'Twas the Night Before Christmas

 This video is for all of the people the children are excited to spend time with this Christmas, especially those they haven't been able to see much of this year. Well done to the children on their fantastic performances!

Click on this link https://youtu.be/PoV07RMfwGg to view a recording of the Christmas Carol Service recorded by Dean Bogle in which 4th class read prayers & 5th & 6th read the lessons.

Dublin Zoo

 Many thanks to everyone who donated so generously to our Dublin Zoo fundraiser! 

Thanks to you all, we were able to adopt TWO animals: a wolf and a penguin! 

Well done everyone! 

Check out the animal encyclopedia and webcams on dublinzoo.ie to see our new school animals:

Animal Encyclopedia 

Animal Webcams

Save Dublin Zoo!

 

As you may be aware, Dublin Zoo needs help raising vital funds to care for the many animals they look after.

St. Patrick's N.S. is going to adopt an animal from the zoo!

We are asking everyone to bring in anything from 50cent to €2 by Tuesday November 24th, and the school will donate the remaining money needed to adopt one of the animals on their website:  https://www.dublinzoo.ie/save-dublin-zoo/adopt-an-animal/

The children can also have their say in what animal we adopt by voting in our poll. Just follow the link below and choose your favourite animal: 

Choose our Animal Form

A letter from the school re. attendance & informing the school of absences

 Please click on the link to read the latest message from the school:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iYzu0QAjct86xomv7I6b00WWY0sdfyib/view?usp=sharing

Pupil Personal Accident Insurance & Voluntary Contribution Letter

Please click on the link to read a letter from the school today:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wLUbxtYiCl_iPlc0cZLVFHoY6D_SlSf5/view?usp=sharing

A letter from the Chief Medical Officer to all Parents & teachers

 Please click on the link to read a letter from the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ronan Glynn:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-KFhAdGb9onwsDIBncpIk5J3-QwWzpSg/view?usp=sharing

Advice for Parents from the HSE before the return to school

 

Please click on the following links to read the updated advice received from the Department today:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N2LnZnw1Nlmi2JyYIi1j5O6PfMnq0Grh/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18QVSX0-0cKgEdNMX7nydPr745wbkpeht/view?usp=sharing

Updated advice from the HSE on when you should & should not send your child to school

 Please click on the link to read the latest HSE advice:

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/if-your-child-has-symptoms.html

School Video

We have been busy making some changes to keep everyone safe in school, and are looking forward to welcoming you all back! 😀

Please see previous blog posts for more detailed information. 

Back to School Procedures

We are asking all parents & staff to please read these procedures carefully. Please talk to your child/ren about the following too.

Please also familiarise yourself with the Response Plan that’s on our website.

We need your on-going support to do everything that is reasonably practicable to minimise the risk of the virus being brought into our school. We all have a part to play in this together.

All of the staff here in St. Patrick's N.S are really looking forward to welcoming back the children on August 31st & meeting our in-coming junior infants. 

Kind regards

Trevor Larke

Arrival/Break times/Dismissal (These procedures may be revised as necessary)

Children must not be dropped off to the school yard any earlier than 9.10 a.m. As in previous years, the school yard will be supervised between 9.10 a.m. & 9.20 a.m. We are asking everybody to please respect this request.

Children will go to their own sections of the yard in the morning time (they will be shown this on the first day of school) 

On the first morning of our return to school, August 31st, we are asking all children to go straight to their own teacher who will be in a marked area of the yard.

Junior Infant Parents only: on the first morning of school, please have your child at the school gate @ 9.00 a.m. where your child’s teacher, Ms. Keane, will greet him/her & bring them to their classroom.

If it’s raining lightly, children will remain in the yard in the morning, so please ensure that your child comes to school with their school coat. If it’s raining heavily, children will no longer be able to huddle under our shelter & will go straight to their classrooms.

The yard & pitches will be divided between our three groups. The Vestry has kindly agreed to let us have use of the Diocesan car park on wet days (excluding Fridays when the market is in the Diocesan hall)

Children are not to bring their own footballs/sports equipment or toys to school please. Each group will have their own separate sport's equipment bag which will stay in their own classrooms.

At 2 p.m. (after the initial settling in period of two weeks when junior infants will go home @ 12.30p.m.) junior & senior infants will be walked to the school gate by their teacher, Ms. Keane.

