PARENT INFO

Kilmacrennan N.S Annual School Report 2022-23

Introduction and Overview of the School.

During the 2022-23 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, 8 class teachers, two ASD teachers and four SET teacher (one shared with a local school). We have a further allocation of EAL and LS hours on a temporary basis.

Our pupil enrolment has risen considerably over the past year and there were 241 pupils on our school roll in June 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 (for the first time)
• We have a Digital School of Excellence National Award
• We have a Green Flag award (Fifth flag)
• We have achieved Active Flag status
• Weekly Class Assemblies are held
• We host School Concerts at Christmas and during Seachtain na Gaeilge
• Kilmacrennan’s Got Talent is an annual highlight towards year-end
• We participate 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 operate a School Gardening Club
• We place a strong emphasis on weekly training with the School Athletic club
• Pupils are offered Music tuition and School Music group
• Science Day is a highlight
• School tours are a must
• A Student Council is in place
• Art competitions are enjoyable and Quizzes are challenging
• We participate in the County Donegal Debating League annually
• Swimming lessons are held annually.
• All pupils partook in a gymnastic programme
• We organise in-school activities during Internet Safety Week, Anti-Bullying Week and Friendship programmes
• We take part in Cumann na mBunscol & FAIS soccer competitions
• School Cooking lessons are tasty
• 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 seek 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, Young at Heart, Grandparents’ Day/ St. Bridget Cross making/ Valentine Bake day/ table quiz etc.

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

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

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 provides 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 a contract has been signed with a view to begin work on a two classroom ASD main school building extension in June 2023.

The school will operate the Summer provision Scheme for our ASD Solas classes this summer,

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.
• 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.

• 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.E

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 are preparing to implement the Free School Book Scheme.

Board of Management Agreed Report

May 2023

The Board of Management held a meeting on the 22nd May 2023. Among the items discussed was

• news that contractors have been appointed for a two classroom ASD extension to our school building with work expected to start in late June 2023. Works are expected to last for one calendar year.
• Policy updates were approved in Music, PE, Drama, Numeracy and Literacy.
• The school has completed the purchase of new Interactive Boards for all classes.
• The school will adopt the new School Book scheme which will see pupils receive free textbooks and workbooks etc.
• Anne O’ Donnell, School Secretary since 1999, has indicated that she intends to retire in the summer. The school will organise a retirement tea in the School Hall in June.
• We will host a Meet and Greet Day for pupils and parents of the incoming Junior Infant Class on 8 June 2023.

January 2023

BOM Agreed Report

School Enrolment Applications

The School Enrolment Applications process opened on 9 January 2023 and will remain open until 31 January 2023 at 3pm.
Please note that we are currently accepting Enrolment Applications for both mainstream and ASD classes for the 2023-24 school year. The closing date for applications is Tuesday 31 January 2023 at 3pm.

Please see our Amissions Notice and Information.

School Calendar

has been tweaked. The information has been posted on the website calendar and parents informed via School Newsletter (January 2023).
Please note our amended school calendar to include an extra day off on the May Bank Holiday (Tuesday 2^nd May) and the Summer closing date of 23 June 2023. It is anticipated that there will also be a School Planning Day (with the date yet to be confirmed).

Upcoming Events

Please note that we will host Grandparents’ Day on 1 February in the School Hall from 10am until 12 noon. We hope to do some St Brigid Cross Making on the day too. Tea will be served and all are welcome (parents/ guardians too).

The school will enter teams in the annual Credit Union Quiz, scheduled for Monday 30 January at 7pm in the Mount Errigal Hotel (registration by 6.30pm). Other forthcoming events include the Vex School’s Robot tournament in the ATU, Sportshall, Indoor Football, Internet Safety Day, Loreto Feis (Irish poetry and music) and round three of the Concern National Debating competition.

Please note that the Confirmation of Sixth Class pupils is scheduled for Sunday 26 February at 12.30pm. The First Communion is scheduled for Saturday 13 May at 11 o’clock.

Resources

We are in the process of gradually replacing our Interactive whiteboards throughout the school with new updated Smart Screens. With a further two installations in place this week, we are delighted to now have this technology in eight of our ten classrooms. We hope to be in a position to replace the final two screens over the next few months.

Building Extension Update

The tender submissions deadline has now passed and a Tender Report is now being prepared for submission to the DES.

END

Agreed Report of the Board of Management

15 November 2022

The BOM

Agreed the Enrolment process for the coming school year.

Noted that the school had received further allocations in SNA and LS due to an increase in EAL pupils in our school

Parent Teacher meetings will be held on 24 November 2022.

We will revert to hosting Christmas Concerts this year; scheduled for Tuesday, 20th December, TBC

School Staff are reviewing our Numeracy & Literacy strategies this school year.

We hope to be in a position to seek tender applications for the proposed extension within the next week or so.

END

Board of Management Agreed Reports

May 2022 Meeting.

The Board of Management of Kilmacrennan NS held a meeting on 9/5//2022. Among the key issues noted were

The BOM has been informed that sanction has been approved to proceed to tender document preparation for the proposed SEN main building extension.

The recent Kilmac 5k was an enjoyable event. €1855 was raised. The BOM propose to use this to fund IT resources upgrading.

We will welcome a member of An Garda Síochana for an Internet Safety Talk for Senior classes on Thursday 12 May.

The First Holy Communion is scheduled for Saturday 14 May 2022. Refreshments will be served in the School Hall.

The 2022-23 School Calendar was agreed and is available on the school website.

Our Annual Testing of pupils will take place during the weeks beginning May 16th and May 23 2023. End of Year Reports will issue in early June.

We will close for the Summer holidays on Friday 17th June 2022.

February 2022 Meeting
The Board of Management of Kilmacrennan NS held a meeting on 21/02//2022. Among the key issues noted were

Enrolment Applications

Preparations for opening the ASD Modular buildings

Planned Extension issues; Fire Cert; Disability Access Cert applications etc

Job-Share Applications

The School Board of Management Plan completion

Covid protocols

Courses for Parents

Please see the attached that has been shared with us regarding 2 x free Online Talks for parents around the area of cyber safety as part of the Healthy Ireland At Your Library programme of events.

The talks will be presented by experts with Cybersafe Kids-an Irish registered charity which works to empower children, parents and teachers to navigate the online world in a safe and responsible manner

1. Developing Healthy Tech Habits at Home – Free Zoom Talk

Donegal Libraries and Cybersafe Kids present: Developing Healthy Tech Habits at Home – A Free One Hour Online Safety Session for Parents of Younger Children.

Booking is through Eventbrite – https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/developing-healthy-tech-habits-at-home-for-younger-children-tickets-416551656217

This session is aimed at parents of younger children and focuses on establishing and modelling behaviour at home for children who are yet to begin or are starting out on their online journeys. We cover areas such as when and how to introduce technology, managing screen time, sharenting and digital etiquette at home, and offer practical advice and resources to help participants deepen their own knowledge.

2. Digital Wellbeing & Online Safety for Teens – Free Zoom Talk

Donegal Libraries and Cybersafe Kids present: Digital Wellbeing and Online Safety for Teens – A Free One Hour Online Safety Session for Parents of Tweens & Teens.

Booking is through Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/digital-wellbeing-and-online-safety-for-teens-tickets-416579750247

This session aims to raise awareness of what children and young people are doing online, and the associated risks and safeguards. We provide information and guidance on platforms teenagers are using, digital literacy and wellbeing, and the inherent risks of being online: oversharing and privacy, cyberbullying, sexting, grooming and digital footprint.

Kind Regards