Ar dtús, comhgáirdeachas ó chroí do chór agus grúpa cheoil traidisiúnta na scoile a raibh thar barr ar fad aréir ag ceolchoirm bliantúil na Nollag de Leoin Chill Chainnigh. Mile buiochas do Mhúinteoirí Ruth agus Fiona don obair iontach a dheineadar leo. Once again our group stole the show in St. Canice’s Cathedral. 

Céilí na Nollag

Beidh Céilí na Nollag ar siúl sa Watershed ar an Luan seo chugainn. Muna mhiste le tuismitheoirí, ba bhreá linn go mbeidh roinnt beag cócaireachta na Nollag déanta don ócaid seo. As we had so much baking left over last year, we would be delighted to send all spare items to the Men’s Shed, Kilkenny, after their brilliant work with us on bike maintenance and repair. Please send Christmas food items in on Monday morning. 

Ceolchoirm na Naíonáin

Beidh failte mhór roimh tuismitheoirí na Naíonáin Bheaga agus Mhóra do dhráma na Nollag ar an Máirt chun breithlá an linbh Íosa a cheiliúradh. Looking forward to seeing all our infant parents next Tuesday at 1.00 pm for their Christmas Nativity Plays. 

Airgead do na Philippines

Míle buíochas do gach éinne don airgead a chuir  sibh isteach. Tá €1,220 curtha ar aghaidh againn do GOAL don obair iontach seo. 

Cóisir Tae Boston/ Boston Tea party

Míle buíochas dóibh siúd atá in ann tacú leis an gCóisir atá ar siúl oíche Aoine ag 7.30. Is féidir dul le Bord eile trí glaoch a chur ar Sabrine Bass (0863183877). Muna bhfuil tú in ann teacht, is féidir tacú leis an oíche trí thicéidí a cheannach don gcrannchur ón oifig, duais a thabhairt isteach don gceant nó a rá le cara leat. 

Many thanks to those who are able to support the Boston Tea party on Friday night at 7.30. If you wish to come and join a table, please call Sabrina Bass (086 3183877). If you are unable to attend, please let others know it is on- past parents, past pupils, etc. Tickets for the raffle are available in the office.

Any spot prizes or auction items would also be appreciated.

Le buíochas,

Coiste na dTuismitheoirí

 

Féilire na Scoile

Beidh na feilirí bliantúla ar fáil le ghrianghrafanna de gach rang go fíor-luath. Níl orthu ach €5 agus beidh siad ina bhrontainnisí álainne Nollaig.

Our school calendars for 2014, including pictures of all of our classes are currently being printed and will be available in the coming days. At just €5, they would make great Christmas presents and every house should have one!

 

Lá Cúram na Rothair/ Bike Maintenance Day

Beidh lá curam rothair ar siúl amárach an 26ú do pháistí ó Rang a 3 go dtí Rang a 6. Beidh oibrithe ón ‘Men’s Shed’ ag caint le na páistí faoi conas aire a thabhairt dá rothair féin, ag féachaint ar rudaí cosúil le coscáin, boinn agus brú aeir a choimeád agus roinnt rudaí eile. Más féidir le na páisti rothaíocht ar scoil, beidh seiceáil beag ar a chuid rothair agus beidh an t-eolas níos fearr dá bharr. 

We are delighted to have a bike maintenance day tomorrow in the Halla with volunteers from the local ‘Men’s Shed’. We are asking all children from Rang a Trí to Rang a Sé to bring in their bikes so that they can learn how to maintain them, focussing on safety equipment like brakes and maintenance of tyres, air pressure etc. We are thankful to Múinteoir Michelle for organising this event and we hope to have a bike ‘up-cycling’ scheme in place in coming weeks where older bikes can be renovated either for younger children or for donation to help this great voluntary group in our area.

 

Leabhair na Nollag/Christmas Annuals

Tá leabhair bliana na Nollaig ar fáil anois tríd an oifig ar phraghas €3 an cheann.

Christmas Educational annuals are now available through the office for €3 each.

