Author: Owner

Starting School in Scoil Íosagáin

Contact details:
Scoil Íosagáin,
Church Road,
Ballybunion, Co. Kerry
V31 F208
068 27272
office@ballybunionprimary.ie

Fáilte romhaibh, welcome, all children and their parents to a new and
exciting chapter in your child’s life. During this year you child will make new friends, enjoy new experiences and learn the vital skill of reading. We, the teachers and parents, have the chance to work as partners to ensure that at the end of this school year your child will have a positive attitude
towards education based on social and academic confidence.

Www.ballybunionprimary.ie

Website: www.ballybunionprimary.ie

Please be positive with your child when
preparing him/her for school. Explain to him/her what will happen RE: teacher, other children, breaks, healthy lunches and school policies in general. On
arrival, it is very helpful if you can show your child where to hang his/her coat and where to leave their schoolbag, Most children, even if initially upset, soon become distracted by their surroundings and settle down well. We will do our very best to make your child’s first day at school a fun-filled and happy one!

Points to Remember:
Please make sure to label all of your child’s belongings
School starts at 8.50am and finishes for Junior Infants at 1.30pm
Please check your child’s school bag nightly as it may contain notes for parents, though for the most part all school information is sent by email. For this reason it is very important that you check your emails regularly
Try to clean out your child’s bag regularly, sharpen pencils and check that they have what they need for school. This reduces stress for the child
Please let the school know if your contact numbers change during the school year and that we always have at least one person that can be contacted during the school day in the event of an accident or emergency. There is a facility on our Aladdin app to do this yourself also.
As we send out most information through our school Aladdin system it is important to have downloaded this app and check it regularly. An up to date email address given to the school is also required.
Please inform us immediately if your contact details change
Booklists and collection dates will issue in June via email/Aladdin

Seating

School Gates open at 8.40am but your child does not have to be in school until 8.50am. Children arriving late (after 9.00am must be signed in at the main office)

The children may sit where they choose on the first day of school. After a couple of days your child will be given a special place to sit, this rotates on a regular basis. Each table then has a group leader on a weekly rota
system which encourages responsibility skills.

Toys
There is no need for children to bring toys into school and we do not encourage this practice because of breakages, competition and peer pressure. We have lots of lovely toys and games in school to play with so there is no need to worry!

Clothing

The children will wear the new school tracksuit 5 days per week. The tracksuit half zip will be available for purchase through the school. Our half zip providers are O’Neill’s and are a
standard O’Neill fit. Please check their website www.oneills.com for further sizing information.
Please ensure that all clothes likely to be
removed i.e. coats, hats, scarves, jumpers etc., are clearly labelled with your child’s name as many children possess similar items.
Shoes or runners with Velcro straps are easier for children to fasten.
We appreciate your co-operation in this regard.
In case of an accident we will telephone parents to come to the school to change their child.
If your child is not yet toilet trained please I
nform us so that we can help put a plan in place for their arrival into Junior Infants

“Parents are the child’s primary educators, and the life of the home is the most potent factor in his or her development during the primary school years. It is widely recognized that significant educational, social and behavioural benefits accrue to the child as a result of effective partnership between parents and teachers. Close co-operation between the home and the school is essential , therefore, if children are to receive the maximum benefit from the curriculum.”-Primary School Curriculum Introduction 1999, p.21

Break times

RSE

There are two breaks during the school day, a short one from 10.45-11.00am and a longer one from 12.30-1.00pm. At lunch break children remain inside from 12.30-12.40 where they are encouraged to eat their lunch.
We try to ensure that no child feels lonely or left out, and, to this end we recommend that older brothers, sisters, cousins and friends do not ask to visit the younger children during playtime which may restrict them in forming peer attachments. Junior infant children play on a separate yard for safety reasons. There are always a minimum of three adults on yard duty in this school.
On wet days children play inside. There will be at least one adult in the room during wet play days.

All classes from Junior Infants to 6th class partake in RSE (Relationship and Sexuality Education) classes. We teach the Walk Tall and Stay Safe programmes. The content of the lessons is available on www.pdst.ie/walktall and www.staysafe.ie

Home time

All junior and senior infants go home at 1.30pm. Please come promptly as your child may fret if he/she thinks they have been forgotten. The children will be ready to go with coats and bags. If there are any special collection arrangements please let us know by note (via Aladdin) Make sure that your child always knows who is collecting them at all times. To ease children gently into school life the junior infant children will go home at 12.oopm for a few weeks in September. Children are encouraged to walk into the school yard with friends in order to promote independence Infant children are collected at the Beach side door in the evenings.