At 3 p.m., children will line up in four groups. Groups 1 & 2 will be the children travelling by bus, group 3 will be the children who walk/cycle to school (& similar to the official guidelines, we encourage as many children to walk/cycle to school as possible) & group 4 will be children who are collected by their parents. Please do not congregate at the gate & please encourage your child (most likely the older children) to walk directly to their car/parent. Please stand beside your car, so staff & your child can see you.

As I’m sure you know, children can no longer be left to play in the Diocesan car park & to play on our lovely climbable trees after school!

The carpark can be extremely busy with the market on Fridays, so please park elsewhere if possible.

 

Handwashing/Sanitising

We have installed 4 external & 6 internal hand sanitisers. Hot water is available in our classrooms

Children will wash/sanitise hands:

• Before entering their classroom on arrival at school
• After using the bathroom
• Before & after eating
• Before coming in from the yard after being outside
• When they cough or sneeze
• Before & after using toys/equipment etc

Homework/Uniforms/Personal belongings

We will not be setting written homework for the first month of school (this will be reviewed)

To give you time to wash your child’s uniform as required, we are asking all children to wear the full school uniform on Monday, Wednesdays & Fridays.

The full school tracksuit is to be worn on Tuesdays & Thursdays.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO LABEL ALL YOUR CHILD’S PERSONAL BELONGINGS. SCHOOL UNIFORM & TRACKSUIT MUST BE LABELED.

We are asking all children to have two pencil cases/two sets of stationery – one for home & the other for school. Stationery will be provided for school use for all children on the first day.

Junior room – please have your child practise opening/closing/taking on & off their shoes as the junior room do not wear shoes in class. Please also have your child practise opening/closing lunchboxes etc.

Please ensure that your child has easy to open & close items in their lunch box.

 

Suspected Case

Please see previous message re. sending children to school when sick.

We have (in accordance with guidelines) set up an isolation room in the school – our disabled access toilet in the new extension.

You will be contacted if your child is showing any symptoms of the virus. 

The H.S.E will determine the course of action thereafter.

Please let us know if your contact details have changed over the summer.

 

Queries

If you wish to speak with your child’s teacher, it will be prior appointment only.

Parents are not to walk beyond the school gate.

Please contact the school on 046 9431892 with queries.

Teacher’s Emails:

tlarke@stpatricksnstrim.com

akeane@stpatricksnstrim.com

katiemag95@gmail.com

 

 

 

Return to school Information (2)

Dear Parents

Just to provide you with a quick update on last week's message. Our school's Covid -19 policy statement is now available on our website, as is a link to the school's Response Plan (as provided by the Department). 

It's our intention over the coming weeks to provide information that you may find useful before the safe return of all of our children to school on Monday, August 31st.

We would remind parents that where children are displaying colds, coughs or flu like symptoms, they should not be sent to school. Similarly, children with tummy upsets & children who are displaying symptoms of a raised temperature should not be sent to school. Children who display such symptoms in school will be isolated and parents asked to collect them from school.

While Department guidelines don't make the taking of temperature mandatory in schools, in order to provide an even greater level of protection, we will be taking childrens' temperatures in the morning. Each classroom teacher will have a touchfree thermometer in their classroom.

Children who have travelled from countries not on the Green List should not attend school during the 14-day self-isolation period.

Further information on COVID-19 symptoms in children is available at: -

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/if-your-child-has-symptoms.html

Teachers will make children aware of the proper hygiene procedures regarding hand washing and etiquette related to sneezing, coughing or spitting.  We would be grateful if you could also emphasise safe behaviour in this regard to your children at home as part of the preparation for returning to school.

Further updates to follow in the coming weeks.

Kind regards

Trevor Larke

Return to School Information

Dear Parents

I hope you are well.

I'm sure you've all heard & read about the back to school guidelines issued by the Department yesterday. A link to these guidelines & a message for parents from the Minister for Education was uploaded to our website yesterday.

I want to reassure you that our school will most definitely be ready to re-open on Monday, August 31st (our school calendar is on our blog & also available on the 'Event' section of the textaparent app)

The classrooms have been reconfigured in line with the guidelines issued yesterday & I've attached some photos that will illustrate how we will lay out our classrooms.

Further information regarding drop off & break times etc will be uploaded to our website in the coming weeks, as will procedures around minimising the risk of infection for our school community.

I know parents, in particular parents that have children in different classes throughout the school, will be anxious to know that due to our small number of pupils & parents, we will not need to apply a staggered drop off or collection policy. Our existing school yard (& we will possibly have access to the Diocesan yard) will be divided between each class grouping so as to keep each group in their own class bubble on days when our playing pitches are inaccessible.