 

Aonach na Leabhar ar scoil-buíochas ó chroí

Díoladh breis is €4,000 de leabhair Béarla agus Gaeilge le déanaí agus dá bharr beidh mile euro de leabhair Gaeilge á fáil ag an scoil d’ár leabharlann. Míle buíochas do Khan Kiely as ucht an chomhoibriu linn, le Múinteoir Méabh a dhein obair iontach ar an Aonach agus do Choiste na dTuismitheoirí agus na tuismitheoirí iontacha a chabhraigh leis an dá lá. 

More than €4,000 worth of English and Gaeilge books were sold recently at our annual book fair and we will receive more than €1,000 worth of Irish language books for our school library as a result. Thanks a million to Khan for her wonderful service and to Múinteoir Méabh and our wonderful Parent’s Association for all their efforts in this success. 

Gaeilge

Cuirimid i gcuimhne duit gurb í an riail is tábhachtaí inár scoilne ná gur Gaeilge priomh-theanga na scoile. Is conradh idir do pháiste agus an scoil atá i gceist nuair a thosaíonn do phaiste sa scoil go labhródh sé/sí Gaeilge an tam ar fad sa scoil, i gclós na scoile agus ag aon imeachtaí scoile a mbíonn ar siúl cosúil le cluichí, snámh no turasanna scoile. Iarraimid oraibh bhúr dtacaíocht iomlán a thabhairt don scoil ar an ábhar seo. Iarraimid oraibh chomh maith mar thuismitheoirí gach aon iarracht a dhéanamh le Gaeilge a labhairt i dtimpeallacht na scoile agus in aon cumarsáid leis an scoil. Fáiltímid le botúin agus beimid sásta aon cupla focail nó cupla frása a labhairt leat i gcónaí.

Iarraimid ort chomh maith na páistí a spreagadh chun Gaeilge a labhairt lena cháirde lasmuigh d’am scoile. Comhgáirdeachas le Ruairí de Ghallaí a bhuaigh brontannas ón scoil toisc gur Gaeilge ar fad a labhair sé féin agus a chairde ag a bhreithlá sa bhaile. Chomh maith le sin cuirimid in iuil duit do pháiste a spreagadh chun féachaint ar TG4 nuair gur féidir. Tá réimse iontach cláracha ag an stáisiún ó chartúin do na páistí óga go dtí drámaí agus cláracha pap-cheoil do dhéagóirí agus ar ndóigh cláracha spoirt den scoth. Suigh síos le do pháiste agus bain taitneamh as an foghlaim le chéile.

 

We remind you that the central rule of our school is that our children speak Gaeilge at all times, other than in English class. By enrolling your child in our school you chose us because we are a Gaelscoil and we hope for your ongoing support in that central part of our ethos. The agreement to speak Irish at all times is a contract with the school from day one and we are delighted that the vast majority of children do this with great enthusiasm. To help with this also, we ask you to make every effort to use your own Gaeilge when you are around the school or communicating with us. We are delighted to hear or see Gaeilge and are happy with or without mistakes!!

 

We also ask you to encourage your child to speak Gaeilge to their friends at any opportunity outside school so that they see the language as a living one which doesn’t stop at the school gate. As part of that effort, a child in Rang a Dó got a special prize this week for having his recent birthday party ‘as Gaeilge’ at home. We also remind you that TG4 and Raidio na Gaeltachta are a great resource for your child and for your own efforts to bring back the Gaeilge. TG4 has a great range of programmes from the cartoons for the youngest pupils through to teenage pop music and drama programmes and of course great sports coverage as well. Try to sit down with your child every now and again and enjoy a programme together.

 

Cruinnithe Tuismitheoirí/Muinteoirí

Beidh na cruinnithe tuismitheoirí-múinteoirí ar siúl an Céadaoin  agus Déardaoin seo chugainn an 13ú agus 14ú Samhain. Dúnfaidh an scoil ag 2.30 pm an dá lá sin agus iarraimid ort a chinntiú go mbaileofaí do pháiste in am na laethanta sin. Líon isteach am oiriúnach duit féin ar na leathanaigh lasmuigh de sheomra mhúinteora do pháiste nó dean teangmháil leis an oifig chun é a reachtáil.

