Dear Parents/Guardians,
Hope you all enjoyed a lovely midterm break. We are looking forward to a busy and enjoyable few weeks ahead. This week we introduced our classes to our value for November which is co-operation. Already we are seeing many fine examples of co-operation and teamwork in evidence around the school.
Diwali was celebrated on Wednesday. We wish all who are celebrating this religious festival a lovely time with family and friends
Next week Science Week will be celebrated all over Ireland with lots of special events in Science, Maths, Technology , Engineering happening in libraries, museums etc. Here at L.E.T.S we have been planning lots of lovely ideas to promote children’s interest and enjoyment of these subject areas. We would love to hear from Parents or family members who work in these areas and would be willing to come in and help inspire our classes. Please see poster attached.
We are also organising a science competition as homework , where children can use their imagination to create a small robot ! You will be very welcome to come in on Friday November 16th to view all the amazing robots in our school science museum which will be located in the library area. We are looking forward to the various events for Science Week.
We are conscious that this is the time of year when colds and viruses of various kinds can strike. It is important if your child is ill that you keep them at home until they have fully recovered to avoid the spread of infection. A packet of tissues in children’s bags is also very helpful in containing germs. Many children are coming to school without coats/hats and while they may be reluctant to wear them in, keeping warm will also help.
There is a serious shortage of trained substitute teachers again this school year. We have had a number of days recently where Staff were absent and we were unable to find a suitably qualified teacher. In these instances we have only two options available to us. Either we split up the class and children go to other classrooms to work independently on assigned work or we use some of our Special Education team on the day, which has implications for children receiving support. This is an ongoing issue which needs to be tackled by the Department in the best interests of children’s education. Your support will be appreciated in raising the issue with local TD’s should the opportunity arise.
As you are aware our Parent/Teacher meetings will take place on Wednesday and Thursday November 21st and 22ndbeginning at 2.30 p.m. This is an opportunity for you to meet with your child’s class teacher to review his/her progress at school. Meetings will last 10 minutes. This year we will be using the Connect App on the Aladdin system to schedule meetings. We are currently setting up the schedule and will be releasing it to you next Wednesday. You will receive an email in advance. Parents who have not downloaded the App will be offered one of the remaining free slots available after schedule has been returned at the end of the process. We hope use of the App will prove a more efficient way of setting up Parent/Teacher meetings without Parents having to come to the school to arrange bookings.
Wishing you a lovely weekend.
Regards,
Mary
