October 2016 Newsletter

Dear Parent/Guardian,
I want to bring the following items to your attention in this October Newsletter:

Firstly thank you for your support and understanding during what was a very difficult September for us when
we laid to rest our colleague David McMahon RIP.
David McMahon was appointed here in 2004 and he was a most excellent teacher. He went on secondment in
2011 to the PDST. He was due back to us this year but secured an extension for a further 2 years. He had many
great friends on the staff here who are devastated by his loss. We will remember David with great fondness and
his memory will live on in our school along with another great colleague of ours Marion Keane who we lost so
young. Rest in Peace.

FREE School Lunches

From next week on until the end of the school year we will be providing a FREE LUNCH and something to eat
at break time for all children. This is great news and the lunches provided are a very high quality.
Pupils will be given their own individual password which means parents/children are responsible for
changing their lunch. The website is www.freshtoday.ie
There will be no need for you to give your children food coming to school now and children will not need
to buy their lunch in the shop.

New Language Curriculum School Closure

The Department of Education is introducing a new curriculum for teaching English and Irish in all primary
schools in Ireland. Scoil Chrost R will be closed on the Monday October 24th so that the teachers can attend
training for this new curriculum in Clare Education Centre.

Attendance
Regular attendance is very important for your childrens learning. Last year we had an excellent average
attendance in the school of 93.1%.
At the end of each Term (Term 1 September-Christmas, Term 2 January-Easter, Term 3 Easter-Summer)
children who have full attendance for that Term will receive a special prize at Assembly. Hopefully most
children will achieve full attendance for at least one Term.
Students who are absent for 20 school days must, by law, be reported to the Education Welfare Board.

5k Run/Walk
Thanks to the families and children who supported our recent Rock Run and Walk 5k fundraiser. It was a
fantastic success with over a 100 people taking part and it was a most enjoyable evening in our school.
Congratulations to the prize winners. Thanks to everyone who helped out in making it such a success.

Board of Management Report

Please see attached to this newsletter the Agreed Report from the Board of Management.

Parents Council AGM

The AGM will be taking place this month. Some parents need to be replaced on the committee as their children
finished in Scoil Chrost in June. You will be notified soon of the date for the AGM and it would be great to get
some new parents on the committee for 2016/17. Well done to our Parents Council for all the great work they
do for our school.

HSCL News
We have launched some very exciting Adult classes taking place here at school.
We have a new and exciting Stress Management & Relaxation class for adults that will be running for 4
more weeks. In this class participants will cover the following areas: Increase your Energy levels &
Concentration, Improve your Ability to deal with Everyday life Issues, Healthy Eating for Fitness, Great
Skin, Nails & Hair, and the Power of a Positive Mind to Relax & Unwind.
 Our Basic English classes are also beginning this week. So if any of you would like to improve your
English speaking please join us every Friday from 9-11 a.m.

New adult classes will constantly be on offer here at Scoil Chrost R so keep your eyes open for a class that
may suit you. If there is some new skill that you would like to learn or class you would like here in Scoil
Chrost R please tell me about it! Remember everybody is welcome to our classes free of charge, and we love
seeing you in the school. For further info please do not hesitate to call me on 087-6461836.
Ms OConnor

School Website
You can keep up to date with school news on our excellent website www.criostri.weebly.com
Also you can follow us on our Twitter page twitter.com/criostri or @criostri

Important Dates for your Diary

Monday October 24th: School closed for Teachers Training on New Language Curriculum
Friday October 28th: School closes for Halloween mid-term break.
Monday November 7th: School reopens after Halloween mid-term break.

Thanks for your continued support and best wishes for the rest of the month of October.

Yours sincerely

Gearid Roughan
Principal