Iarraimid ort suí síos le do pháiste roimh an chruinniú agus a bheith réidh don gcruinniú. Is seans deas í seo chun cainte le do pháiste faoi conas ata ag eirí le ar scoil agus aon pointe buairte a árdú leis an múinteoir. Iarraimid ort chomh maith cluí leis an deich nóimead atá leagtha amach duit. Má fhanann tu ró-fhada, beidh daoine eile ag fanacht. Má tá gá le níos mó plé, beidh an múinteoir sásta cruinniú eile a reachtáil leat más féidir.

 

Our annual parent/teacher meetings take place next Wednesday and Thursday the 13^th and 14^th November from 3.00 to 5.30. School will close at 2.30 pm on those two days and we urge you to make sure your children leave school on time those days. Please fill in the suitable time for yourself on the sheets outside your teacher’s door or contact Eibhlín in the office to arrange a suitable time.

We urge you as well to sit down with your child for a few minutes between now and the meeting to find out how they’re getting on in school. It’s a great chance for you to identify any issues they are having or to be able to give the teacher the great news that all is going brilliantlyJ! Please make sure also that you stick to the allocated ten minutes as if you stay too long, others are delayed behind you. If there is a need for a follow-up meeting or if you are unable to make it next week, your class teacher will facilitate you at another time, if possible.

 

Díolacháin Leabhair /School book sale

Beidh réimse iontach leabhair Gaeilge agus Béarla ar díol sa scoil ar an dá lá céanna an tseachtain seo chugainn. Taimid an-bhuíoch do Choiste na dTuismitheoirí agus Múinteoir Méabh as ucht an obair iontach seo agus do Khan Kiely ó Khan’s Books a chuuireann na leabhair ar fáil. Faigheann an scoil na céadta leabhair Ghaeilge mar chéatadán do na leabhair a díolfar agus toisc sin tá tú ag cabhrú le leabharlann iontach a bheith againn sa scoil chomh maith.

 

There will be a fantastic range of Gaeilge and Béarla books on sale in the school hall on the same two days as the meetings next week. We are hugely thankful to our Parents Association and Múinteoir Méabh for all their help in putting this book fair together each year and also to Khan Kiely of local bookshop Khan’s Books for providing us with such a great range of books. The school will get hundreds of books for our school library as a result of your generosity and of course the chance is there to add a special literary present for the coming season. The PA are also still looking for a few volunteers to help out with the book sale on both days from 9.00 am to 5.30 pm. Contact Caroline on 087 2330026 or email tuisti@osrai.com . Don’t forget also that our school calendars for 2014 will be available in the next few weeks and make great Christmas Presents!!

 

Bille Scoile

We are delighted that so many of you have signed up to paying your Bille Scoile online through our Easy Payments facility on the school website or by dropping into the office in the traditional way. Just as a little point of clarification from the last newsletter, your child is of course always covered by our public liability insurance on the school grounds or during school activities at all times. The extra insurance cover included in the Bille Scoile is a 24 hour insurance policy which applies to accidents which take place outside of the school as well and is an extremely cheap extra cover to have for your child. We hope that you all will continue to make every effort to contribute to the costs of providing many great activities for your child in the school and every little contribution we get is a huge help.

 

