Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in St Colmcille's PS

• Restart programme -update

  Wed 05 Aug 2020

  Dear Parents / Guardians

   

   I hope you are keeping well and making the best of our so called summer. You will probably be aware that the Minister of  Education wrote to schools this afternoon outlining a revised policy for reopening schools for all children in the autumn term. We will be opening the school on 1st September for the majority of children. Primary 7 and Rang a Seacht will commence on Monday 24th August.

   

  We all want children back in school as soon as possible and this news is welcomed but if we are to keep everyone safe there are a number of issues which remain priorities:

  • Preventing virus spread- hand hygiene, mask wearing, ventilation, and cleaning routines are more important with full classes.
  • Bubbles- children will stay in class bubbles throughout the school day. If a child gets Covid 19, only children and staff in that bubble will go into a fourteen day quarantine.
  • School transport - if class bubbles have to be protected then it would be obvious that children should be brought to school in cars at staggered times.
  • School Meals- children will have break and lunch in their classrooms.
  • Social distancing- the Minister has abandoned the requirement to limit the number of children in each room based on the size of the room and one metre per child yet requires staff to maintain two metres between them and children. The Minister needs to address this dilemma. 

   

  A copy of the Minister's letter  is available on this website / New and Events / Newsletters. He also indicated that further information will be issued next week. We will keep you updated about the implications of this information. God bless and continue to keep safe.

   

  Yours sincerely

   

  Mr P Cush

  Principal

• First Holy Communion preparation

  Wed 05 Aug 2020

  Dear parent/ guardian

   

  Please find below a link to a First Communion video resource produced by the Diocesan Pastoral Team. The video listed is part one of a series of videos exploring the Mass. The first video examines the gathering, the introductory rite and the penitential rite.  Three further videos will be published on the same web page in the coming days.  
  
  https://www.armagharchdiocese.org/holy-communion/  
  
  We encourage you to share this with your children as they prepare for the upcoming First Communion ceremony.   
  
  Please look out for the future episodes in this series which will be released soon.  We hope that these resources will assist as you prepare students for the reception of the sacrament.
  
  I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who were involved in scripting, filming and producing these videos. Their efforts to prepare these resources is essential in a time when gatherings are limited and schools, in particular, are under great pressure to prepare for reopening.
  
  God bless,

   

   

   

  Michael Router

  Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh

  

• Remote Learning Feedback - Summary

  Thu 23 Jul 2020

  Remote Learning: Feedback from parents

  This summary can be viewed as a Word document in:

  News & Events / "Newsletters".

   

   

   

   

   

  

• Confirmation Friday 28th August.

  Wed 08 Jul 2020
  We are pleased to report that the Primary Seven and Rang a Seacht children will be confirmed before they transfer to Post-primary education.

   

  Due to the current restrictions as a result of Covid 19, there will be two ceremonies for confirmation; the first at 1.00pm & the second at 3.00pm on Friday 28th August. further details will be circulated later.

   

  Hopefully this will suit children and families. If for any reason this doesn't suit, please contact the school.

  

• Summer School for Primary Five & Six & Rang a Cuig & Rang a Sé

  Thu 02 Jul 2020

  Please follow this link for information about the Summer School for Primary Five & Six  & Rang a Cuig & Rang a Sé children.

   

  https://www.stcolmcillescarrickmore.co.uk/stream/newsletters/full/1/-//

   

• July Update

  Thu 02 Jul 2020

  Dear Parents / Guardians

   

  I hope you are keeping well and are looking forward to your summer break in this truly historic year.  We'd like to thank you for bringing the children to the school last week to speak to the staff when the collected their annual reports, books and packs. We  really appreciated the chance to say good bye before the holidays.

   

  We’re all aware that the children have missed so many activities over the last term but we're particularly mindful that our Primary Seven and Rang a Seacht children who have lost their final months in the school. We were therefore, delighted to arrange a special Leavers' Mass on Friday 26th June and the Drive-in Leavers' prize giving ceremony on Monday 29th June. The mass can still be accessed on the parish website and photographs from the Prize-giving ceremony are on the ‘Welcome’ page on our website.

