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2016-17

FÁILTE

Welcome to our School

Scoil na mBuachaillí Naomh Eoin Baiste, Caiseal Mumhan, Co. Thiobraid Árann

St John the Baptist Boys NS, Old Road, Cashel, County Tipperary

Phone: 062-61833/61049 Fax: 062-63717

Email: cashelschool@eircom.net (Office)principal@cashelbns.ie (Principal)

Website: www.cashelbns.ie (Updated regularly)Twitter: @cashelbns

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Our VisionThe school community ‘ag obair le chéile’ to be the best that we can be.

Our EthosSt John the Baptist Boys NS is a Catholic school, under the patronage of the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly. A Catholic ethos prevails throughout the school. However, as we live in a multicultural society, we cater for all denominations. Sound basic moral values acceptable to all democratic societies and creeds are cherished and promoted. Diversity of culture and beliefs are respected and celebrated.

Our Mission To provide a safe, friendly, effective and

stimulating educational environment To promote the principles of respect, truth and

equality To help our boys learn consideration and

respect for each individual and for others To promote confidence, self-esteem and

communication skills To affirm in faith and celebrate difference To assist our pupils attain their goals, and to

help each boy develop his own potential and talents for future life

School Personnel

Will Ryan - PrincipalLucy Ryan - Deputy Principal/Class TeacherSharon Perdue - Special Education Teacher (SET)Sharon Sheahan & Miriam Hannigan - Class Teachers (Job sharing)

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Sinéad Mullins - SETCatherine Kelly - SET/Reading Recovery Teacher Helen Butler & - SET Teachers (Job sharing)Kathrine CarrollBríd Callanan - Class TeacherCaitríona Crosse - Class TeacherJennie O’ Farrell - Class TeacherSarah Russell - Class TeacherMairéad Mulcahy - SET/Class TeacherKathleen Bane - Class TeacherMonica Slattery - Special Needs AssistantKaren Butler - Special Needs AssistantJulianne Ryan - Special Needs AssistantGeraldine Laffey - OfficeGail O’ Keeffe - OfficeWilliam Hally - CaretakerMargaret Hahessy - Cleaning StaffEdyta Pastusiak - Cleaning Staff

Board of Management(Has legal responsibility for the running of the school. A new Board of Management was elected in Term 1 of 2015)

Mr Cian O’ Carroll, Chairperson Fr Christy O’ Dwyer (Patron’s Rep)Mr Will Ryan (Principal & Secretary to the Baord)Mrs Sharon Perdue (Teachers’ Rep)Mrs Sheila Ryan (Parents’ Rep)Mr Sean O’ Donoghue (Parents’ Rep)Mr Gearóid McDermott (Community Rep)Mrs Julia Adamczak (Community Rep)

Parent Association

(Meets monthly. New members always welcome.)

Eithne Lynch (Chairperson)Liz Dunne (Secretary)Sheila O’ Grady (Treasurer)

“We want more for our children than healthy bodies. We want our children to have lives filled with friendship, love and high deeds. We want them to be eager and willing to confront challenges…We want them to grow up with confidence in the future, a love of adventure, a sense of justice and courage enough to act on that justice. We want them to be resilient in the face of the setbacks and failures that growing up always brings.”(Seligman et al, 2007)

Starting School

Dear Parents/Guardians,

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First day in school is one of those never to be forgotten days in the life of a child and we aim to make it as happy an occasion as is possible for both you and your child.This booklet has ideas and suggestions you may use to help your child get ready for his big step in starting school.Thank you for choosing our school. We are very proud of what we do here and we look forward to sharing many happy experiences together in the coming years.

Yours in education,

Will Ryan (Principal) and all the staff

The First Year

Starting school marks a big change for children. They are used to being at home with their family and/or in smaller pre-school groups. Soon they will spend the day with a large group of other children.

The first year is about:

Settling in Making friends Forming relationships Laying a good foundation for future education Beginning formal learning

Before the First Day

Talk to your child about your own school days.

Introduce your child to another Junior Infant as it is important that your child sees some familiar faces on his first day.

Talk about the routine of school, what to do when he wants something or wants to go to the toilet, etc.