Bille Scoile

Táimid ag cur chugat an Bille Scoile don scoil-bhlain 2013/2014. Cuirimid i gcuimhne duit go bhfuilimid taréis ísliú suntasach a dhéanamh ar an méid airgid seo le roinnt bliana anuas. Chomh maith le sin tá sé tábhactach go dtuigeann gach éinne an méid a bhraitheann an scoil ar na híocaíochtaí seo ag teacht uaibh. Is tuismitheoirí na scoile a d’iarr orainn imeachtaí iontacha cosúil le ranganna snámha, gleacaíocht, rinnce 7rl a chur ar fáil d’ár bpáistí. Níl sé cothrom, áfach, nach n-íocann gach tuismitheoir an méid gur féidir leo chun íoc as na seirbhísi seo. Tá titim ag teacht ar an méid daoine atá ag íoc agus cé go dtuigimid go bhfuil fadhbanna airgid i roinnt tithe, beidh orainn féachaint in athuair ar cuid de na himeachtaí seo muna bhfuil go leor airgead ag teacht isteach. Chomh maith le sin, tá árachas 24 uair a chloig á fáil ag gach páiste inár scoil. Muna bhfuil do bhille scoile íoctha, bheadh comhartha ceiste faoin gclúdaíocht sin. Cuid eile den mbille atá fíor-thábhactach ná ár scéim cíosach leabhair. Ar €10 faigheann do pháiste leabhair go bhfuil luach suas go €70 orthu.

Anuas ar sin, táimid ag cahbrú le gach éinne an iocaíocht seo a dhéanamh níos éasca. Tá an chóras ‘Easy Payments Plus’ faoi lán tseoil tríd ár suíomh idirlíon anois. Brúigh ar an gcnaipe ‘Íoc ar Líne’ ar an leathanach baile agus is féidir leat íoc ar líne ansin. Chomh maith le sin, is féidir d’íocaíocht a dhéanamh ina ghallaí chun cabhrú leat.

Enclosed here find the Bille Scoile for this school year. Please remember this is not a ‘Voluntary Contribution’ which has not existed in our school for some time. Rather, this is a payment for some essential services but also for activities which you, as parents, have asked us to provide over the years. These include fantastic activities including swimming, sports and dance classes, all of which contribute to the fact that our school is recognised as an Active School. As well as this your child receives 24-hour insurance cover, inside and outside of school. Your child in our senior classes also receives many of their core class books from our book rental scheme. For just €10 per year, they receive up to €70 worth of books.

While we have consistently reduced the amount of this payment, there has been a fall in the number of people paying. We don’t want to start denying children access to activities or books as some schools do but we cannot continue to ignore those who continuously don’t contribute. The other alternative is that we will have to cut activities which we cannot afford to pay for. The issue of insurance is also a complicated one as people who have not paid their school contribution may have their cover questioned if they need to avail of it. You will also be aware that we are facing into a major building programme which will be in the interests of all of our children and this means that we really must ensure that all of our finances are as carefully managed as possible.

We have also made the payment of the school bill as easy as we possibly can. You are aware that you can now pay almost all monies to the school through a secure payment facility on our school website at www.osrai.com where you click on the Pay Now button. This also allows for the payments to be made in instalments.

We thank all those of you who consistently pay your school contribution and ask all others to please contribute this year in the spirit of fairness to all families. Of course, we again repeat that you should contact us if there are any financial difficulties which we should be aware of. Please arrange a meeting with the Principal to discuss these issues in the strictest confidence.

Bille Scoile 2013/2014

Na hAmharcealaíona / Eolaíocht / Visual Arts / Science /Arts and Crafts Materials (€5 Breise do naíonáin bheaga/€5 extra for Junior Infants)	€20
Fotachóipeáil / Photocopying	€10
Tástálacha / Tests / Tuairiscí / Reports / Árachas / Insurance	€20
Gleacaíocht, na hEalaíona Comhraic, Damhsa Ghaelach agus gníomhaíocht eile / Gymnastics,martial Arts, Irish Dancing and another activity. Naíonáin Bheaga Naíonáin Mhóra, Rang 1,2 agus 6 Rang 3 go Rang 5	€5 €10 €20
Snámh / Swimming  Rang 1 go dtí Rang 6	€25
*Scéim Chíosach Leabhair/ Book Rental Scheme	€10

 

Naíonáin Bheaga	€60
Naíonáin Mhóra	€60
Rang 1	€85
Rang 2	€85
Rang  3	€105*
Rang 4	€105*
Rang 5	€105*
Rang 6 (Múinteoir Nioclás)	€95*
Rang 6 (Múinteoir Brian)	€95*

 

Clár Oideachas Caidrimh agus Gnéasachta/Relationships and Sexuality Education

Beidh Oideachas Caidrimh agus Gnéasachta á mhúineadh i ngach rang tar éis an bhriseadh lár téarma mar chuid den ábhar Oideachas Sóisialta, Pearsanta agus Sláinte. Is cuid lárnach í seo den t-eolas atá riachtanach go do pháiste ina shaol. Bí cinnte go múinfear an ábhar seo go cúramach agus go tuisceanach agus táimid ag súil go mór le do thacaíocht ghníomhach sa bhaile leis.