   

  As you may know, the Department of Education had issued guidance detailing reopening arrangements and the special measures that need to be in place to deal with the ongoing threat of COVID-19. These specific measures deal with issues like social distancing, the utilization of space within the school building, advice on pupil attendance, pupil and adult hygiene, additional cleaning routines, catering, school transport, workforce planning and communication with parents. Staff and governors have discussed the implications of this guidance and the interim plans will be under constant review as the guidance changes. 

   

  To comply with the guidance, classes must be limited to fifteen pupils per class each day and these children will be kept in ‘protective bubbles’ with separate break and lunch times. Initially, children will be at school for two days each week and be supported remotely for three days. Children in families will attend on the same days. We hope that DE guidance will be relaxed early in September so that full classes can resume.

   

  Teachers will communicate with you at the beginning of August with specific details about starting times, finishing times and details about catering and school transport. This Re-opening guidance is extremely complex and it will mean that there will be many changes to school routines and arrangements compared to before however we are all bound to adhere to them strictly for the safety of everyone.

   

  Key dates

  • Week beginning Monday 6th July: Miss McElduff will forward information to Nursery parents about the arrangements for their children
  • July – August: DE has provided online support for Primary Seven & Rang a Seacht children. The details of this programme will be sent to these parents.
  • Monday 20th to Friday 31st July: Summer School for Primary Five & Six / Rang a Cuig & Sé pupils (Sept  2020 classes).

  We have secured funding from DE to provide a summer school for up to 30 children each week. Specific information will be sent to these parents.

  • Week beginning 3rd August: Teachers will send details about starting times, finishing times and details about catering and school transport.

  • Monday 24^th August: Primary Seven & Rang a Seacht children programme commences
  • Week beginning Monday 31st August: Children throughout the school will be phased in.

   

  Finally, have a lovely summer break with your children, God bless and continue to keep safe.

   

  Yours sincerely

   

  Mr P Cush

  Principal

• Collection of Pupil Reports, Class allocation, Transition arrangements

  Fri 19 Jun 2020

   19^th June 2020

  Dear Parents / Guardians

   

  Covid 19 & Remote Learning

  I hope you are all staying safe and keeping well. As we approach the end of this school year and reflect on the events of the past thirteen weeks, I hope that you as a family will have some positive memories of this unique time spent with your children.

   

  We as a staff want to thank you for your support and encouraging comments received over the past thirteen weeks. It has undoubtedly been a great challenge for you as parents/ guardians and we applaud the effort and commitment you have shown. We appreciate the very positive responses received in our recent survey and your comments have been very useful as we plan for the autumn term. A copy of the survey conclusions will be published on the school website shortly. A special word of thanks to our pupils for the hard work and great effort they too have made through the work packs and online programs.

   

  I also want to commend our teaching staff, assisted by the classroom assistants for the level of dedication and hard work they too have demonstrated during this period of school closure. Remote learning has indeed been a challenge that none of us were prepared for but both school staff and all our school families have successfully risen to the challenge.

   

  We look forward to meeting you all in September 2020; as the next school year begins, with optimism and excitement for the future. There is no doubt that the school's teaching and learning will take on a different format and timetables will need adjustment. Despite the fact that we haven’t yet received any definite guidance or directive about the arrangements for next year, we are confident that children will pick up on their learning from where they left off and staff will continue to nurture and help pupils to progress to the next stage in their educational journey.

   

  Annual Reports - Nursery

  These reports record progress under the following headings:  Personal/Social/Emotional Development; Language Development; Physical Development and Movement; ArtEarly Mathematical Development and The World Around Us.

   

  Annual Reports - P1 – P7

  Please find the enclosed copy of your child’s Annual Report. Unfortunately, we’re all aware that we didn’t have an opportunity to finish the school year as planned. As a result, all the normal end of year check-ups and assessments haven’t been completed and we can’t verify exactly what progress pupils have made over the course of the year. The pupils’ reports, therefore, reflect the progress which the children had been making up until 13th March 2020.

