All pupils are busy at school at the moment and many have been enjoying swimming lessons, football, Science Day, GAA coaching and outings over the past few weeks. We wish to congratulate our school Debating team who recently qualified for Round Two of the Concern Debating Championship, and wish those who are participating in the Irish poetry competition in Downings this Saturday all the best. Please note a change of venue in that the event will be held in the GAA Centre with a 10am start. Our Cumann na mBunscol quiz team were placed third in the recent County Final and have qualified for the Ulster final.

I wish to thank the Parents’ Association for the huge work and input into ensuring the huge success of the recent Christmas Fair. All monies raised will be invested in pupil resources.

We have scheduled our Christmas Shows/Music for the morning of Wednesday 18 December. Tea and biscuits will be available for all. We will inform you of class performance times closer to the day. We will also host a draw for a Christmas Hamper on the day. Santa Claus hopes to call in to see us all on Thursday 19th December.

We will close for the Christmas Holidays on Friday 20th December at 12 noon, and re-open 6th January.

Attendance Note

Please note that our pupil attendance rate has fallen somewhat in recent years, particularly so during Covid times, but recovery rates are a little slower than expected. The Board of Management has an Attendance Strategy and, as we seek to promote good attendance, we respectfully ask that you pay particular attention to planned absences that can impact on schooling, particularly in relation to holidays etc. I attach an information sheet from Tusla in this regard.

————————————————————————————————Dear Parent/Guardian

I am writing to tell you a little about the Education Welfare Act, 2000 (amended by the Child and family Agency Act 2013) and about some of the responsibilities we share under the Act. As you know, a good education gives your child the best possible start in life.  A good education helps young people to obtain secure employment and develop into mature and responsible citizens. The purpose of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 is to encourage regular school attendance and participation in education and training for as long as possible. It is desirable that every child stays in school and completes the Leaving Certificate.

Under the law, every child must attend school regularly up to sixteen years of age or complete at least three years education in a post primary school whichever comes later.

As a parent, you must let the school know if your child is absent and the reason why. It is school policy that reasons must be given in writing.  The school will notify Tusla – Child and Family Agency if a child is absent for 20 days or more or where the absence gives rise to concern.

If your child is sick or is absent for other good reasons, no action will be taken by Tusla – Child and Family Agency.  However, if there is concern about your child’s attendance at school or about the reasons given, you may be visited by an Educational Welfare Officer who will discuss your child’s education with you.  The Officer will work with you and take full account of the circumstances of the child and the family before deciding what further action is necessary to ensure that the child receives his/her entitlement to an education.

Further information concerning the new service and about school attendance matters generally can be obtained from the national Lo-Call Education Helpline – 1890 36 36 66.

Nuacht Litir na Scoile

September Newsletter

Dear Parent,

I wish to welcome you all for the school year.  The children appear to be settling quickly and we are looking forward to the new term.  We welcome all our new pupils, including our 29 new Junior Infants Class pupils, and we are delighted too to have opened our new School Extension. We look forward to giving you all a chance to drop in to see the classrooms etc.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of a few issues:

Please note that we call pupils to class each day at 9.20am. We open our school gates from 9am onwards but cannot accept responsibility for pupils who arrive before this time. We therefore request that you do not leave unsupervised pupils at the school gates, whether they arrive by bus or otherwise.

The pupils receive a hot-dinner at the main break. Food orders are placed online and any changes to an order for subsequent weeks must be done weekly by Thursday at 5pm. Please provide your pupil with a mid-morning snack and a drink for both breaks. Such snacks are generally eaten in the classroom and we encourage the children to take any litter or wrappings home each day. We respectfully request that our Healthy Lunches policy is adhered to. This means that sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks etc are not part of a lunch. Please note that the school is operating a No Nut policy.

We ask that items such as school jumpers, stationery, lunch boxes (anything that moves!) are labelled and that the name tags are regularly refreshed. We request that the school uniform is worn at all times. Teachers will inform you of the day your child is doing PE classes. Please note that the school permits the wearing of stud earrings only, as hoops etc piercings can lead to greater risk during PE/Yard play.

Please provide us with up to date contact numbers, particularly with reference to mobile numbers. We operate a school text service.  Please inform the school by Monday, 9^th September if you have not received an introductory message.

The school provides text books and copybooks to all pupils but they are to supply their own stationery. We requested a Voluntary Contribution in June of €25 per child or €40 per family to cover costs such as photocopying expenses, Art materials, First Aid supplies and much more.  We thank those who have already paid this amount and encourage any outstanding fees to be paid in the coming days.

