January 2022 Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians.

Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise daoibh go léir!

I would like to extend a warm Happy New Year to everybody and hope that 2022 is a healthy & prosperous year for us all.

Happy New Year.

We are delighted to be back at school. We are conscious that case numbers and transmission of Covid-19 is very high at this time. Although the Omicron variant appears to be a milder variant than previously thought - we are still highly conscious that this may not be the case for vulnerable members of our direct and extended school community. To this end we ask you to adhere to public health advice- please be diligent and do not send children to school who are displaying symptoms of Covid-19. Be mindful that mask wearing from 3rd to 6th Class is still recommended.

NB Substitution Crisis

The Primary School Education system is experiencing a staffing crisis at present. As a small school we are particularly susceptible, as we haven’t the access to the level of additional staff that other schools may have. We endeavour to do all in our power and to call on all the resources that we have at our disposal, but the situation is such that there may come a time in the coming weeks that we may have to close a class/classes if we do not have sufficient staff available. If this unfortunate situation arises - we will endeavour to give you as much notice as possible and to continue schooling online if it is feasible at the time.

Parent Teacher Meetings:

Arrangements for PT meetings to be confirmed in the next week and will be communicated as soon as possible.

School Closures – Spring Term:

Please note the school will be closed on Thursday 24th & Friday 25th February (incl) for mid-term break.
It will be closed on Thursday 17th and Friday 18th March for St. Patrick’s Day. School will close at 12pm on Friday April 08th to Friday 22nd April inclusive for Easter Holidays.

Recent Events:

Congratulations to Orla, Katherine & Ava who represented Gurraneasig at the schools equestrian competition. They did very well and came 3rd overall in the competition.

We are very proud of our debating team in the Senior Room - they put in an extraordinary effort into all of their debating matches over the last term - and were just unlucky to miss out in their final round.

Thanks to Mr. Murray for organising the readathon in aid of Kilbrittain Welfare Group - we were delighted with the participation and so appreciative to all of the sponsors who gave so generously. We raised in excess of €700 and Kilbrittain Welfare Group wish to extend their thanks to the Gurraneasig community.

The staff and children had great festive fun in the run up to the holidays and put together some lovely performances via video which we hope you enjoyed.

Policies:

Please check the website for the most up to date policies. The Code of Behaviour Policy and the Anti-Bullying Policy have been recently updated.

Safer Internet Day:

Safer Internet Day (SID) is an EU wide initiative to promote a safer internet for all users, especially young people. It is promoted in Ireland by the PDST Technology in Education and Webwise. The Theme for Safer Internet Day, Tuesday, February 8th, is “Together for a Better Internet”. Please see the following link for further information: http://www.saferinternetday.ie/

Parents Association

A special thank you to Dawna & parents for coordinating the current gardening projects. The children and staff are very appreciative and excited to see what surprises are ready to greet us in Spring!

Kilbrittain Welfare Santa Dash.

Thank you to all the families for this. In conjunction with the Readathon the school raised €700 for the Kilbrittain Welfare Group.

Text-a-Parent App.:

Please download the new TextaParent App to your phone so that school messages and calendar updates can now be sent to the App. https://app.textaparent.ie/get/app

Clothes Recycling Fundraiser:

The school is participating in the Cash for Clobber fundraiser with Cookstown Textile Recyclers this term. So gather up your unused clothes and help raise money for the school. Please check out their website if you require further information at http://www.cashforclobber.ie/CTRIE/Cash_for_Clobber.html All clean and dry clothes, shoes (pairs only please in a separate bag if possible), hats, gloves, handbags, and household textiles (no blankets, quilts or pillows) will be collected.
Please put your recyclable items in large refuse bags

Return the bag(s) to school on either Friday 21st or Monday 24th January 2022. They will be weighed and collected on Tuesday 25th January 2022

Is mise le meas

Maeve Tighe Príomhoide