   

  This year, we have again revised the Annual Report format used to report children’s progress and achievements. The reports include statements of progress in Literacy, Language, Numeracy and Mathematics and General Comments. For other areas of the curriculum,  we have allocated grades that best describe how the children are achieving. We have also included graded sections for concentration,  behaviour, effort, application and attendance. Mrs Corey has provided additional reports for the children that she has worked with throughout the year. We hope you find the Report an accurate account of your child’s performance and progress over the past year.

   

   

  Collection of Annual Reports, books, folders and summer packs

  To bring to a conclusion this school term, the teachers have put together the children's exercise books, work books and other pieces of work they have completed during the course of the school year as well as additional work for the summer months, on request. This package will also contain the end of year reports. We invite you and your child to meet the teachers and classroom assistants in the school playground. In order to comply with social distancing guidelines, we have allocated the following collection schedule:

   

  Date	Time	Classes	Teachers
  Mon 22nd  June	6.00pm – 8.00pm	Primary 3 & 4	Mrs C Hendry & Miss A Owens
  Tues 23rd June	10.00am –12.00pm	Nursery	Miss E McElduff
  	1.00pm – 3.00pm	Naíscoil and Rang 1 &2:	Mrs S McAleer/O’Neill & Miss N Gillespie
  	6.30pm – 8.00pm	Primary 3 & Rang 3/4	Mrs F Canavan & Miss S McElroy
  Wed 24th June	10.00am – 12.00 noon	Primary 1/2	Miss Miss E Deery
  	1.00pm– 3.00pm	Primary 1 & Primary 2	Mrs T Rogers & Miss M Dobbs
  	3.30pm – 5.30pm	Primary 6 & 7 & Rang 7	Miss M Treanor, Mrs R Donnelly & Mrs M McKee
  Thurs 25th June	10.00am – 12.00pm	Primary 5 & 6 & Rang 5	Mr M Donnelly, Mr E O’Neill & Mrs G Strain

   

  If you have any school library books, accelerated reading books or class reading books at home we would be grateful if you could return these books when you call at the school to collect the children's folders.

   

  Class Allocations for September 2020

  In sorting classes we generally use chronological order as the main criterion with adjustments due to special circumstances. These may include: children with additional needs, behavioural issues, gender balance and friendship groupings which may be particularly relevant this year. Teachers spend a lot of time considering the special circumstances within their classes and use their professional judgement in sorting classes, sometimes considering information which cannot be shared publically. We trust that parents recognise teachers’ efforts in this regard and trust their judgement.

   

  Transition arrangements

  All classes will be updated on Seesaw and your child’s new teacher will be in contact with their new classes before the end of term. We have included ‘Seesaw invite’ instructions with this letter. Teachers in Nursery, Primary One and Rang a hAon will provide a virtual induction this year including video clips, photographs of staff and the classroom settings.

   

  Primary Seven and Rang a Seacht Transition

  Father O’Neill will be celebrating a special "Leavers Mass" for Primary Seven and Rang a Seacht children on Friday 26^th  June going live from St Colmcille’s Church at 1.00pm and we hope that you can all tune in. We have also organised a "Drive In” Prizegiving ceremeny for year 7 children will take place on Monday 29th June at 7.00pm on the school’s football pitch.

   

  Reopening the school in the autumn term

  The Department of Education has just advised that:

  • Primary Seven /Rang a Seacht and children with special circumstances will commence during the week beginning 24^th August.
  • children should be kept in ‘protective bubbles’ one metre from each other. Given the small rooms in the school, class sizes will therefore be limited to a maximum of fifteen pupils per class each day.

