Newsletters Archived
September Newsletter 2018We are very proud of our school website and most parent queries can be answered by accessing www.stpatricksns.ie or by viewing our Newsletters which are regularly emailed to each family and are also on our website. Please make our website your first “port of call”.
The Reception/Administration Office hours are 8.30am to 3.10pm. The office closes for lunch from 12.00-12.30pm daily. It would be much appreciated if telephone calls to the school were made only in emergency situations, and ONLY AFTER 9.00AM.
There is no need to telephone the school if your child is sick, unless the illness is contagious. Parents should acknowledge their child’s absence from school on their return, in writing, for Junior & Senior Infant classes or on the ABSENCE SLIP in your child’s Homework Journal for 1st- 6th Class.
Castleknock Community College – Current 6th Class
Please note that the closing date for First Year Student Applications for September 2018 is 4PM ON FRIDAY 07 SEPTEMBER.
Medical updates
We are in the process of updating our medical records. A new 'Administration of medicine' form will be sent home shortly, to the parents of children who require inhalers/anapen/epipen etc in school. We advise parents of children who have medication in school to check the expiry date of these medications with their child's class teacher. If you have any medical updates regarding your child please email info@stpatricksns.ie for the attention of Ms. Threadgold and this information will be passed onto relevant teachers and updated on Aladdin.
Infant Children (Junior & Senior Infants)
Infant children (Junior & Senior Infants) should not be left unsupervised in the yard in the morning. Parents/Guardians should remain with their child/children until they are handed over to the care of their teacher at 8.30am. Under no circumstances should Infant children be dropped at the school gate to enter school grounds alone.
Health & Safety
We would ask that you discourage children from walking along the low wall outside the main school entrance. Also, children should NEVER enter the school via the staff car park entrance.
Head Bumps
It is school policy to inform parents if your child has a head bump of any kind during the school day. If the teacher feels that the child is ok and does not need to be collected, you will receive a text message for your information. If the head bump is deemed to be more serious, you will receive a telephone call from the office asking you to arrange collection of your child.
Registration for First Holy Communion and Confirmation 2019
Registration for your child to receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion and/or Confirmation will be taking place in St Mochta’s Pastoral Centre:
First Holy Communion/Confirmation: Registration will take place on Monday or Tuesday 10th or 11th September between 6pm and 8pm.
Please note:
- If your child was baptised in St Mochta’s Church, you will be required to fill out full details of the Baptism on the Registration Form. If you have a copy of the Baptismal Certificate at hand, please bring it along with you to Registration.
- For children baptised outside of St Mochta’s Church, a Baptismal Certificate must be presented with the registration form before your child can be enrolled on the First Holy Communion Preparation Programme.
Baptismal Certificates will be returned at the Registration evening.
If you do NOT have a baptismal certificate, for this date, please come to the Registration Evening for more information.
If you require further information or wish to discuss any aspect of receiving the Sacraments, please contact Fr Paul Ward or Mary Greene at the Pastoral Centre on (01) 8213218.
Choir
Choir will recommence on Friday 14 September 2.10-3.10pm. Children from 2nd to 6th Class are welcome to join. Choir will take place in Red Room 4.
Summer Book Readers
Summer Book Readers forms will be collected over the coming days. The final day for collection will be next Monday, when a draw for entrants in each class level will take place.
Additional forms are available on the school website.
Parent “Helping Hands”
We are once again looking for Parent Helping Hands. We need parents to:
- Help out in Junior Infants and Senior Infants for Maths Stations;
- To help out at Literacy Lift-off/Guided Reading stations;
- To help out in Junior infants for Fine Motor Stations;
- To accompany children to and from the church;
- To accompany children on school tours;
- To accompany children to sporting events.
How do I get involved?
