Dear school community,

20th September 2017

Please note our newsletter will now be sent on a fortnightly basis.

Dates for your Diary

Vision Evening – Wednesday 11th October at 7.30pm.  More information to follow.

School Official Opening – Friday 20th October at 11am here at the school. School will close at 1.30pm on that day in honour of the occasion.

Class Welcome Meetings – Class welcome meetings will give you an opportunity to learn more about the class routines & homework procedures. All meetings will be held in the classrooms marked in bold below commencing at 9am sharp & should end by 9.30am. We strongly encourage you to attend these meetings.

The schedule for the meetings is as follows

Thursday 21 September 6th Class Edele

Friday 22 September Senior Infants Gina & Paul

Sundry Payment 2017/2018 – Thank you to all parents/guardians who have paid their 2017/2018 sundry payment. If you have not already done so we would like to remind you that the sundry payment of €70.00 (or €120.00 if more than one child in the school) is now due. Final date for payment is Friday 29th September. Payment can be made through our online payment system (link sent on email last Friday) or by cheque/cash at the school office. The sundry payment covers all photocopying throughout the school year, arts and crafts materials, classroom resources, homework journals and all copies. This payment also includes Personal Pupil Insurance, covering each child for 24-hour personal accident/incident insurance for 365 days from 31st August 2017, both in and out of school.

Contact details – If your contact details have changed please send them into the school office ASAP i.e. mobile number, telephone number, address, minder etc. It is essential that we have emergency contact details for all children in the school. 

Hearing and Vision & Dental Forms – Hearing and vision for junior infants and dental forms for 2nd and 6th class were recently sent home in schoolbags. Final request to return forms directly to class teachers no later than Friday 22nd September.

3rd Class Trip to Wicklow Mountains National Park – Thursday 28th September – Both Alison & Brian’s 3rd Classes will go to Glendalough, Wicklow Mountains Park on a Tree Day Event next Thursday. Notes will be sent home tomorrow with full details.

W.O.W.: W.O.W. (Walk/wheel on Wednesdays) is back! – For those of you who are new to our school, here is what happens. We want as many as possible to walk to school on the Wednesdays. There are lots of great reasons for this. Firstly, travelling by car causes lots of pollution, it also uses lots of resources and causes traffic problems too. By walking to school, you can stay fit and healthy and be wide awake for school! For W.O.W., children and parents don’t travel as part of a formal walk to school scheme like a walking bus, they walk their own route & at their own time. Don’t worry if you can’t walk on the day, there are lots of other ways to travel that are good for you and for the environment! You can scoot, cycle, use the school bus, car pool or “park ‘n’ stride”. If you do have to come to school by car, try stopping a little bit further from the school than usual and walk the rest of the way. This way you can still score points for your class! The class that scores the most points for coming to school by walking, scooting or cycling, car-pooling, “park ‘n’ stride” or by bus, will win the ‘Golden Boot’ Award! The winning class will be announced at assembly on the last Friday of every month! Be safe, be seen! Please wear hi-vis vests if you have them & helmets if you’re on wheels! So, get those walking shoes on and we will see you all bright and early on Wednesdays! 😊

Safe Set Down & Parking reminder:

  • There is NO PARKING anywhere on school grounds.
  • When you park on a footpath, or on/near a pedestrian crossing, you are putting a child in danger.
  • The yellow zone is for set down only, i.e. the car moves on once children have alighted.
  • From the traffic audit conducted last term, set down usually takes less than 60 seconds.
  • If you wish to accompany your child to the building, please park outside the school grounds & walk in.
  • When parking in the vicinity of the school, please be mindful of local residents & other road users.
  • For everyone’s safety, especially the children’s, it is very important that driveways & local roads are kept clear at all times.
  • Here in WETNS, we pride ourselves on being a considerate & courteous community. So, when parking, please show due consideration to our neighbours & fellow road users.

 

WETNS Extra-Curricular Update

Reminder Afterschool snack – if you children are attending aftercare, homework club or an afterschool activity we would ask you to pack an extra snack and small drink as there will be a short snack time at the start of each activity.

Term 1 Extra-Curricular Activities Programme

Registration        27th, 28th and 29th September

Term Dates         Starting Monday 2nd October until Thursday 21st December

A full timetable of activities, including days, times, fees and the registration form will be sent out later this week.

