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news Archives - Harcourt Terrace Educate Together National School

Tony Walsh
In News

Back to School on Monday!

Back to School on Monday 1st March

We have been preparing for the return to on-site classes and we are delighted to be welcoming the children back from 8.30 0n Monday 1 March. Here are the important pieces of information for you.

Parental Declaration

Parents are required to confirm that children are well and that there is no public health reason for them not to return to school. We have set a message to arrive in the Aladdin Connect App on Sunday Feb 28th at 3pm. You simply confirm the declaration and return. Niamh will send a text message to remind you of this on Sunday. Parents must complete this declaration before the child comes back to school on Monday morning and after any absence from school after 1 March 2021.

Assembly and Dismissal

Parents are reminded that they should take extreme caution at assembly and dismissal times not to congregate and to remain at least 2 metres apart at all times. We know this is really hard and we are sure the children will be so excited to see their friends and their teachers, so let’s all work together to make the reunion happy and fun, being safe at the same time. Lots of smiling eyes and elbow bumps!

Ventilation

The Department of Education have instructed all schools to open doors and windows before and after school and during breaks to assist with ventilation.

Masks and PPE

All staff have been provided with medical/surgical grade masks. All Staff will wear masks, all of the time. Some staff may choose to wear visors as well as masks, but never instead of masks.

Focus for Learning

The main focus for the teaching and learning in the school between now and June will be on Literacy, Numeracy and Wellbeing, in line with the DES guidelines. We will also endeavour to take the children outdoors as much as possible, as before. Of course, we hope the weather will cooperate!

Covid-19 Response Plan

We are updating our policy documents to reflect the changes in the advice from government and they will be available to view on the Covid-19 section of the website over the weekend.

Support Videos and Books

The Department of Education has prepared some information notes and videos for parents and children and you can find them here. The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn and The Invisible String, by Patrice Karst are two lovely books that might be helpful if your child is a little nervous about leaving you and coming back to school.

We are really looking forward to welcoming you all back and hopefully this will be the last time that we have to have an extended closure.

See you all on Monday!

Tony Walsh
In News, Siobhán's Class

Lá Glas

The boys and girls in Junior Infants had a super day today wearing ‘glas’ for Lá Fhéile Pádraig! Enjoy the long weekend everybody! We’ll see you back in school at 9am on Tuesday the 18th March.

 

Tony Walsh
In News, Siobhán's Class

International Women’s Day

It’s International Women’s Day! Today (and every Friday) in Junior Infants, Killian our GAA Coach (Templeogue Synge Street GAA Club) came to work on some ball-handling skills with us. Take a look at how much fun we had!

Killian’s Gaelic Football Academy runs on Saturdays @ 11.30am in Dolphin Park, Crumlin Road. It’s suitable for boys and girls aged 4-7.

 

Dan Murphy
In News, Siobhán's Class

Stay Safe Programme

We’re learning all about being ‘safe’ with the Stay Safe programme this month.

The Stay Safe Programme is a mandatory programme for all primary school children to help them deal with ‘Feeling Safe and Unsafe’, ‘Friendship & Bullying’, ‘Touches’, ‘Secrets & Telling’ and ‘Strangers’. The children will be taught this programme at an age-appropriate level from Junior Infants right up to Sixth Class. Parents can learn more about this programme here.

This week in Junior Infants we were learning all about feeling safe, and who we could tell if we were feeling unsafe e.g. if we got lost in the shopping centre, or someone was always hurting us or being mean to us. Here are some examples of who our students would tell:

 

 

 

Dan Murphy
In News, Siobhán's Class

World Book Day

Junior Infants brought in their favourite books on World Book Day!

The boys and girls in Junior Infants brought in their favourite books to share with the class on World Book Day! We had hoped to visit Dolphin’s Barn library for storytime on the day, but the weather was pretty cold and wet out there, so we stayed nice and cosy in the classroom instead. We hope to visit the newly refurbished Kevin Street Library very soon with the class, and we’ll share a post with you about it then. (It’s pretty amazing. There’s a slide!!!)

In the meantime, we were able to buy over 600 (YES 600!!) Oxford Reading Tree books with the money the parents fundraised from our Sponsored Walk. These will be such a huge help when we begin team-teaching for literacy and power hour in levelled reading groups next term 🙂

Dan Murphy
In News, Siobhán's Class

Engineer’s Week & Aistear Time

Harcourt Terrace Educate Together N.S.

Junior Infants had lots of fun this week building bridges, constructing castles, creating towers from junk art and generally having a fabulous time throughout Engineer’s Week. Check out the pictures below!

 

 

Dan Murphy
In News, Siobhán's Class

Making Pancake Batter

Junior Infants made pancake batter in school today! First they sieved in the flour. Then they each cracked and added an egg. Finally they added the milk. They whisked and whisked and whisked until there were no lumps left. Ciara and Sarah helped the boys and girls add the batter to jars so they could bring them home and fry them up for Pancake Tuesday! Yummy!

 

Dan Murphy
In News, Siobhán's Class

Shape Monster Homework

Did you know our school has a no homework policy? Instead of written homework each night, children are encouraged to read for enjoyment at home with their parents, and occasionally they can complete some project-based work that links in with our theme of the month.

Last term the boys and girls made a meal at home with help from their parents and guardians. They helped to cut vegetables, boil pasta, prepare the table and serve their dinner. Their parents sent in lots of pictures, and the boys and girls took turns presenting their meal plan and the steps they took in making their meal with the rest of the class. We really feel this helps to build their confidence speaking in front of their peers, and also builds their expressive vocabulary.

This term, Junior Infants had to design and create their own Shape Monster using 2D and 3D shapes, and recyclable materials. We’re were so impressed with the unique monsters that came to visit our room. The boys and girls took turns showing off their monster and explaining how they made them. They pointed out and named all the different shapes they used. It was really interesting! Check  out some of their monsters below…

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Dan Murphy
In News, Siobhán's Class

Our NEW Sensory Area!

Our Inclusion Support Assistant (ISA) Ciara set up our NEW sensory play area outside the classroom. The children who especially need it can take movement breaks and use the sensory area each day. Every student in Dublin South City Educate Together NS has had a chance to use this space and absolutely love the ‘lava’ squares! We’re sharing  this building with the students from Griffith Barracks MDS and they’ve also been able to use the space. We all feel very lucky. Thanks Ciara!