Coming to School School begins at 9:20a.m., so please be on time. It is important that your

child arrives before class starts as children can find it difficult and intimidating to walk into a class already in progress. Junior Infant children should not be dropped off to school before 9:10a.m.

Have everything ready the night before.

Small children don’t like to be rushed.

The school day is long and tiring and they need a good night’s rest.

Try to take your child to school yourself. You can decide on the safest route.

If you are upset, try not to show it. Leave your child with the teacher and tell him that you will be back to collect him at 2:00p.m. If your child is upset, trust the teacher.

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School uniform

A school uniform is worn as is a school tracksuit.

Uniform:

Grey school crested jumper, grey trousers, blue shirt, navy tie should be worn each day. Brown or black shoes or runners to be worn with uniform.Crested jumper available in Mister Mister, Friar Street, Cashel and/or in Clonmel.

Tracksuit:

Navy sweatshirt with school crest over plain royal blue polo T-shirt. Navy tracksuit pants with school name. White or coloured runners can be worn only on PE days.

The tracksuit is to be worn on P.E. day(s) only and on other specified days during the year. The class teacher will inform you what days are ‘tracksuit days’.

Please write a note or have a word with the teacher if your child is not in the correct uniform.

To save loss of property, label all your child’s belongings, e.g. coat, jumper, bag, lunchbox, tracksuit, etc.

Tracksuit and uniform

Going Home

Children quickly get anxious if they are left waiting. Children will be brought out to the outside door of the school for

collection by the parents/minders. Please do not enter the school or knock on your child’s classroom before 2.00pm.

Parents of children travelling by bus should inform the school. If there is any change in arrangements please let his class teacher know

in writing as this avoids confusion. Names of people authorised to collect your child should be made known

to the class teacher.5

The School DaySchool re-opens on Thursday, 1 September 2016 (N.B. This is still a provisional date & is subject to change) 9:00a.m. School opens - children assemble in the Hall for Assembly

- notices and prayers9:20a.m. Class begins11:00a.m. - 11:10a.m. Morning Break (Milk available)11:10a.m. - 12:30p.m. Classes resume12:30p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lunch break (Children have lunch in classrooms)1:00p.m. Classes resume2.00pm Infants finish at 2:00p.m.

All other classes finish at 3:00p.m.Please note: 1. For the first two weeks, the Junior Infants must be brought straight to their classroom and not to the hall. Keep your son’s arrival as close to 9.20am as possible.

2. For the first two weeks,Junior Infants will finish at 12:00p.m. This will be up to and including Friday, 16 September 2016.

From Monday 19 September onwards, Junior Infants finish at 2:00p.m. Please make sure your child is collected on time. They will be collected at the front door.

Home/School CommunicationTell the teacher about any problems your child may have. Teachers and parents can work together to overcome any problems that may arise.

Illness: e.g. cough, cold, sleepless nights, asthma, diabetes.

Physical: e.g. speech, eye, hearing defects or physicalhandicap.

Emotional: e.g. moving house, death, separation, accident, new baby etc.

Other: e.g. kidney problems etc.

Check your child’s school bag and his journal (a bigger homework journal is supplied from First Class onwards) for notes as they can often be forgotten or overlooked.

Should your child be absent for any reason, a note to teacher in his journal explaining the absence must be supplied on the return of the child. A child who misses 20 days during the school year is by law reported to the Child and Family Agency (Túsla).

THE SCHOOL ALSO USES TEXTS TO COMMUNICATE WITH PARENTS. ENSURE THE SCHOOL HAS THE MOBILE NUMBER WHERE YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THESE TEXTS. INFORM THE SCHOOL OFFICE IF THIS NUMBER CHANGES.

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HygieneYour child will now be one of a large number in the class. It is important that a good standard of hygiene is maintained.

Hair: Check your child’s hair regularly (at least once a week).Hands: Teach your child to wash his hands.Toilet: Children should be fully toilet trained and be able to:

* use toilet roll* flush the toilet* wash and dry hands afterwards.

Children who are very sick should not be sent to school. You must consider the other children in the class.