We are fortunate that we acquired our extra playing pitch a couple of years ago, so similarly, we will be able to divide the playing pitches/yard surfaces evenly between the three groups.

 Junior Room (Ms. Keane's Room)

There is no requirement for children in junior infants to 2nd class to socially distance. There will be 10 junior infants (red tables), 4 senior infants (green tables) & 7 first class children (grey tables) in this room. (This layout may be altered by the return to school)

Automatic hand sanitisers & the 'handle hygiene' product (see earlier post) have been installed in each classroom.



Middle Room (Ms. Maguire's Room)

This class of 23 children (2nd, 3rd & 4th class) will be taught again this year by Ms. Maguire. Our seven 2nd class children will sit at the grey tables (no requirement for social distancing). The seven 3rd class children will sit (one per table & at a minimum of 1 metre apart) at the red & blue tables & 4th class will each have their own individual seat at the computer bench. (again at least 1 metre apart). For oral work, work from the Interactive whiteboard etc, the children will be facing the board & for written work/computer work etc, they will have their own individual station to complete this. We have had to utilise the computer benches in both the middle & senior rooms to adhere to social distancing requirements.

Senior Room 

This classroom of 16 (possibly 17) 5th & 6th class children will be taught by myself. It's not possible to accommodate a class of 25, possibly 26 4th, 5th & 6th class children in our classrooms & still maintain social distancing guidelines.
The ten 5th class children will each have their own table & similar to the middle room, 6th class, will have their own workstation at the computer bench.



Each class will have their own individual entry & exit to their classrooms so as to reduce crowding etc so the coat hangers for the senior room will now be placed in the link corridor between the senior room & the classroom extension.

Information regarding bus transport & further relevant information is all contained in the guidelines issued yesterday.

Further information will follow in the coming weeks.


Kind regards

Trevor Larke

New guidelines for the re-opening of schools released today & a letter for parents from the Minister for Education

Please see www.gov.ie/backtoschool for guidelines issued by the Department today.

Click on the following link to access a letter from the Minister for all parents:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dh-UA1FgY70BeWzbJdFGkkz_qzFv3G22/view?usp=sharing

Interim Health guidance from HPSC for all schools

Click on the link to read the Health guidance issued to all schools today:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1voY6cRZCM4uvYeQXaUZ26JNnZG9tONqx/view?usp=sharing

The Getty Challenge

David's Lego Recreation :) 

Bebo's lego recreation

Van Gogh self portrait

I chose this picture because when I went to

Amsterdam, I went to the Van Gogh Museum and

saw this picture and I liked his artwork especially

his self portraits.

                          The Jones' lego recreation of The Last Supper

Beth's pencil recreation

A boy and his dog...

Liam's Picasso 

Another brilliant recreation!

                                       
                                                   
                                          Nighthawks in Lego by David C      

Well done Beth!

                                                         
                                                         

                                    

Ella to appear on Hector's tv series this Thursday!

Thank you to Noel & Aisling Dempsey for sponsoring 'Handle Hygiene'

The link to their website is here http://www.handlehygiene.com/

A message from the school

As we approach what would have been our final week in school this term, on behalf of all the staff in our school, I want to say a huge thank you & well done to the children who have continued to work so hard during the school closures. We have loved getting your work sent to us every week & your parents are to be commended for doing their best in what has been an unprecedented time.

This week is our final week of suggested work & our last creative challenge also. We decided soon after the enforced closures that a weekly creative challenge would be a lovely way of keeping the children in touch with each other & you most certainly have not disappointed! I know all the staff loved seeing the fabulous submissions of art work, short stories & videos & I hope the children enjoyed seeing them too.

I want to say a huge thank you & well done to our fabulous staff who have proven yet again what committed & dedicated professionals they are by responding so well to the challenges they faced.

A special word to the 6^th class leavers; we wish you all the very best of luck as you embark upon a new & exciting chapter in your lives.

Please keep an eye on our website in the coming days & weeks for any updates regarding guidelines on the safe return to school this autumn.

Wishing you a lovely summer.

