Dear School Community,
29th June 2017
IMPORTANT: School will close Friday 30th June at 12.30pm for the Summer. To alleviate parking tomorrow, the school buses will depart at 12.15, 15 minutes before the rest of the school.
An update from Sinead
As you are all aware we have had a very busy and exciting year at Wicklow Educate Together! The move into our new building was as expected, demanding on the whole school community but it is incredible to see what amazing work has taken place by all members of the school community to bring this ambitious project to fruition. It was fantastic to finally be able to host our open day in November to give the school community and wider community a chance to see this fabulous education centre for Educate Together in Wicklow.
January brought some of the saddest news with the passing away of our dear friend and ex colleague Brendan O’Connor. Brendan was an amazing character who for many years helped WETNS to grow and develop and it was such a pleasure and a privilege to get to know him and have him work with us.
When we reflect on the year past it is hard to believe the children took part in so many different activities. Many classes took a trip to Glencree to take part in fighting words; we had write-a-book, World Book Day, doodlebots skipping workshops, Seachtain na Gaeilge and Friendship Fortnight, including friendship fm which was a huge success. We will continue with these next year. Music generation (foundation, choral and instrumental) was taught in all classes. As ever we have had a high level of sporting participation and success. We continue our involvement with local athletics competitions and participated in rock climbing, tug of war and GAA events for the first time. Our Chess championship was also a great success and enjoyed by all. All classes from 2nd to 6th had swimming lessons, funded by the school.
A big thank you to the Parents’ Association for all of their hardwork, particularly for organising the doodlebots event which the children enjoyed enormously and Family Fun Day.
An extensive extra-curricular programme was rolled out after Christmas and we look forward to our breakfast club being in place in the new academic year.
We have benefited enormously from having a hall this year. For the first time ever we have been able to have weekly Friday assemblies. This has allowed us at junior assemblies to celebrate birthdays & have a weekly roundup of news from each day. We have achievement certificates at senior assemblies & teachers commend pupils on achievements both in school & outside of school also. We have had guest speakers from D.S.P.C.A, lifeboats, the Gardaí & water safety. We were delighted to implement `Taitneamh` homework on a pilot basis in 4th class, this will be rolled out in all senior classes from September. We will also be introducing Forest School next year.
There will be a whole school community vision evening on 11 October facilitated by Educate Together affording an opportunity to explore and plan for future avenues of development and possibilities. We hope that the Official Opening of the school will happen in October, with more details to follow.
I would like to thank all of the pupils for doing their very best and for participating fully in school life throughout the year. Special congratulations to our 6th class as they make their transition to 2nd level schools Coláiste Chill Mhantáin, East Glendalough School, Dominican School, John Scottus, Gaelscoil Arklow, Newpark Comprehensive and North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School. You have been a tremendous sixth class and I wish you all the very best in your new schools. The parents of the school as always have been so supportive, thank you for your patience and understanding particularly throughout the earlier part of the year!
Finally I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to all of the staff for their hard work and commitment throughout the year. With the growth of the school comes new staff and the Board of Management will be appointing these over the summer, and I look forward to welcoming them in the new term. Wishing you all a lovely summer and we look forward to our return to school on Thursday 31st August.
Sinead [email protected]
Book Rental – Final reminder that book rental for 2017/2018 must be paid before school closes on Friday 30th June. It is imperative that this is paid by the deadline. Many thanks.
Sundry Payments 2017-2018 are now due and our online payment option is now live. An email request was sent to all families so you can avail of our new E Payments online system. If you are paying in cash at the school office, where possible, please bring exact change.
BOM update – new male parent nominee – I am delighted to announce that Graham Byrne has been elected as the new male parent nominee on the school’s Board of Management. Graham has a child who will be entering 3rd class and another who will be entering Junior Infants in September. I would like to thank all who participated in this process. As a school, we are very lucky to have such engaged and committed people. Rob Greene, Chair of Board of Management.
Garda Vetting – From September 2017 any parent/guardian volunteering to help in the school dealing with children must be Educate Together Garda vetted. This includes all those helping with reading in class or the library, school tours, literacy lift off, sports day etc. If you are already volunteering or plan to get involved and are not already Garda vetted please call to Fran’s office and we will provide you with the appropriate paperwork prior to the school closing for the summer. Please complete the form in blue pen and bring it to the school office with photo ID (Passport or driving licence) and proof of address (a utility bill) and we will submit it on your behalf.
Breakfast Club – Reminder that our breakfast club will launch in September 2017. If you would like to register your child/children to attend please complete the breakfast club registration form if you have not already done so, as we need to finalise numbers prior to September launch. Forms available outside the office.
Extra-Curricular Activities Programme – our extra-curricular activities programme will return for a new term at the start of October with a registration day at the end of September. A detailed list of activities, days, times and term fees will be sent out by email during the summer break. Please note, aftercare (from 1.30pm to 2.30pm) will start on Thursday 31st August and homework club (2.30 to 3.30pm for 2nd – 6th class) will start on Monday 4th September.
Lost Property – Please check our lost property rails located in the main foyer as soon as possible. Any unclaimed lost property will be given to charity when school closes for the summer.
Library
A huge thank you to our Library Committee, staff and parents, l who have worked in the library consistently throughout the school year. They have helped with library books, rental text books and with all the other collections of books throughout the school. They are familiar with the Library Software and have been most helpful, taking the lead with aspects of the Library Project. We all owe them a huge thank you.
Thanks too, to all our library volunteers who gave their time to help out during busy periods or with specific tasks. Your help is essential and much appreciated too.
Our Library opened to classes as a Reading Room and for borrowing, in early May. Next school year we will be getting new shelving and furniture and look forward to decorating the space in an inspiring way. Many thanks to all and enjoy the summer, Paula Ryan
Win Book Tokens for our School Library! Could you please enter this draw, and encourage your family and friends to do the same? We could win 5,000Stg worth of book tokens!
https://www.nationalbooktokens.com/schools#.WTeyv2jyuUk
WETNS WOW – A drop of rain didn’t stop Rory’s 5th class & Caoimhe’s 1st class scooping the Golden Boot awards for the second time! Thank you everyone for taking part in WOW this term to help make our planet cleaner & greener & keeping us fit & healthy! Well done to all WETNS WOW participants! ;)
PARENTS ASSOCIATION UPDATE
Class of 2017 – Congratulations to our 6th class graduates. Best of luck to you and your parents for the transition to secondary school. Thank you for your contribution to WETNS
Sinead, staff and the Board of Management – Well done on the successful move to Hawkstown Road this year. A move of workplace is a challenging experience but moving and resettling 360 children to a new premises was a Herculean task. The foundations have truly been put in place for the future growth of WETNS in Hawkstown Road. Thank you to you all and enjoy your well-deserved break.
Class Liaisons – Thank you to those of you who volunteered to be class liaisons this year and for the work you have done in this role. We will be recruiting again next year!!
Parent Association Volunteers – Thank you to all of you who volunteered and got involved in our various events this year. We look forward to working with you again in 2017/2018!
September Parent Association Events
Teddy Bears Picnic Saturday 26th September 11am – 1pm in Kilmacurragh.
Coffee morning for all parents on the first day back Thursday August 31st. We look forward to seeing you there renewed after a long summer break.
We are hoping to hold an International language and cultural event from 25th to 29th September 2017. We will be seeking to recruit international volunteers for this event. Separate correspondence will issue on this.
Please keep an eye on the parent page of the website for information on upcoming events.