Healthy Food Policy

In line with our aim of promoting health in our school, we have developed a school healthy food policy. We acknowledge that this is often a difficult area for parents and we appreciate their continued support in developing and implementing this policy. The following websites provide useful tips and advice on healthy lunch boxes as we recognise this can often be a difficulty and anxiety at home.www.incredibleedibles.ie www.safefood.eu www.healthyfoodforall.comwww.kidshealth.org www.fooddudes.ie www.nutrition.ie

WHAT’S IN, WHAT’S NOT!

The following items are NOT allowed in school lunches: Chewing Gum Crisps or crisp type snacks including nachos Fizzy Drinks including sports and other “energy” drinks Sweets Chocolate biscuits and bars* Cakes and Buns* Cereal Bars Popcorn Hot food & hot chocolate ‘Dunkers’ and ‘Lunchables’

The following items ARE allowed: Two plain biscuits One plain homemade bun Hot tea and soup (Please employ caution and consider your son’s ability

to manage a hot drink during the school day)

The following items ARE allowed on *FRIDAY ONLY as a reward for the pupils’ efforts during the week: One of the following: (i) A treat-size chocolate bar or (ii) a small piece of cake/bun or (iii) two chocolate biscuits Teachers may want to give a child a treat if they are having an end of term party and during other special occasions, and this is deemed acceptable.

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Food

Children need a good breakfast to start each day. Hunger can make children sleepy. This makes it difficult for them to enjoy school.

There is a short break at 11:00a.m. and a further longer break from 12:30p.m. - 1:00p.m. during which children may have fruit/sandwich/drink. School milk is provided at a very reasonable cost.

Choose a lunch box and flask that can be opened easily. Keep lunches separate from the school bag. Sometimes spills destroy books.

Handy Hints

Please cover all books and workbooks and write name and number clearly on each book.

School Bag: Buy a bag big enough to carry all the books, copies, pencil case. Remember that most of the workbooks are quite large.

Notes: Please check your child’s bag each day for notes and dispose of rubbish each week.

Lost Property: To save loss of property, label all your child’s belongings, e.g. coat, jumper, bag, lunchbox, tracksuit etc.

Things you can do to help!

Reading: Read to your child. This encourages a love of books and creates an interest in reading. Pay attention to the mechanics of reading, i.e. holding the book, turning the page, reading from left to right.

Writing: Encourage your child to do things that involve using their hands such as drawing, cutting paper, using play dough, scribbling on paper, painting.

Play: As part of their development, children need to spend a lot of time playing. Choose toys carefully. Let them have jigsaws, blocks, construction toys, etc.

Television/Computer Games: Children’s programmes and computer games can be fun and worthwhile, but television/digital media should not be allowed to take all of children’s free time. Occasionally switch off the television and encourage the child to talk and listen. Children should be discouraged from watching breakfast T.V. or playing computer games before coming to school.

Music: Let the children listen to music, - nursery rhymes, pop music, traditional music, classical music, etc...

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Physical Activity: Ensure your boy is getting regular daily exercise. Physical exercise is scientifically proven to aid concentration and learning.

Talk to your children

Oral language is exceptionally important. At every opportunity, talk to your children. They can learn a great deal from everyday experiences, e.g. counting things, naming colours/shapes, numbers on houses/buses, etc.

Talk to them about big things, small things, wide, narrow, full, empty, hot, cold, fast, slow, heavy, light, etc.

Let your children do things: Let them help in simple ways:sweep the floorwash upsort things outset the tablemake the bedsgo shopping.

Allow children to do things independently - let them dress themselves. Praise them at every opportunity.

Read to and with your child

We don’t start any formal reading scheme until Term 3. However, from the moment the boys arrive we will be encouraging them to pick up a book and ‘read’ it. We endeavour to foster a love of books from a very early stage. Reading to your child, and encouraging them to read, is one of the keys to educational success.

Encouragement/Praise

Encouragement can be of enormous help to your child’s growth in confidence.

Instead of finding fault we should always be on the look-out for any efforts the children make and for improvements.

We should then be ready with some words of genuine encouragement. For example, instead of saying that a child’s painting is no good, encourage the child for the effort made.

Homework

During the year your child will get simple homework to do. Maximum of ten minutes Monday to Thursday.

