Snapshots of September in Sixth!

Welcome to Sixth Class. We have had a very busy month. We are working extremely hard so far this year and we can’t wait to show you all of the amazing work we have done.

Gaeilge

The topics that we have been learning this month are Mé Féin agus Bia. We have been practicing our oral language development as Gaeilge through games in our pods, writing our own questions and conversations in pairs – ‘Agallamh Beirte‘. We have gained great confidence speaking as Gaeilge in front of our classmates.

G.A.A

Pat has been with us this month teaching us Gaelic skills. We have been working on our kicking, catching, passing, co-ordination and balancing skills. Pat has shown us how to work effectively as part of a team and we cannot wait to further develop our skills!

Warm up – Skipping & High Knees

Music Generation

We have been very fortunate to have Carl from ‘Music Generation Sligo’ in our school every Friday. The instrument we have been learning to play this term is the guitar. Carl has been teaching us many new skills on the guitar. We have learnt four tunes so far, our favourite being ‘I Got a Feeling’. We are LOVING these lessons and we sound like absolute rockstars, so we cannot wait to learn more tunes with Carl.

Art

We have shown our teacher how talented we are at art with the amazing pieces we have all created. We completed a Picasso inspired drawing. We loved how they turned out!

We also based one of our art lessons on the story ‘The Dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds to celebrate International Dot day. We really enjoyed this story and resonated with the message this story portrayed.

STEM

We have been challenged to a STEM activity this month. A STEM challenge is project work that allows us to explore, test and design using Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths. We learned to be creative, innovative and think logically about our task. We also worked really hard as a team. Each group had a leader to delegate the roles. We completed this challenge over two lessons. The first lesson we planned and constructed within our pods. In the second lesson we tested out our rollercoasters for our classmates and teacher. We had great fun with this challenge.

Our task was to build a rollercoaster using: paper, tape, scissors and corrugated cardboard.

Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle

We created posters to make everyone in our school aware of Recycling. We wanted to show how important it is to put rubbish in the correct bin. We went to each classroom with these posters to show what students should be putting into their general waste bin and recycling bin. We have attached a really useful website below with more information on recycling.

https://repak.ie/recycling/what-can-i-recycle/

School Photos

Please note the school photographs will take place on the 2nd of December.
In order to minimise contact, we have decided that only siblings of pupils in Junior Infants and Sixth Class can avail of a family photograph. All other pupils in the school can avail of an individual and class photograph. If there are siblings of children in Junior Infants or Sixth in School A, the parents need to bring them to School B at 10am on the morning of the photographs. They will be met at the school gate, where the children will be escorted by a staff member to get their photograph taken and following the photograph escorted back to the school gate.

September 2020

Welcome back!
It was great to welcome our pupils back after such a long time off and to welcome for the first time our Junior Infants & the pupils who have joined us from other schools. I hope they are all settling in well.

School bags
There should be no need for school bags, as there is no homework for the month of September. We will continue to review this.

Bubbles and Pods
We are all getting used to the new terminology associated with Covid-19. Basically each class of its own is known as a ‘Bubble’ and are expected to be separate from the other classes. As a result, break times have been staggered to allow for classes to have their own yard space. There are also ‘Pods’ of smaller groups within each class to allow for group work, where they only mix with the pupils in their assigned ‘Pod’. While the children from Junior Infants up to and including 2nd class are not expected to physical distance there are still pods set up within these classes, as per Department of Education Guidelines.

Visitors/Appointments with staff
It is now obligatory to give prior notice of any visit to the school. Should you wish to make an appointment to speak with any member of staff, please contact our secretary Stacey and she will arrange it.

Confirmation & First Holy
Pupils who didn’t receive the sacraments during the school closure will be receiving them this month.
Confirmation takes place on Monday 14th , Tuesday 15th & Tuesday 22nd September for Collooney. Texts have been sent out with your particular date. Time on all three dates is 6.30pm
First Holy Communion takes place on Saturday 26th & Sunday 27 h September at 12.30pm on both
days. Fr Peyton has gone through the various restrictions that now apply due to Covid at the meetings. We wish all candidates well!

Payments
Payments are best made by card over the phone, especially now where contact is to be kept to a minimum. We are in the process of setting up an “epayments” system through Aladdin, we will keep you updated about this.

