Newsletter 5 May 2016 - School website

Newsletter ; May 2016

First Holy Communion
Congratulations to Dayna Murphy and Nathan Loughrey who recently made their First Holy Communion. Well done to all the boys and girls who took part in the choir. A special thank you to all the parents who helped out with the tea and refreshments in the school afterwards.

School Tours
Junior Tour:  The children from junior infants to second class are going to Turoe Pet Farm on Tuesday May 31st.

Senior Tour: The children from third to sixth class are going to Petersburg Adventure Centre on Monday May 30th.

Please note, there will be no school for the children from junior infants to second class on Monday May 30th as all staff members are required for the senior tour.

Reminder:
School Closures
Closed Friday June 3rd and Monday 6th 2016. (Bank holiday Weekend)
Last day of school for this school year is Tuesday June 28th.

Green Flag
Gortjordan National School will be presented with our first ever Green Flag this week. Two pupils from the Green Schools Committee, Toby Bass and Leila Rodgers along with Green Schools Co-Ordinator Miss O’ Connor will attend a celebratory ceremony at The McWilliam Park Hotel on Wednesday afternoon. We wish them well as they represent the school. We hope to raise our Green Flag on the day of the school holidays.

Cyber Bullying and Internet Safety
Cyber Bullying & Internet Safety are two of the biggest concerns facing both parents and school children in the modern age.

On Tuesday June 7th, we are holding a Cyber Bullying and Internet Safety workshop for both pupils and parents. During the school day, the children from 3rd to 6th class will attend a workshop/presentation all about Cyber Bullying and Internet Safety.  Parents from all classes in the school, Junior Infants to Sixth class are being asked to attend Gortjordan N.S on Tuesday evening, June 7th from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. We are also opening up this seminar to members of the community so if you know anybody who would like to attend they are most welcome.
These presentations will be given by a professional body, Lurtel. Lurtel are based in Galway and are Irelands largest supplier of content management website systems to Irish schools.
For parents
The following topics will be covered:
•         Overview of the internet
•         Cyber bullying
•         Predators & Fake Personas
•         Dealing with inappropriate content
•         Reputation damage
•         Types of Internet Theft
•         Safety settings on your home Wifi
•         Browser History
•         Safe use of apps
•         Social Media Issues & Challenges
•         Email Scams
•         Safe Searching on You Tube
•         The Dark Web
•         Useful Resources

The seminar is delivered in a professional and comprehensive manner and questions from the parents are encouraged throughout the session.
For Children:
The content of the classroom based training covers all relevant Internet Safety topics for children from 3rd to 6th class and is generally delivered during class time. Topics covered are as follows:
•         Cyber bullying
•         Leaving an on-line footprint
•         Internet predators
•         Cyber theft
•         Knowing your on-line friends
•         Dangers of apps
•         Social Media Privacy
•         The Dangers of Social Media Challenges
•         Scams, Phising, Viruses & Malware
•         Uploading content
•         Reputation damage
•         Passwords

Examples are used throughout the training and children are encouraged to ask questions and participate in activities on the day.



Last Day of School Events – June 28th 2016
Annually the final day of school is a special day for our outgoing sixth class. A presentation will be made to the pupils in sixth class at  10:45am. More Details to follow.

Junior Infants Open Day
The new entrants are invited into the school for a half day on Wednesday June 8th, from 9:20am to 12:00pm.

Regards
E. Gibbons