and hear other experiences on issues attached to parenting and to have a great support network for what can be the difficult role of parenting. If you would like to join this parent and toddler group please give your name to Ciara or Deirdre.