   

  We will keep you informed of the arrangements for the autumn term when we receive clearer guidance from DE. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation. If you would like to discuss any issue contained in this letter or your child’s report, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

   

  Yours sincerely

   

  Mr P Cush

  Principal

• Remote Learning: Parents' feedback survey

  Wed 20 May 2020

  Dear parents
  We are now in the tenth week of remote learning and we're still adjusting to the “new” normal and the things we used to take for granted aren’t possible for now like Sunday mass, school runs, Sacramental preparation, playing in the park or watching our local teams. We face many challenges as we cope with new ways of working, home schooling and caring for vulnerable family members. 

   

  On behalf of the school’s governors, I’d like to thank staff, parents, pupils and the community for the very positive and flexible response to the challenges as typified by the Termon C19 Response team's provision of PPE equipment for local essential workers. I hope you and your families remain healthy as we continue to respond to the lockdown.

   

  Since the school closed, we have being refining how we work so as to support you in facilitating children’s independent learning by using monthly work packs and Seesaw as our main strategies. I now feel this is an appropriate time to review these arrangements. I'm seeking the views of teachers, parents and children about remote learning. I’d particularly like to know what’s going well, what challenges you face and what you'd like to improve in relation to:
  •    Internet connectivity
  •    Access to computer/ iPad etc
  •    Challenges associated with remote learning 
  •    Use of Seesaw

  Realistically, we don’t know when the school will return to the “old” normal. There are suggestions that phased reopening may commence in the autumn term so your feedback is important in helping us to support you and your child. PLEASE COMPLETE A SEPARATE SURVEY FOR EACH CHILD IN THE SCHOOL. 

   

  All parents received a ex message with a direct link to the survey. If you have difficulty accessing the link, please contact the school and an alternative link will be provided.

   

  Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey which will help us and for your continued support in these most challenging times.

  Yours sincerely

   

  Peter Cush
  Principal
   

• ADMISSIONS SEPTEMBER 2020: NOTIFICATION OF PLACEMENTS

  Thu 23 Apr 2020

  Given the uncertainty of the current situation, the Education Authority will issue 'notification of placement' letters for P1 and Pre-School to parents to arrive on 29 April 2020.

   

  As it is possible that due to Covid-19 that some post may take longer to deliver than usual, the EA's Admissions Portal will be opened on Wednesday 29 April and parents can log in to view their child’s placement. Guidance on how to log in and access placement offers will be accessible on the EA website.

   

  If you are accepting the place, we would appreciate if you could email the school at fconnolly588@c2kni.net to confirm your acceptance.

   

  Further induction information about the induction arrangements will be forwarded later.  

  Should you require any further advice, the EA's Admissions staff will be available via the Helpdesk:- Telephone number 028 9598 5595, available from 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. 

• 3rd HOME PACKS: COLLECTION ARRANGEMENTS

  Thu 23 Apr 2020

  We hope that you and your family are well at this difficult time and that the children have been progressing well through the second pack of work and are looking forward to the next pack which can be collected from the covered area in the playground. 

   

  The packs will be available as follows:

  Friday 24^th April: R1&2, R3&4, P1, P3, P4 & Mr O'Neill's P5-6.

  Friday 1^st May: Other Key Stage 2 classes.

   

  To facilitate social-distancing and limit congestion, we advise that, where possible, that you use the allocated times to collect the packs:

   

  Surnames	Time slots
  A to F	9.00am to 10.00am
  G to L	10.00am to 11.00am
  M to O	11.00am to 12.00 noon
  P to S	1.00pm to 2.00pm
  T to Z	2.00pm to 3.00pm
  Open session	3.00pm to 5.00pm
  Reception	5.00pm to 9.00pm

   

  After 5.00pm, the remaining packs will be available in the school's reception hall until 9.00pm.

  A few points to remember:

  1. This is an unprecedented emergency impacting on the whole world but what each of us does can make a difference.
  2. While this 'new' normal presents many challenges, this phase will pass more quickly if we all practice safe-distancing and hand hygiene.
  3. We all want to be back at work but this can only be done in a manner that doesn't facilitate the spread of the infection in the community.
  4. Please connect your child's teacher if you aren't sure about any aspect of the work sent home.
  5. Keep the Health Care workers in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.