School Lunches
Please monitor what your child is getting for their lunch and that they are eating it, as we want to continue to minimise any waste. If you’re sending in a lunch for your child from home please make sure to cancel the school lunch for them.

Appointments
If your child has an appointment during school hours, please ring the school in advance. Once you arrive at the school your child will be escorted to the front door by a member of staff. In line with Covid-19 Guidelines it is important that we limit the number of people accessing the school building, therefore your child will be signed in and out by a member of staff. If the appointment is a medical one, it is not recommended that they return to school that day.
Drop off/Collection
Thank you to all of you for the respect shown at drop off/collection times. Please continue to observe physical distancing as best you can during these times.

Welcome new staff members
Welcome on board to our new teachers Lisa Lundy and Roisin Ni Chuanaigh and our new SNA Claire
Walsh.

New Yard Markings
We have new yard markings completed at School B and the children are already very busy exploring them.

School Cleaning
Along with a complete clean of all surfaces every day, the school is sanitised every evening with a fogging machine.

Aladdin School Administration System
Can everyone please ensure they have received a text regarding the setup of the Aladdin app. All text notifications & end of year report cards issue via Aladdin. Any absence reasons can be recorded by parents on the app also. If you have been locked out of your account or have problems setting it up please let Stacey know ASAP.

School Website
Please refer to our school website www.smaicollooney.school from time to time for newsletters, notices & class blogs/updates.

School Rules
The school rules have been sent out via Aladdin. They must be accessed via Permissions on your Aladdin home screen. When you have read them through with your child please tick the relevant box to agree. This will negate the need for the paper form being sent home to be signed.

Healthy Eating Policy – School Lunches
We have been lucky enough again this year to received funding to provide free school lunches to all pupils wishing to avail. These are provided by Fresh Today. Changes to the lunches can be made by logging in to www.freshtoday.ie and entering the login details provided the summer, by email to [email protected] or by texting CHANGE along with your name & number to 087 1184394. Please note the school secretary cannot make changes to your child’s lunch.

Book Money
Just a reminder to settle up book fees as soon as you can. Thank you to the parents that have already paid.

Contact Details
If any families have changed phone numbers or moved house over the break please update your contact details in the school office.
The school contact details are as follows:
Landline – 071 9167763
Mobile – 085 2527093
Email – [email protected]

As usual, if you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact the school. Thank you for your continued support.

Paul & Staff

Schools Pathways for Covid-19 The Public Health Approach

Dear parents,

                         I would like to take this opportunity to thank parents/guardians, staff and pupils who are working together to ensure the welfare and safety of the whole school community. Thankfully, to date, no case of Covid-19 has been confirmed within our school. 

The recent rising trend in confirmed positive cases nationally is cause for concern and it is clear that we all need to be very vigilant and continue to play our part in keeping our school environment safe for all attending.

Please remember that any pupils that have Covid 19 symptoms (high temperature, cough, shortness of breath, and or loss of smell or taste) or any signs of illness are not to attend school and parents should contact their GP for further advice

If it is determined by the GP that someone in your household (this might include childminders or extended family members), requires to be tested for Covid-19, we are asking that all household contacts not attend school and remain at home until advised to return by your GP or Public Health/HSE. If one of your children has to remain at home due to Covid related advice received, it is necessary to contact the principal by phone.

Please find the attached link to an important document entitled ‘Schools Pathway for Covid-19, the Public Health Approach’ for your information, which is also available on the school website. This document sets out the Public Health approach to managing a confirmed case of Covid-19 within the school community. Please note any actions taken by the school will be directed by Public Health/HSE.

Teachers will recommence with the giving of homework. There are procedures in place in order that any books that go home, for example library books, will on return to school, be stored in a sealed container for a minimum of 72 hours before being given to any other pupil.
We are asking that you not send a schoolbag with your child unless completely necessary, or there is a pre-determined activity where it is requested by the school.

Finally parent/teacher meetings will take place over the phone this year and are scheduled for early November. The school will be in contact regarding the schedule of dates and times.
Should you wish to speak with your child’s teacher in the interim, please contact our secretary to arrange a phone appointment.

Thank you,

Paul and staff

https://www.smaicollooney.school/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Schools-Pathways-for-COVID-19-The-Public-Health-approach.pdf