All Parent Helping Hands need to be Garda Vetted through the school. You need to bring in proof of address and a photo ID(Passport/Drivers licence) to the school and fill in an Application Form at the office. We need to submit a form to Archbishop’s House. They will then email you an e-form which you must return within 30 days otherwise the form will expire and you will need to begin the process all over again. When the ‘Vetting’ comes through you will be informed by Archbishop’s House and the Declaration will also be sent to the school.
Parking
We appreciate that lack of parking space is a major problem for all parents. However, cars must be parked in a safe, legal and considerate manner.
Unfortunately, a number of parents continue to park and block access to/from driveways, and park dangerously close to junctions and entrances to estates. This is both highly inconsiderate towards the residents of these estates and is, in fact, illegal.
There are also a number of parents who stop at the roundabout on the main road which is a dangerous and illegal practice. This is unnecessary (also dangerous and illegal) as we have a safe procedure in place for dropping children off at the main entrance of the school.
The following are extracts from the Rules of the Road:
- A vehicle may not park on double yellow lines in any circumstances.
- A vehicle may not be parked within 5m of a junction.
- Vehicles may not be parked near: a bend, the brow of a hill, a humped back bridge, a continuous white line, where it would obstruct a sign, at an entrance, at a bus stop or opposite another vehicle on a narrow road.
The Board of Management will have no hesitation in supporting local residents who choose to report drivers who park illegally or trespass on their property. The Board will also support those parents who choose to report instances of dangerous parking/driving that may put the lives of their children at risk.
There is ample parking available at Spar car park which is a short distance from the school. Cars must be parked properly in the car park. Under no circumstances should a car obstruct one of their patrons or interfere with delivery truck access.
Upcoming Events
10-11 September - First Communion & Confirmation Registration 6-8pm St Mochta’s Parish Centre
26 October - Presidential Election
29 October to 02 November inclusive - Mid Term Break
24 December to 04 January inclusive - Christmas Break
18-22 February inclusive - Mid Term Break
18 March - St Patrick’s Day
15 - 26 April inclusive - Easter Break
06 May - May Bank Holiday
03 June - June Bank Holiday
28 June - School Closes for Summer Break
Upcoming Sporting Events & News
Selection of children for school events and appropriate parental interaction
Many thanks to all of our parents for your continued support of our school teams. We greatly appreciate your help with supervision, jersey care, side-line encouragement, etc. The school is indebted to our teachers who train and run the teams in a voluntary capacity. The school ethos is to promote ‘Sport for All’. However, some events are competitive and for these, children need to be selected. We always endeavour to be as fair as possible when picking children to represent the school.
IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR PARENTS TO TAKE ISSUE WITH TEACHERS REGARDING THE SELECTION PROCESS.
While there will always be differing opinions in this regard, it is the prerogative of the management team to make the final decision. We look forward to another great year for St Patrick’s on the sporting field.
GAA Matches September 2018 (Girls & Boys)
|
Date / Time |
Category |
Competition |
Fixture |
Venue |
|
05/09/2018 15:00 |
Girls Senior |
Corn Austin Finn |
Sc Bhríde CK -v- Diswellstown |
Russell |
|
12/09/2018 15:00 |
Girls Senior |
Corn Austin Finn |
Sc Helen -v- Diswellstown |
Mearnóg |
|
19/09/2018 15:00 |
Girls Senior |
Corn Austin Finn |
Diswellstown -v- Navan Rd GNS |
Somerton |
|
06/09/2018 15:00 |
Boys Senior |
Corn na nGearaltach |
Diswellstown -v- Sc Mochta |
Somerton |
|
13/09/2018 15:00 |
Boys Senior |
Corn na nGearaltach |
Sacred Heart BG -v- Diswellstown |
Albert |
|
20/09/2018 15:00 |
Boys Senior |
Corn na nGearaltach |
Bayside -v- Diswellstown |
Naomh Barróg |
Reminders
Contagious Illness
Whilst there is no need to telephone the school if your child is sick, we would greatly appreciate if you would
contact us if your child contracts a contagious illness e.g. measles, mumps, rubella, etc. There are children in
the school who are at increased risk of contracting these illnesses. Parents should acknowledge their child’s absence from school due to minor illnesses on their return, in writing, in the child’s School Journal.
