Main menu:
Newsletter 3 – January 2018
Dear Parents,
We wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year.
Fundraising
Thank you to everyone who supported our recent fundraisers before Christmas. Our Christmas Flower Demonstration proved to be a very enjoyable evening and it was great to see so many people come into the school from the surrounding community as well as parents. Special thanks to Ann O’ Brien who hosted the evening. A total of €427.50 was raised. Thanks to everyone who got behind our Christmas Raffle. It raised a total of €1,178.50
Christmas Concert/Play
Well done to all the boys and girls who took part in our recent school production of ‘Bethlehem the Musical’.
Credit Union Art Awards
Congratulations and Well done to all the pupils who recently attended an awards ceremony in Claremorris Town Hall for their Art entries to The Credit Union Art Competition. Well done to Rebecca Flood, Donna Mooney, Oliver Barrett, Cathal Owens, Saoirse Kelly, Shauna Burke, Noelle Tiernan, Kaylagh Coleman and Katie Owens!
Midwest Radio Road Safety Add Competition
Congratulations and well done to Donna Mooney whose entry was successful in reaching the final five for MidWest Radios’ Road Safety competition.
Mayo Science and Technology Festival
Well done to our two Science Teams who attended the Mayo Science and Technology Festival Science Competition prior to Christmas. Well done to Harry Smith, Cathal Owens, Daithi Owens and Oisin Whelan (Team1), Mary Martyn, Rebecca Flood and Oliver Barrett (Team 2). Team 2 were successful in winning the prize for best overall design. Well Done to all involved.
Gymnastics/Dance/Drama
Eleanoir Casabon Regan from All Stars Academy will attend the school to cover aspects of the P.E and drama curriculum. Eleanoir is very experienced and knowledgeable in her fields and we are very lucky to have access and be able to provide such teaching to our students. Eleanoir will commence with Gymnastics from Tues Jan 23rd for 4weeks followed by 4 weeks of Dance. Eleanoir will return to teach drama in June. The cost per week for gymnastics and dance per child is €2.
HSE Flu Advice
We would ask you in the interest health and safety that if your child is under the weather in any way that are kept at home to prevent the spread of flu. Please see the attached leaflet that has been issued from the HSE.
Sunny Days and Gortjordan N.S.
As you are all aware there is a new Child Care facility in Glencorrib called Sunnys Days Childcare. I have spoken to the organisers of Sunny Days to see if the facility can be more utilised and made more available to the pupils/families attending Gortjordan N.S. They have agreed to provide a committed service to the school for any families that wish to use it. By this I mean a school run from Sunny Days in the morning, collection from Gortjordan to Sunny Days for infants, collection at the end of the school day for older pupils. However the biggest issue that arose in recent months was the clash of school times, starting times and finishing times. No decision has been made yet as parental input is a very important factor in any decision made by the school such as changing school times. We are hoping if there is no objection to change our school starting and finishing times to allow us maximise the schools use of Sunny Days. It is an opportunity for the school to access a before and after school service. It may be an important factor for families who are currently attending our school but also for future families who would like to send their children to Gortjordan. For some families they are just not in a position to drop off and or collect their child/ren to and from school everyday. Therefore I feel it would be important that we as a school can offer the option of a before and after school service. Please read the accompanying leaflet for the proposed service Sunny Days will provide providing we change our school times to the following; school starting at 9:10am as opposed to the current start time of 9:20am. School finishing at 1:50pm as opposed to the current time of 2pm (infants classes), school finishing at 2:50 pm as opposed to 3pm for all other pupils. I am hoping we will get full support for this.
It is hoped to implement these new starting and finishing times after the Easter Holidays, Monday April 9th on the condition it doesn’t cause any major issue for any family and following a final decision and ratification at a Board of Management Meeting prior to April 9th. Please read the attached leaflet and please contact me at the school if there is any issue. If you are interested in using the Sunny Days Facility please fill in the attached form with the Sunny Days information leaflet and return to the school.
School Attendance Policy
In accordance with the Education Act we are required to have a policy for school attendance. It can be viewed on our school Website at www.gortjordanns.com. Please note that the following must be adhered to with immediate effect.
• If a child is late for any reason coming to school a note is required for the class teacher. If you know your child will be coming to school late for example due to an appointment etc.. please notify the class teacher in advance.
• If a child has to leave school early for any reason please provide a note to explain why they have to leave early.
• If a child is absent from school for any reason a written note is required to explain their absence.
Toddler Group
Eleanoir Casabon Regan is setting up a Parent and Toddler Group that will meet up in the school G.P Hall every second Wednesday morning. If you or you know of anybody who you think might be interested in coming along please contact Eleanoir on 087 9888844. The first Parent Toddler Group will take place from 10am – 11am on Wed. Jan 24th. For more information contact Eleanoir.
Agri Kids
Alma Jordan of Agri Kids will attend the school on Feb 13th to talk to the children in both the Junior Room and Senior room about Farm Safety. She will cover the following topics:
Infants -
Story Time – A reading from one of my books in the ‘Tales from Riverside Farm’ series.
Safety signage
Slurry safety
Animal Behaviours
Recap (if time allows I can do another story on tractor safety – ‘The Red Tractor’)
3rd -
Safety signage
Slurry safety
Animal Behaviours
Tractor Safety
Recap
School Closures coming up: The school will be closed for Mid Term Break on the 15th & 16th Feb. ’18.
Regards
Erica Gibbons