We ask that you pay particular attention to road safety issues and request that your child is accompanied to and from the school gates. Parents may park in the carpark near the chapel, or along the Main Road, observing normal parking regulations, paying attention to double yellow lines etc.  The car park at the school is for staff and bus parking only. Extra traffic in this area leads to greater risk for pupil and adult safety and we request that this zone remains free of parent traffic, as there would be long queues and greater risk if we all ignored this. The school has a designated disabled parking spots for blue badge holders. Please relay this information to all adults who drop off or collect your child from school.

We do not allow mobile phones in the school. The school office can relay messages from a parent to a child or from a child to a parent.

The School Photographer is scheduled to call on Monday, 23rd September.

Pupils from First to Sixth classes are presently doing cross-country training with an athletics meet scheduled in Milford on September 17^th.

The Parents’ Association are holding their first meeting on Wednesday, 11^th September at 7.30pm. All are welcome.

We encourage you to contact the school at the earliest opportunity if you have any queries or concerns and we will seek to address any issues at the earliest opportunity. Please note our telephone (0749139295) and e-mail contact details (kilmacrennanschool@eircom.net) or visit the school website at www.kilmacrennanschool.com. Please call the School Office in advance if you wish to arrange an appointment with a teacher. In order to minimise disruption, we often arrange such conversations outside of class teaching hours.

Yours sincerely,

John Devenney.

This note can also be viewed under the School News drop-bar on our website at www.kilmacrennanschool.com

Annual School Report

Kilmacrennan N.S Annual School Report 2023-24

Introduction and Overview of the School.

During the 2023-24 school year, there was a total staff of 16 teachers and 10 SNA’s in Scoil Cholmcille, Kilmacrennan. The teaching staff comprised of an administrative principal, nine class teachers, two ASD teachers and four SET teachers (one shared with a local school).

We have a further allocation of EAL and LS hours on a temporary basis.

There were 239 pupils on our school roll in September 2023.

School Activities

There was a strong emphasis on participation in a diverse range of activities over the course of the school year.  Among the activities/events/competitions that our pupils participated in were

• We received an Amber Flag award
• We have a Digital School of Excellence National Award
• We received a Green Flag award (Sixth flag, Litter & Global Awareness)
• We achieved Active Flag status
• Weekly Class Assemblies were held
• We hosted School Concerts at Christmas and during Seachtain na Gaeilge
• Kilmacrennan’s Got Talent is an annual highlight towards year-end
• We participated in Feis Loreto Leitir Ceanainn (music, song, dance and poetry) and the Guth Ghoill poetry event
• Ghlacamar páirt i scéim Scríobh Leabhair Gaeilge i mbliana
• We operated a School Gardening Club but the new school extension will necessitate the relocation of our School Garden over the summer months
• We placed a strong emphasis on weekly training with the School Athletic club
• Pupils were offered Music tuition and a School Music group performed at several events, including appearing on Highland Radio’s Ruáille Buaille show.
• Science Day was a highlight
• We had an active Student Council in place
• Art competitions are enjoyable and we enjoyed entering numerous school quizzes
• We participated in the County Donegal Debating League
• Swimming lessons were facilitated
• All pupils partook in a gymnastic programme
• We participated in-school activities during Internet Safety Week, Anti-Bullying Week and Friendship programmes
• We took part in Cumann na mBunscol & FAIS soccer competitions
• School Cooking events were held
• While participation is the key motivation, individual and team success is also cherished. Among the notable achievements in school competitions was success in quizzes, including Ulster Cumann na mBunscol; Feis Leitir Ceanainn, Poetry competitions, Green Flag awards, Cross Country champions, Debating successes, individual pupil success in art competitions etc.

Home-School-Community links

We cherish and actively sought to enhance Home-School-Community links.  Kilmacrennan N.S. has an active Parents Association, offering support and direction.

School Community links over the past school year included our Annual 5k event, a Tractor Run, a Family Movie Night, a Silver Circle Draw, Grandparents’ Day/ St. Bridget Cross making/ Valentine Bake day/ table quiz etc.

As part of our fifth Green Flag award, we held an International Cultural Day, showing food, music etc of the nationalities of our pupils

Our school community assist greatly with tea and refreshments on First Communion/ Confirmation and 5K events.  We also enjoyed our involvement with the Young at Heart group.

Our School Music groups performed at religious events in the community.

We also held a ‘Greet and Meet’ day for the new Junior Infant incoming class. New Enrolment packs were provided to all incoming pupils.

Board of Management News

A new Board of Management was formed during the school year.

The BO.M. wishes to acknowledge the commitment of staff, the support of parents and guardians and the enthusiastic co-operation of the pupils who support the work together to promote the ethos of our school. The BOM met five times over the past year and provided an agreed report to the school body via our website.

The BOM has met its obligations in respect of Child Protection and Anti-Bullying Procedures.