Show an interest and help them with their homework. When helping them, if you find that you are getting cross - Stop!

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It is important that you help your child with homework, but never do it for them!

Remember - children need a quiet place to do their homework. Try to do the homework early in the evening, before tea-time, as

children don’t work well when tired.

Invitation/Cards

It is school policy that invitations to parties, Christmas cards, etc. are not distributed on the school premises. This is out of consideration for non-receivers.

Insurance

The Board of Management facilitates the operation of a personal accident insurance policy for pupils. The policy runs annually from 1 September to 31 August. Application forms are available from the school office. Participation is entirely optional. Forms will be handed out in early September.

Bus Transport

Bus Eireann runs a bus service from the Mockler’s Hill/Dualla Road area. Parents of eligible pupils need to fill in a Bus Éireann form and return it to their headquarters. If you have any query with regard to this, please don’t hesitate to ask. A private bus service is available to those living in the town. Contact Celly Ryan (087) 2036766.

Back home

At first, children may seem to get babyish again - sucking thumbs, being clingier and getting upset easily. Don’t worry; a bit of extra attention will help and things should get back to normal.

Useful websites

School – www.cashelbns.ie

Department of Education – www.education.ie

National Council for Special Education – www.ncse.ie

National Council for Curriculum and Assessment – www.ncca.ie (Parents Section is excellent)

Primary School Curriculum – www.curriculumonline.ie

Portal for Irish Education – www.scoilnet.ie

Online resource for teachers and parents - www.schooldays.ie10

Jolly Phonics – www.jollylearning.co.uk

Stay Safe Programme – www.staysafe.ie/parent_guide.htm

Your Child In Primary School – Tips for Parents (Various Languages) – www.into.ie/ROI/Publications/

Learning Activities – www.helpmykidlearn.ie

First Day at School (taken from www.schooldays.ie )

The first day at school is a milestone for both parents and child. Whilst you may be going through a mixture of emotions try not to pass on any anxieties to your child. Most children settle into school quickly but do not be concerned if it takes a little longer. Your child will soon settle down and grow to enjoy the company and activities. Indeed some children settle in well in September but are upset after the Halloween break or Christmas holidays. This is not unusual. If your child is upset when you bring them to school it is best if you leave the classroom. Your child will stop crying more quickly if you are not there. Parents often feel the wrench more acutely than the child. Children soon adapt to their new environment. Many parents ponder over the ‘correct’ age for children to start school. Children are all different and what you decide for one may differ from your decision for another. You may have last minute worries but you have made your decision in terms of start age and school choice and you have made the best decision you can.

It helps if you can drop and pick up your child from school for the first few days. Many schools have a shorter day for a week or even a few weeks to

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ease the children in. Try and find out the last activity the children will engage in before going home as you can then tell your child that you will be back to pick him/her up after that activity, for example after the teacher has read a story.Practicalities

Visit the school before the first day and meet the teacher with your child. Drive past the school before term starts. Park and walk around the school if you can to familiarise your child with his/her new surroundings.

Make sure your child knows how to use the toilet properly.

When buying such items as a coat, lunch box or school bag, make sure your child can open and close them with ease. Make sure the drinks container does not leak. Little things (like soggy sandwiches) can sometimes upset your child. If your child cannot zip his/her coat take time to teach him/her. Footwear with velcro is preferable.

If there is any change to your schedule at home e.g. working late or studying, check that this has not adversely affected your child. Your child may notice your absence more than usual if it coincides with starting school.

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Friendships are very important to your child. Invite your child’s new school friends to your home.

Spend time with your child each evening if you can. Language is central to the learning process. Talk and listen to your child.

Research has shown that an ability to identify rhyming words is an important pre-reading skill. Your child will learn nursery rhymes in school but you should teach some more at home. Reading to your child cultivates an interest in reading and hopefully in life-long learning.

You know your child best, if you have any concerns or questions talk to the teacher not only on the first day but through the first year and right throughout your child’s time in school.

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Our Junior & Senior Infants make buns – Easter 2015

Some of our Green Schools Committee collect our 4th

Green Flag for Travel – May 2015

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