Compass Activity Camp
Coillte has asked the school if we would let you know about Compass Club – after school courses and camps in the woods. They are offering a free sampler on OCT 20th in Glending at 3:30pm. Please do not contact the school regarding this, full details are on the poster below (click image for more information). Bookings should be made directly with Coillte.
Please text ADELE RYAN on 087 377 9263 with your child’s name and age.
Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show
All last week on The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show on Today FM, they were giving listeners the chance to win €10,000 for their school. Last week was ‘Porridge Week’ so it was sponsored by the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show, Keeling’s and Flahavans. To win you had write a story or poem in 250 words or less on what made your school special and also what you would spend the €10,000 on if you were to win. Each day 5 entries would be chosen so by Friday there would be 25 winners from during the week, these 25 schools would then go into an open draw and whatever school was picked out won the €10,000. They received over 5,000 entries from primary and secondary schools all over Ireland.
Rathmore NS took part and lots of poems and stories were sent in from different classes. On Thursday afternoon the school received a call from Today FM to say that one of the children in Rathmore NS had written an excellent poem and had made in through as one of the 5 winners for Friday.
The winning entry was from Josh Noone in 6th Class who wrote a wonderful poem about the school. So on Friday morning, both children and teachers gathered in Mr Walsh’s room to hear the draw, Josh’s name and Rathmore NS was called out as one of the 25 hopefuls to win the €10,000. Then at 8:40am they made the draw live on air but unfortunately we were unsuccessful. However, it was a great achievement by Josh to make it through to the last 25 out of over 5,000 entries.
Free Microsoft Office for all Pupils
Rathmore National School provides access to download and use the latest version of Microsoft Office for FREE for all pupils in our school.
You are entitled to use MS Office on up to 5 x PCs or MACs plus 5 x Tablets or Phones. To download your free copy of Microsoft Office 2016 you will need to access the Microsoft Office PORTAL using any web browser, and sign in using your child’s username and password.
The information you will need for your copy of Microsoft Office is:
Portal web address: https://portal.office.com
Username format: [FirstnameLastname].pupil@rathmorens.ie
Password: [********]
(All parents of 1st to 6th class will have been sent their child’s username and password in 2014, parents of Senior Infants in 2015 and parents of Junior Infants will receive their details today).
If you experience any difficulties or have lost or forgotten your child’s login details, please CLICK HERE to send us a message and we will do our best to resolve within a few days.
Letter to parents
I would like to bring the following points to your immediate attention as there have been a number of incidents pertaining to these below.
1. School starts at 9.00am so please ensure your children are lined up in the yard or in their classroom for that time. Latecomers interrupt the class teacher and the class as a whole.
2. Children (and parents dropping them off) should enter through the school garden in the morning and not via the front door.
3. Pupils are to be collected promptly each evening at home time
Junior & Senior Infants 1.45pm
1st to 6th Class 2.45pm
Unfortunately there have been a number of cases where this has not happened, children become upset and staff have to care for children in these cases.
4. If there is a change in pick up routine please notify us in your child’s homework diary. Ringing school and asking staff to pass messages on is not the agreed protocol, and is proving too hard to reliably manage. Naturally the school can be called in an emergency or when the unexpected happens.
5. Your child’s safety is our concern while they are in school. Help us to make school an enjoyable experience for them by keeping us up to date with changes in routine on a daily basis via the homework diary.
6. Phone calls from school – Children who forget training gear/swimming gear/information re play dates etc. will no longer be permitted to ring home during school so please ensure they understand this.
7. Pupils must have a note in their homework diary to explain absences (e.g. sickness/holidays etc) as we have to log this information on Department Returns for TUSLA. (Education Welfare Service)
8. Children who do not normally travel by bus may not do so, to travel to their friends’ houses for play dates etc. This is for insurance, health and safety, and capacity reasons amongst others. It can also lead to confusion over the whereabouts of a child. Please do not make private arrangements with bus drivers in this regard. Bus tickets are valid only for your child’s home/school/home route and no other bus routes.
9. If you need to speak to the Principal/class teacher about your child or on any matter, please make an appointment to ensure a time suitable for both parties. For urgent matters same day appointments can normally be arranged. Otherwise we would ask for 2-3 days’ notice where possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read through these points. These simple rules will help with the smooth running of the school and the safety of your child and all children while in our care.
Yours sincerely
Robbie Jameson
Principal