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Starting School in Scoil Íosagáin

Lunches

In Scoil Íosagáin we are very fortunate to have a sponsored lunch programme, currently provided by Carambola. Lunches are delivered to the school fresh each morning. Children are provided with a sandwich/wrap and a snack. Each child is given a refillable water bottle and we have a filtered water system and water coolers available in the school. Parents are given a unique access code so that you can choose or change your child’s lunch options as you wish. There are lots of lovely combinations to choose from e.g. a tuna and sweetcorn wrap, a yogurt and an apple.
If your child wishes to bring additional food to school we would like to remind you that we are a health promoting and healthy eating school. We ask that you follow our ‘healthy lunch box’ recommendations. Sweets, crisps, nuts, fizzy drinks and bars of chocolate are not allowed. Please do not give your child a hot drink or a glass bottle.
We try to ensure that the children eat a good portion of their lunches, any uneaten food is returned to their lunch bag and sent home in line with our Green School policy. If your child has any nutritional or dietary restrictions or issues please draw our attention to it before they begin school so that we can discuss and address it appropriately.
We do have a very serious nut and fish allergy in the school. While we are not asking the school to be NUT/FISH FREE we would ask you to be mindful of the fact that this is a very serious condition. As such, where possible, if you are giving your child additional food we would ask you to avoid foods with nuts (cashew, peanut or pistachio) as well as white fish, shellfish or salmon.

Homework:
During the first school term, from September to Christmas, children learn their pre-reading and pre-writing skills. This work is generally done in school and we will encourage children to practice these skills at home with their parents. From early on children will also have some written homework which will be placed in your child’s Homework Folder each day. Please sign your child’s homework nightly.

Reading and Writing

Junior Infants is an important year during which children learn the skills needs for reading and writing which they will use and develop as they progress through the school. For this reason the emphasis is on developing these pre-reading and pre-writing skills in the initial months at school. Pre-reading skills involve lots of oral activities and games to aid language development. “Big Books” and small books are used to develop the children’s vocabulary and reading skills. We would encourage parents to read at home with your child as much as possible. Stories and nursery rhymes are good starting points. Taking 10 minutes nightly as part of a bedtime routine will make reading a fun and enjoyable part of your child’s day.
Pre-writing skills involve, among other things, learning how to hold a pencil/crayon and left-to-right orientation. Letters are taught using the Jolly Phonics programme.
The Junior Infant teacher will arrange a meeting in September to discuss phonics and homework.

Physical Education

We are fortunate to have a large, acoustically treated hall for our P.E. classes. Each class has their own allotted time for P.E.
Infant P.E. days are typically Monday’s and Wednesday’s each week. Appropriate runners must be worn on these days. The PE lessons usually take place in the school hall but during fine weather it may take place in the yard or field. It is important that children wear appropriate footwear (i.e. non-slip soles) during P.E. classes to prevent accidents.

Www.ballybunionprimary.ie

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Scoil Íosagáín

Church Road,
Ballybunion,
Co. Kerry

Telephone: 068-27272
Email: office@ballybunionprimary.ie
Website: www.ballybunionprimary.ie

“Together we make a difference”

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of this year’s Prospectus, it has all your ‘need to know’ information about our school

Preparing Your Child For Schoolwork:
Good writing is all about muscle and motor control so it will help your child greatly if (s)he is
practiced at colouring, drawing, painting, cutting,
manipulating materials such as plasticine,
construction work, jigsaws etc.
Noting visual differences is essential to reading and this skill is practiced and encouraged by use of matching games, construction work, jigsaws etc.
Reading aloud to your child will cultivate an
interest in, and love of reading.

Scoil Íosagáin

Aladdin
We use an online management system called Aladdin. This system is used to record absences, late arrivals/early collections etc.
It is very important that you give Catherine an up to date email address so that we can set you up on Aladdin

Health and Safety

As part of health and safety procedures in the school, we encourage regular washing of hands, particularly around eating time and after toilet use. We are not however, always able to oversee this, so please remind your child of it’s importance.
Unfortunately, germs and viruses spread quickly in a classroom environment so it is vital that children are encouraged to use a tissue when blowing their nose and to cover their moth and turn away when coughing.
If your child develops any contagious illness such as chickenpox, please keep them away from school until the period of contagion has passed and inform the teacher/school immediately.
We also ask that all children remain out of school if they have had any episodes of vomiting, diarrhoea or any other contagious illness. They should be symptom free for at least 48 hours before returning to school.
We recommend that you check your child’s hair regularly for headlice. Treat immediately if they occur and inform the
teacher so that notification of possible risk may be sent out to other parents.
All information regarding your child’s health is treated in the strictest confidence.