Tá na hábhair ar fad an OCG ar fáil ar an suíomh seo: http://www.ecdrumcondra.ie/downloads/rse-materials/35-programmes/graphic-design/229-rse-prim

5) Ansin, roghnaigh pé rang-ghrúpa ina bhfuil do pháiste

Beidh nóta ar leith á fáil ag páisti Rang 5 agus 6 inniu chun an chuid a bhaineann leo amháin a mhíniú. Léigh an nóta seo go cúramach le’d thoil.

All of our classes will be teaching the Relationships and Sexuality part of the Social, Personal and Health Education Curriculum after the Hallowe’en break. This programme is carefully laid out and only material which is suitable for your child’s age group will be taught during this part of the course. Please actively get involved with this learning by familiarising yourself with the course and by discussing it with your child at home if they have worksheets or other work to complete or simply by answering their questions as well as you can. If you have any questions, please contact your class teacher.

To access the course details, click on this link and select your child’s class level. http://www.ecdrumcondra.ie/downloads/rse-materials/35-programmes/graphic-design/229-rse-prim . (We’re also adding this link to the Nascanna/Links page on www.osrai.com )

Rang a 5 and 6 are receiving a special note today about their part of the programme and we urge you to read this note carefully please.

Tráthnóna Clainne den Scoth/Brilliant Family Fun Evening

Bhí tráthnóna clainne den scoth againn inné agus táimid thar a bheith buíoch do Choiste na dTuismitheoirí a d’eagraigh gach rud. Bhí seans iontach ag tuismitheoirí bualadh le chéile go sóisialta agus níos tabhachtaí fós do bhain na páistí an-taitneamh as an tráthnóna. Buíochas le Dia chomh maith go raibh an aimsire linn.

We had a fantastic and positive family fun evening in the school yesterday evening and we are hugely thankful to all of our Parents Association members and all the other volunteers who did all the hard work. It was a great opportunity for parents to meet each other in a social context and most importantly our students had great fun (particularly watching the Máistir falling off the bucking bronco!!) Thankfully also the weather held fine for us and we look forward to many other great events during the year. Please remember also that we are looking for volunteer helpers for some classes and if you’re interested, please email tuisti@osrai.com. All of the pictures from the evening are available on our school Facebook page at www.facebook.com/gaelscoilosrai.  All past pupils and parents are welcome to become friends of the page.

Lá gan éide scoile/No uniform day

Beidh lá gan éide scoile againn ar an Aoine seo chugainn an 25ú Deireadh Fomhair ar mhaithe le Ionad Uí Néill sa chathair a dhéanann obair iontach ar mhaithe le páistí le riachtanais speisialta. Tá cead ag do pháiste a éadaí féin a chaitheamh ar an lá nó éadaí Oíche Shamhna. Beimíd ag súil le an-chuid cailligh, taibhsí agus creatlaigh a fheiscint ar an lá! Tóg isteach síntiús beag don ionad chomh maith le’d thoil.

We will have a no-uniform day next Friday the 25^th in aid of the O’ Neill Centre which is based in the Butts area of the city and does such fantastic work with children with special needs. Children can wear their own clothes on the day or indeed get into the Hallowe’en spirit by dressing in their ‘spooky clothes’. We hope to see plenty witches, warlocks, skeletons and ghosts on the day. We hope you can send in a small contribution to support the O’ Neill Centre too.

