Dear Parents/Guardians,                                                                                              9th March 2017

PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION PIECE               

Engineers Week 4th – 10th March                                                                                                                                                             The children have been very busy creating their Doodlebots this week. Thanks to all the volunteers who are helping!! The three classes who won’t have an opportunity to work with their Doodlebots this week will be creating their Doodlebots at the next suitable opportunity.

PA Event suggestions                                                                                                                                 In early April, we will be submitting our calendar of PA events from now until the end of October to the Board of Management for their approval. We welcome all ideas new and old and would ask that if you have a suggestion for an event you would like to see take place in or on behalf of the school then please prepare a summary of your suggestion and pop it along with your contact details in the suggestion box in Fran’s lobby. All suggestions will be considered at the next PA committee meeting.

Lions Club Table Quiz                                                                                                                         There was a great turn out of WETNS parents at the final Lions Club Table quiz. Thank you to all who supported the quiz. The Lions Club kindly presented WETNS with a cheque for €460.

LostProperty                                                                                                                                                     Bake Sale Containers and tins are at the Piano in the main foyer for collection AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Any unclaimed containers will be recycled if unclaimed by Thursday 16th March. Please also check the lost property rail in the corridor if your child has lost any clothing at school.

Minutes of PA committee meetings                                                                                             Minutes of committee meetings will be available to view shortly on the Parent section of school website. Thank you for your patience.

ST PATRICK’S DAY PARADE – FRIDAY, 17th MARCH 2017                                                     The Parade is a high point of our school community’s social calendar and we are inviting all pupils and parents to come and join us on the day, to get together and have some fun.  We have a reputation in the town for being a vibrant and cheerful entry and have brought home many trophies over the years so let’s do ourselves proud again!

This year WETNS has chosen the theme “FROM SHORELINE TO SKYLINE” to reflect our transition from The Murrough to Hawkstown Road.  Pupils and accompanying parents from Junior Infants to 2nd Class will represent the Shoreline, dressed as fish, seals, jellyfish, starfish, crabs, etc. Surfers if child has their own wetsuit.  Pupils and accompanying parents from 3rd Class to 6th Class will represent the Skyline, dressed as seagulls, red kites (birds), bats, bees, butterflies, etc.  Further details to follow once we have an idea of numbers and we can allocate costume pieces to individual children.  If junior children would like to participate in the Skyline section they are welcome to do so as long as their accompanying parent is with them.  Equally, if senior children would prefer to participate in the Shoreline section they are welcome to do so and should put a note on the entry/consent form to say so.  We will try our best to facilitate everyone.

WE WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE PARENTS’ CO-OPERATION BY RETURNING THE ENTRY SLIPS (ONE PER FAMILY) TO CLASS TEACHERS OR THE BOX IN THE SCHOOL FOYER OR EMAIL [email protected] AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE BUT BY FRIDAY, 10TH MARCH AT THE LATEST SO WE CAN ASSESS NUMBERS FOR COSTUMES AND PROPS. Please write on your form what costume your child wishes to wear. Part of the fun of the Parade is that the accompanying adults are costumed to suit the theme and so adults are asked to get into the spirit of the occasion and play along if asked to “costume up”   Instructions will be provided or included with your child’s costume where appropriate regarding base layer colours, rain-proofing, etc.  PLEASE NOTE CHILDREN UP TO AND INCLUDING 3RD CLASS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED IN THE PARADE BY A RESPONSIBLE ADULT.  UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO PROVIDE SUPERVISION FOR UNACCOMPANIED 4TH-6TH CLASS CHILDREN.  Also note that photographs of Parade entrants may appear on the school website and local news media.  The WETNS Parade Sub-Committee has no control over the taking and publishing of photographs or video footage of the Parade entrants whilst participating in the Parade.

————————————————————————

 Seachtain Na Gaeilge                                                                                                                           Seachtain na Gaeilge takes place next week and throughout the week there will be lots of activities here at the school, including tráth na gceist (table quiz), Irish dancing and Gaeilge themed assemblies. We will also be running a stationary Siopa for all children on Tuesday 14th March and Wednesday 15th March. We ask that each child brings in 50c next Tuesday and gives it to their teacher.Please encourage your children to use Gaeilge at home throughout the week. Simple phrases including Go raibh maith agat (thank you), Oíche mhaith (good night), Slán (goodbye).

Internet Safety Week/Stay Safe                                                                                                               Many of the classes in school have been learning about internet safety and a workshop for all pupils from 2nd -6th class will take place in school on Friday 31 March. This workshop will be provided by Zeeko and will cover cyberbullying, inappropriate content, social media, digital stranger danger and data privacy, for further information please visit the website at zeeko.ie

Additionally we have been made aware that some of these issues may be affecting some of our pupils. If there is a particular area that you feel an expert could cover please let us know at [email protected], and we can make that request on your behalf.  Zeeko also run parent workshops – if you would be interested in attending please let us know by email or there is a sign up sheet at Fran’s office. If we get enough interest we will book a workshop for parents in the summer term.

Student Council News                                                                                                                       Student Council meet every month to discuss issues around school life at WETNS. The representatives have been working hard to represent the students and have put a number of initiatives in place.  Below are just some of the items they have been working on.

  • They have been busily supporting infant classes over playtime, as part of a buddy system.
  • Through consultation with the students, they have decided on The Irish Wildlife Trust and Wicklow Hospice as the charities which they hope to support this year.
  • They are coordinating a Fortnight of Friendship, which will culminate in a Friendship themed assembly for pupils in April.

At the moment, Student Council are looking for wool and embroidery thread for a project which they plan to undertake.  If you have any spare wool or embroidery thread and would like to donate, please leave it in the box in the main foyer.     Many thanks,   Student Council

July Provision
July provision is an educational programme that provides funding for an extended school year for children with a severe or profound general learning disability or children with autism.  The scheme operates in two ways, home based provision and school based provision.  This year Wicklow Educate Together is not providing July Provision but the school will remain open to facilitate the teachers who are participating in the home based programme. The application forms will be available from the Department of Education shortly. Please visit http://www.education.ie/en/Parents/Services/July-Provision for more details. Please contact Denise at [email protected]  if you would like help in locating a tutor for this year’s programme.

Headlice                                                                                                        Please note that there has been a number of reported cases of Head Lice in our school recently. It is important that you check your child’s head immediately.

With regard to the general health and well-being of all our children we request that you continue to check regularly to avoid these outbreaks. If you should find any, please report this to the class teacher and ask your chemist to recommend a solution to get rid of them and also the best shampoos to help prevent re-occurrence. Ensure that all eggs are removed from your child’s hair as well. Wash all coats, hats, scarves, car seat covers, bedding, comforters and pillows at 60 degrees.  Teddies that cannot be put in the washing machine should be put in a bag in the freezer for 24 hours. Vacuum the car and mattress and throw away the bag. Prevention and early detection will benefit everybody in the school.

Extra-Curricular Activities                                                                                   We are delighted to see so many children participating in term 1 of our extra-curricular activities programme. Please note term 1 will finish on Thursday 6th April. We would ask that anyone who has not already paid the registration fees for term 1, please do so as soon as possible. Please be advised that term one fees must be paid in full prior to the school closing for Easter on Friday 7th April.

Term 2 will begin on Monday 24th April after the Easter break. A detailed note will be sent out next week confirming term 2 timetable and registration process.