The B.O.M. has reviewed Standardised Test Results and Pupil Attendance returns during the course of the year.

The school accounts have been audited in line with DES guidelines.

The BOM liaised with the DES throughout the school year and work on a two classroom ASD main school building extension is ongoing. We are hopeful that this work will be completed for the beginning of the 2024/ 25 school year.

The school will operate the Summer Provision Scheme for our ASD Solas classes this summer.

The BOM successfully appealed and received a further NCSE LS allocation

With our school having 239 pupils on our roll on September 30th last, we anticipate the appointment of a tenth mainstream teacher this summer.

The school introduced the Free School Book Scheme.

A Hot Meals progamme/ School Dinners was introduced for all pupils.

School Self-Evaluation/School Improvement Plan

The school engaged wholeheartedly in departmental led initiatives during the school year, most notably School Self-Evaluation (SSE) and updating Anti-Bullying procedures.

As part of this process of evaluation, we continue to identify many of our school strengths and areas for improvement. With regard to SSE, we are proceeding with our Literacy and Numeracy initiatives.  The staff ascertained what we feel is working well and identified our strengths as

• annual testing of our pupils compares favourably with national averages in both English and Mathematics.
• the school has a print rich environment in relation to Literacy and Numeracy.
• pupils and teachers are positive when engaging in their approach and attitudes towards initiatives
• the school engages in a range of In-School activities that support good literacy practice, including DEAR, Reading for other classes, Shared Reading (with parental involvement), Paired reading, INTO Handwriting activities, a co-ordinated approach to handwriting etc.
• Croke Park hours were used to allow staff discussions on topics such as Wellbeing, School Digital Strategy, Numeracy etc.
• With regard to a School Improvement Plan, focusing initially upon Literacy, we identified Oral Language as an area that we would like to target.  Teachers provide for discrete oral language times on their timetables and engage in a range of initiatives to promote good Oral Language targets.
• Following discussions regarding Oral Language at previous staff planning days/ Staff Meetings, we have over the years introduced a range of specific in-school initiatives in this regard, including 8 week Assembly Blocks where pupils from different year strands perform weekly (music, drama, poetry, improvisation, dance etc)/We have introduced class debates/power point presentations etc in Senior Classes.
• We introduced a School Self-Evaluation notice board to our staffroom. This allows all staff to clearly see termly and yearly targets etc

Legislative and Regulatory Obligations.

The school is compliant with legislative and regulatory obligations, as identified in ‘School Self-Evaluation- Guidelines for Primary Schools, 2012’.  These aare

• Time in school as per Circular 11/95/ Arrangements for parent/ teacher and staff meetings as per Circular 14/04/ Implementation of Croke Park agreement regarding additional time requirement as per circular 08/2011/ Standardisation of school year as per circular/ Valid enrolment of pupils as per/ Section 9(1), 15 (2) and 23 education act 1988/ Sections 20 and 21 Education (Welfare) Act 2000/ Rules 55, 64, 108 and 123 rules for national schools/ Staffing schedule for current school year and Retention of pupils as per most recent circulars, including, but not exclusively, Development of school plan as per Section 21, Education Act 1998/ Appointments to posts of responsibility as per circular / Exemption from Irish circular/ Implementation of child protection procedures /Implementation of complaints procedure as appropriate/ Complaints procedures, Education Act/ Primary Boards of Management Information Manual / Refusal to enrol/ Section 29 Education Act 1998/ Garda Vetting circular requirements

Early Intervention/ Testing of Pupils

Our school undertakes testing of pupils at various stages of their schooling.  Infants are generally screened through the BPVT Test and MIST. A new version of the Drumcondra tests was introduced nationally this year and our school has introduced this for pupils from First to Sixth Class. We also conduct testing of pupils in Gaeilge in Second, Fourth and Sixth classes.

Strategies are in place for pupils who require help at this stage.  We also undertake annual testing of pupils of in English, Irish and Mathematics and IQ tests.  We compare pupils performance in the standardised English and Mathematics tests with their measured ability and make provisions for those who are under-performing.  The results of tests conducted on pupils in second, fourth and sixth classes are submitted annually to the DES.  School staff monitor and track individual and class-testing results, and can compare them to national trends.

Resources

We updated and purchased two new interactive smartboards/ Special Education resources etc.

We used part of our Digital Grant to purchase a laptop charging portal, laptops etc

We purchased a range of LS materials

Kilmacrennan NS May Newsletter

First Holy Communion: The Sacrament of First Holy Communion for pupils in Second Class is scheduled for 11th May at 11am. We request that all communicants and the choir are seated 15mins in advance of the ceremony, and we wish all well on the day. All are invited to our School Hall for tea and refreshments afterwards.