MS Readathon

Mar is eol duit glacaimid páirt gach bliain san MS Readathon chun airgead a bhailiú don gcarthanacht MS Ireland agus chun taighde agus tacaíocht do dhaoine le MS a chur chun cinn. Dár ndóigh is deis iontach do pháistí é seo chun níos mó léitheoireachta a dhéanamh. Spreag do pháiste chun a bheith páirteach agus ag léamh sa bhaile. ‘Sé an chabhair is mó a thugann tuismitheoir dár ndóigh ná cupla nóimead a chaitheamh ag léamh le do pháiste. Baineann tú féin taitnemah as chomh maith agus taispeánann an taighde go léann páistí a léann a thuismitheoirí leo i bhfad níos mó na páistí nach bhfaigheann an tacaíocht sin. Lean ar aghaidh leis an léitheoireacht i nGaoluinn agus i mBéarla.

As you know, we take part each year in the MS Readathon initiative to raise funds for MS Ireland to help in their research and support for those with Multiple Sclerosis. The month-long reading project is also a great chance to encourage our children to read as much as they can. The main way you can help is by supporting your child’s reading. All the research shows that children who are read to or whose parents read with them are far more likely to become avid readers and of course those who read a lot are the best learners across the board. It is also a great chance to have some ‘bonding time’ with your child and fitting it in to busy lives is well worth the effort. You can read more about it here. http://www.msreadathon.ie/readathon Keep up the reading effort and don’t forget you can get loads of books ‘as Gaeilge’ from the school, from our local libraries and from our local bookshops.

Seachtain Mata/Maths Week

‘Sí seo Seachtain Mata sa tír agus iarraimid ort do pháiste a spreagadh chun scileanna mata a chleachtadh. Tá an-chuid suíomhanna idirlíne mata chun cluichí agus scileanna a bheith á chleachtadh sa bhaile. Tá cuid de na ranganna ag glacadh páirt i gcomórtaisí náisiúnta ar-líne agus molaimid duit cabhrú leis an iarracht seo.

This week is National Maths Week in which we are promoting maths as a fun and important subject. Again you can read all about it here. Remember that a good attitude to Maths for our children is vital and that might involve us hiding our own traditional fears of the subject! There are lots of activities which you can find online and the Maths Week website is here http://www.mathsweek.ie/

Cruinnithe Tuismitheoirí-Múinteoirí/Parent Teacher Meetings

Beidh na cruinnithe tuismitheoirí-múinteoirí ar siúl ar an gCéadaoin agus an Déardaoin an 13ú agus 14ú Samhain, ach amháin do na naíonáin beaga. Beidh na leathaigh clár-ama ar fáil taréis an bhriseadh chun a líonadh isteach. Beidh ár n-aonach bliantúil leabhar le siopa leabhair Khan’s ar siúl ar na laethanta chéanna agus iarraimid ort do leabhair mar bhrontannais Nollaig 7rl a cheannach anseo chun cabhrú le leabharlann na scoile.

Our annual parent-teacher meetings will take place on Weds 13^th and Thurs 14^th November between 3.00 and 5.30 pm. The time sheets for these meetings will be available after the Hallowe’en break or you can phone the school office with your preferred time. Our annual school book fair with Khan’s Book Shop will take place on the same days and it’s a great place to do your Christmas book shopping while supporting our school library stock at the same time. The Junior Infant meetings will take place after Christmas.

Peil na gCailíní/Girls Football

Comhgáirdeachas d’ár bhfoireann peile na gcailíni atá cáilithe arís do leath-chraobh an chontae i gcoinne Scoil Naomh Chainnigh an tseachtain seo chugainn. Beidh dáta agus am an chluiche ar an bhféilire ar an suíomh idirlíon. Comhgáirdeachas d’ár mbuachaillí as ucht sár-imirt i mbliana. Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach!

Well done to our girls who have qualified yet again for the county football quarter-final against our city rivals St. Canice’s NS next week. We will post the arrangements for the game on the calendar of our school website when they are confirmed and we would love a good turnout of supporters. Well done also to our boys on the school’s A and B panels who have a number of games remaining in their competitions. They have played their hearts out this year and we thank them for all their efforts.