Homework club – Homework club started on Monday 4th September from 2.30 – 3.30 for 2nd to 6th class pupils only. Cost is €5.00 per day for 1 hour. Brian, Leanne, Kate and Caoimhe will be running homework club this term. If you would like your child to attend homework club this year please complete a registration form, available in the foyer outside the office. If you would like them to attend on specific days each week please tick the days on the registration form and return the form to Lisa at the school office and we will register your child for those days every week. If you would like your child to attend on an ad hoc basis please complete the registration form and return it to Lisa. Please email [email protected] or phone the school on 0404 62786 the day before you would like them to attend to ensure we have your child on the list for that day.

WETNS Breakfast Club – WETNS Breakfast Club opened its doors for the very first time on Monday 11th September. 10 enthusiastic and friendly faces arrived at school at 7.30am that morning and the club got off to a great start.  We are approaching the end of our second week and already the number of children attending is increasing.  Each child has been enjoying tasting all the different options from our Breakfast menu – cereal, brown bread, toast, bagels, yoghurts and a variety of fresh fruit each day. Smoothies are our regular treat and the children really look forward to them.   We will have some new additions to our menu from next week so watch this space!

Each child can relax after they’ve eaten with board games, colouring and a reading corner. This week the children are making personalised placements and learning to say good morning in lots of different languages! Everyone has been getting to know each other really well. Spread the word – WETNS Breakfast Club is open!

Our breakfast club costs €5.00 per child per day (including breakfast) for regular attendees and €6.00 per child per day for ad hoc attendance. You will receive an email from our breakfast club on the last Wednesday of the month confirming the fee for that month, based on the number of days your child attended during that month. We would ask that you make payment by the last Friday of the month. Payment can be made directly into our extra-curricular bank account (IBAN and BIC information will be sent to all those attending), by cheque or by cash.

For more details you can contact us at [email protected]. Registration forms are available in the foyer outside the office. Lisa, Kate, Margarita & Olwyn

Expression of Interest Aftercare post 3.30pm – Moving forward with an overall development plan for our school, we are considering remaining open until 5pm five days a week. If you feel you may be interested in this service, please fill out an expression of interest form available in our foyer and drop it into the blue box in the foyer.

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions re any of the items in extra-curricular.

Catholic Communion & Confirmation Information – Classes start Wednesday 13th September in the De La Salle pastoral centre. Year 1 and 2 of communion are from 3.20 – 4pm. Year 1 and 2 of confirmation are from 4.10-5pm. If you are interested in more information a letter from the parish office will be available for collection from the school office for 1st and 5th class children on Friday. Please refer any questions directly to the parish office.

Note from Izabela and Damien O’Rourke – Sunday 8th October 2017 – Dear parents/guardians, we are hosting a coffee morning event in memory of our beloved child whom we lost last October. The event will take place on Sunday the 8th of October 2017 in De La Salle pastoral centre in Wicklow Town. It will start at 11am until 2pm. We have some great raffle prices too. All money raised on the day and from our funding page (Help Baby Anthony for Holles Street make a difference) will go to N.I.C.U Unit 8 in Holles Street National Maternity Hospital. Money will go towards purchasing equipment, parents support and research and study. We also want to help the Bereavement Clinic in Holles street who right now are upgrading rooms for bereaved parents. Many thanks Izabela and Damien.

Triple A Alliance – Triple A is a local support group for parents whose children have been diagnosed with ASD and/or ADHD. They hold a number of events each month for parents and children. Their Autumn calendar of events is now available on our school noticeboard in the foyer. To book a place email [email protected]

Wicklow Triathlon Club Juniors are hosting a great event for junior triathletes and any kids that want to give it a try! The Junior Committee has put together a massive event which is open to all juniors from 8 to 15 years of age with a big focus on participation.  You will need to be a member of Triathlon Ireland or a holder of a one day license on the race day but don’t worry, we can sort this as part of your entry.  We are calling on all triathlon clubs, swimming clubs, cycling clubs, athletic clubs, rugby and football clubs, schools, societies and anybody who feels that they are up to a challenge to join us in Greystones, Co Wicklow, for the Junior Beast of the East, on Sunday September 24th 2017.

We would be most grateful if you could pass this information on to the children at your school.

http://wicklowtri.com/juniors/junior-beast-of-the-east-2/how-to-enter/ 

Parents Association Update

Reminder – if you wish to volunteer to become a Parent Liaison please volunteer by sending an email to [email protected] For more information:

https://wicklowetns.com/2017/09/14/parent-liaison-information/

The following are dates for your calendars, parental participation would be greatly appreciated at each event! We will provide more information in the coming weeks. 11th October Vision Evening facilitated by Educate Together 27th October Halloween Bakesale and parent coffee morning 19th November Winter Maker Festival 23rd November Parent Association AGM (provisional date) 9th December Family Holiday Movie Evening (provisional date)

To contact the Parents Association please email us on [email protected]