Green Flag Award: Our school was notified recently that it has attained a Sixth Green Flag (Litter Awareness/ Global Citizenship) and will be presented with this in the coming weeks. As part of this application, our classes will participate in a Day of Action involving a Cultural Morning on Friday 3rd May with pupils preparing projects on countries from all over the world. We will celebrate all the various cultures within our school and the joys they bring!

Kilmacrennan 5k: The Kilmacrennan 5k Road Race/Walk is scheduled for Friday 17th May at 7.30pm. We would ask all who are able to assist with volunteering (registration, stewarding, teas, sponsorship etc) to let the School Office know as soon as possible. The event can be quite busy and all help is appreciated.

School Tours: We are currently organising school tours and details will issue in due course.

Pupil Testing: The annual testing of pupils in Numeracy and Literacy (English and Irish) is scheduled for mid-May.

School Dinners: Our Hot Dinners scheme is now up and running. Please note that each Thursday afternoon at 5pm is the deadline for making changes to an order for the following week. 

Internet Safety: An Internet Safety Talk for parents will be held in the School Hall on 27^th May at 7pm. All are welcome.

School Parking: We appreciate that parking spaces are at a premium and request your ongoing support in attempting to maintain a safe environment for our school community. To that extent, we ask for no through traffic at the school, for all pedestrians to safely use the designated crossing point and that the no parking on double yellow lines is observed, thereby creating safer vision lines for all users.

Ongoing School Works: Work is ongoing on our ASD classroom extension at the moment and we remain hopeful that it will be open for the start of the new school year. We have also installed a 6kW Solar Panel to our main building this week.

School Places: With a waiting list in place for several of our classrooms, please inform the school if there are any change in family circumstances etc which may result in your child attending elsewhere next year.

Board of Management News: Our Board of Management are currently preparing a three year Plan of Action and invite submissions via email to kilmacrennanschool@eircom.net before 8th May. Submissions are also invited for an updated Digital Strategy 2024-27.

Calendar Dates: Please note that the school will be closed on Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th May.

School News: The children are quite busy at school on a number of fronts. Many are participating in activities such as swimming, athletics & Sportshall training, instrumental music tuition, sacramental practice, school quizzes, Scríobh Leabhar Gaeilge, Seachtain na Gaeilge events, and more. Our quiz teams have recently qualified for the Garda Quiz County Final and the Credit Union Quiz Chapter Final. Fifth Class are due to participate in a five-week school-based Cycling Course from Monday 11 March onwards.

World Book Day is scheduled for 7 March. Pupils are free to dress up in literary costumes/ favourite characters/ film or book them event, if they so wish. Beidh Ceolchoirm Seachtain na Gaeilge i Halla na Scoile ar an 15ú Aibréan.

The Children of the Eucharist programme will continue for Second and Sixth classes on Thursday 14 March while the First Confessions will be held later in the month, date to be confirmed.

Gymnastics is a part of our PE curriculum but staff feel that pupils best learn from the experience and expertise of qualified personnel. Accordingly, we hope to facilitate three workshops hosted by Citadel for all classes for three weeks between St Patrick’s Day and the Easter holidays. We respectfully ask for a €5 contribution per child to cover the cost of the three lessons (family max payment of €10).

Well done to all who participated in Feis Leitir Ceanainn. We had quite a few winners on the day. Comhghairdeas le gach duine.

There has also been great egg-citement in the school recently as our School Chick project came home to roost; some of the pupils were quite shell-shocked to see three new chick hatchlings born.

Parents’ Association: We wish to thank the Parents’ Association for their much appreciated fundraising initiatives in helping to maintain investment in the school. A Silver Circle Draw is underway at present while volunteers will be required to help at an Easter Draw at the Millbridge Shop on Sat 30 March. 

A Kilmacrennan Tractor Run Event is planned by the Parents’ Association for the St Patrick’s Bank Holiday Monday (18^th March). All proceeds are invested in pupil resources: we have already purchased further musical resources and further plan to upgrade pupil IT resources this year. A new interactive smartboard has been purchased for First Class in recent weeks.

School Lunches: The school has been included in the latest roll-out of Hot School Meals and this is provisionally pencilled in for after Easter. Further details will issue in due course.

School Building Project: The Special Education Class extension to the building is underway and it is hoped to open this in time for the next school year.

School Closures: The school will close on Friday 8 March 2022 to facilitate voting in the forthcoming Referendum.

The school will close on St Patrick’s Day Bank Holiday Monday (18^th March) and will close for two weeks for the Easter Holidays on 22^nd March 2022.

This newsletter is also posted on www.kilmacrennanschool.com. Grace, our School Secretary, has also been posting weekly Throwback Thursday photographs on the Gallery Section of the website with photographs of former pupils and school events over the years.