Newsletter
28th April 2017
Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,
Welcome Back!
It is lovely to see everyone back at school following our two week holiday. I hope you all had a good rest!
A reminder that Monday 1st May is a Bank Holiday and school will be closed. We are open as usual from Tuesday, 2nd May.
DEIS Inspection
As you know, we had inspectors from the Department of Education at school this week for an evaluation of our ‘DEIS’ (Delivering Equality of opportunity In Schools) programme. The two inspectors spent three days with us, visiting every class and support setting and looking at teaching and learning across the school. They were looking particularly at English and Maths lessons but also saw some of our lessons that teach children about their emotions and building resilience, like the ‘Friends for Life’ programme in 6th Class and the ‘Incredible Years’ programme in Senior Infants.
The inspection also included surveys of 6th Class parents/carers and children, interviews with staff and a group of parents, talking with children, meeting Síle, our Home-School teacher and Conor, our School Completion Programme coordinator, and visiting the breakfast club and after-school clubs.
Today, the inspectors came back and gave feedback about what they saw. I am delighted to let you know that they saw lots of good teaching and they were very pleased with the many programmes we have in place to ensure children make good progress in their learning.
The inspectors particularly commented on the children’s positive attitudes to learning, the welcoming environment and the structures and systems we have in place to support learning. They loved watching our younger children playing and talking in the farm shop in Junior Infants and in the garden centre and airport in Senior Infants. They commented on the progress children were making in programmes like Reading and Maths Recovery, Literacy Lift-Off and Ready, Set, Go Maths. They were delighted to see parents supporting their children’s learning in the ‘Maths for Fun’ stations in Junior Infants.
They were particularly impressed with our attendance figures and our target of 95%. Well done to all families who work so hard to help us achieve this!
Our school planning had already identified a number of actions for next year, and the inspectors agreed that a number of these actions should be started as soon as possible.
The first is to establish a Parents’ Association, so that parents and carers have another way to communicate their thoughts and ideas to the school and support our work. Síle will be letting you know about ways you can get involved. We would love to have an active parent group, so keep an eye out for more information.
Our teaching team will also be looking at ways we can make our assessment practices even better by further analysing our test results. We are very confident that we will be able to implement these recommendations.
The inspection team will now finalise a draft report and once this has been agreed by the Board of Management, it will be published on the Department of Education’s website and we will send you a copy for your information.
I would like to say a very big thank you to the entire staff who worked so hard in preparation for the inspection, including during the holidays. They work so hard to give our children the very best learning opportunities each and every day and I know you are as grateful as I am for their hard work and dedication.
The children, as always, were wonderful! They really took the opportunity to show their very best learning, they spoke confidently about their learning and experiences of school.
The results of the questionnaires for both children and parents were overwhelmingly positive and we thank you all for your participation.
Pushkin Art Competition
We were delighted to hear that Miranda from 4th Class was chosen as the 1st Prize Winner of the Pushkin Art Competition, part of the Festival of Russian Culture. Miranda was presented with her prize yesterday at a reception with the Lord Mayor of Dublin and the Russian Ambassador at the Mansion House in Dublin city centre. What a fantastic achievement – well done Miranda and thank you to Ms. Kilkenny for preparing all of the art work for the competition.
Dates for your diary
1st May – Bank Holiday – School Closed
3rd May – 2nd Class to Nat. History Museum
3rd May – Young Achievers’ Awards
5th May – 6th Class to Caravaggio exhibit
11th May – 5th Class to Hugh Lane Gallery
16th May – 5th Class to Aviva Stadium
19th May – Ms. Calvey’s Class to the Ark
Sunday, 21st May – First Holy Communion for 2nd Class Catholic children at 11.45 a.m.
25th May – 4th Class to ‘Squirrel Scramble’
29th May – Junior Infants to Newgrange Farm
Thursday 1st, Friday 2nd, Monday 5th, Tuesday 6th June – School Closed for Mid-Term
9th June – 6th Class to Carlingford
27th June – Whole-School Performance
29th June – 6th Class Graduation
Attendance and punctuality
Well done to 5th and 6th Classes who both had a fantastic 100% this week! Wonderful!
Best wishes for a lovely weekend,
Éadaoin Kelly
Principal