Contact Details
It is essential that we have the correct address and contact details (e.g. home telephone, parents’ mobile numbers and email addresses) for your child on our database. If any of your details have changed over the summer, please complete a Change of Address/Contact Details Form as soon as possible.
Healthy Lunch Policy
We operate a Healthy Lunch Policy in the school. Fizzy drinks, crisps, popcorn or sweets are not permitted. Please help us maintain the health of our children by following the guidelines which are available to view at www.stpatricksns.ie.
Dropping in lunches, bags, homework etc.
It is essential that all your child’s belongings e.g. lunches, bags, homework, etc., are CLEARLY MARKED WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME AND THEIR CLASS TEACHER, especially if you are dropping in items during the school day.
For your information and to ensure forgotten lunches arrive in time, the following are the breaktimes for the children:
Junior & Senior Infants
10.20-10.30am Small portable snack taken to yard for eating under supervision
10.30-10.50am Eating time in the classroom
12.00-12.30pm Any remaining food can be taken to yard to be finished under supervision.
First Class upwards
10.20-10.30am Small portable snack taken to yard for eating under supervision
11.45-12.00noon Foods not suitable for outdoor eating can be eaten in the classroom
12.00-12.30pm Any remaining food can be taken to yard to be finished under supervision.
Labelling/Lost Property
The chances of returning lost property are greatly increased if ALL ITEMS ARE CLEARLY LABELLED with your child’s name. Please ensure jumpers, PE sweatshirts, coats, lunchboxes, beakers, etc, etc, are labelled with your child’s name.
Hand Towels
We request that every child brings a small hand towel/facecloth to dry his/her hands after using the WC. This should be kept in a school bag pocket and changed regularly.
Staff Car Park
As our staff numbers have increased again this year, parents are asked not to park in the Staff Car Park, the only exception being parents collecting/ disabled or injured children. We would be grateful if you could also inform anyone who may be collecting your child/children on your behalf of this procedure. If you are returning to the school to drop off forgotten lunches, schoolbags, etc. during the school day, we would ask that you park in the bus stop area and enter via the Pedestrian Gate. (Please close gates after you leave). Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Reminder re dismounting bicycles, etc
In the interest of everyone’s safety, all cyclists (pupils, staff, parents & siblings) should dismount from their bicycles at the main gates of the school. For safety reasons, we would ask that you do not allow your children to use scooters or rollerblades on school grounds. Please also ensure that your bicycle/scooter/flicker is securely locked.
Temporary PE Timetable
A temporary PE Timetable will be in place for the first few weeks. Children will be informed of their PE times by their class teachers.
Extra Curricular Activities
Full details re Extra-Curricular Activities will be provided in a separate email tomorrow.
Diswellstown Community & Recreation Centre Activities and Local Community Activities
The Drama Hub (formerly DramaWorks)
The Drama Hub (speech and drama classes) will commence on Saturday 22nd September for 4 - 13 year olds in St. Patrick's National School. For further details contact Clodagh on ph: 086 3736056 or visit our website at www.dramahub.ie.
Classical Ballet Classes
For Students Age 4 – 18 years. Beginners Always Welcome.
Fully Qualified I.D.T.A.Teachers.
Classes Every Monday from 4.15 inDiswellstown Community Centre,
St Patricks National School.
- Tiny Tots Ballet (Age 4-6 yrs) - 4.15 to 5pm
- Classical Ballet (Age 6+) - 5 to 6pm
- Classical Ballet (Grade 1) - 5.30 to 6.30pm
Classes recommence Monday 10th September. Registrations now online at www.chesterschoolofdance.com
Sara Chester A.I.D.T.A 0877923955