Trevor Larke

'Planning for reopening schools in line with the Roadmap for reopening society and business'

Below is the link to the document 'Planning for reopening schools in line with the Roadmap for reopening society and business. Report to Government 12th June 2020' that was released to all schools last Friday.

https://www.education.ie/en/covid-19/planning-for-reopening-schools.pdf

The Getty Challenge - our final creative challenge (you have 2 weeks to get your submissions to us)

The Getty Museum (https://www.getty.edu/museum/) has issued a challenge to recreate your favourite artwork using items you have at home! 

Have a look online at some artwork, pick one you like and see if you can make your own version! Be creative!

There are tips and inspiration here: https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/getty-artworks-recreated-with-household-items-by-creative-geniuses-the-world-over/

There are loads of examples online, here are some more ideas: 

R.E lessons for the last two weeks

Junior Infants - 2nd class: Hoorah for Summer!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JypXakogcoZbjbqdas1wTItGd5g0vPo5/view?usp=sharing


3rd - 6th: A look back

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xfAUGxJ5S5QpDIXZEvMvpeXyAJA1pWkV/view?usp=sharing

STEM Challenges

Floating ping pong ball experiment 

Scared Pepper Challenge 

Our Dark Box Creation

How to make a dark box:

You will need:

• Shoe box
• Sheet of paper
• Aluminium foil
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Cutter
• Scissors
• Black paint
• Paint brush
• PVA glue
• Needle

Step 1: Paint the inside of the box with the black paint.

Step 2: Once the paint is dry, with the ruler, measure the length from side to side, then make a 2cmx2cm square in the middle of the box and use the cutter to cut it off.  

Step 3: Use the aluminium foil and cut off 2 2cmx2cm squares, with the tape, tape the squares on both of the square sides you cut off earlier.

Step 4: With the needle, make a small hole in the middle of both sides of the box.

Step 5: In the middle of the box, make the paper the height of the box, after that, make a line to where the paper goes from side to side inside the box, once that is done you have to stick the both sides with PVA glue.

What is a Dark box for?

For centuries the technique was used for viewing eclipses of the Sun without endangering the eyes and, by the 16^th century, as an aid to drawing; the subject was posed outside and the image reflected on a piece of drawing paper for the artist to trace.  

                                        Emily O Donnell's floating paper clip experiment

Floating Lego Experiment!

Inertial eggs - discovering eggs & inertia 

Jacob & Matthew's cardboard boat - supported a weight of 500g before sinking!

    

 

 
Oscar's Fire Extinguisher experiment!

     

DAVID CLARKE'S SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Procedure:

• Pour food colouring into a glass.

• Add water.
• Pick a white rose  

• Put the rose in the coloured water 

• Sit back and watch

After 2 hours

Next day

Results:

The rose turned blue

Conclusion:

The rose drinks the water and changes colour.

For my mini (quarantine) science experiment I attempted the “egg and bottle challenge”, this was an epic fail or I like to call it the “eggpic fail”.

The aim of this challenge was to get a full egg into a glass bottle without it breaking. 1. Get a pint glass of vinegar and leave a whole egg fully submerged in the vinegar for 2 days. 2. *2 days have passed* heat glass bottle. 3. Put egg sitting on the mouth of the bottle 4. Leave it for 2 hours and the egg should have slipped into the bottle (or at least have started to move into the neck of the bottle)

Now, for the science experiment that actually worked.
I attempted an experiment to show liquid densities. 1. First things first, get a skinny glass/test tube. 2. You will need; food colouring, honey, water, cooking oil, washing up liquid (a different colour to the food colouring). 3. Before adding the water you must first add your food colouring to the water (this is so you can see the water when it separates from the other liquids). Pour the same measure of each liquid into your glass/test tube- the order doesn’t matter. 4. Leave the liquids and wait for them to separate- this should only take a few minutes 5. You should now see all liquids separately in the glass

The liquids starting to separate

In these 2 photos you can see that all of the liquids have separated.

The liquids separate because they have different densities. Water sinks because it is more dense than oil. Solids are made from atoms and molecules, liquids are also made from atoms and molecules, which have a certain size and mass. The liquids that are more dense are heavier and will sink to the bottom and the liquids that are less dense will stay on top. Density is the reason the liquids separate.

Beth's 'Pulse Rate' science investigation

My Volcanic Eruption Experiment

        

My Volcanic Eruption Experiment

Equipment:

·       Plastic volcano or cup

·       Funnel

·       Bicarbonate of soda

·       Red food colouring

·       Malt vinegar

·       Measuring cup

·       Kitchen roll

Safety:

ü  Wear goggles

ü  Wear lab coat

ü  Wear gloves

ü  Have a adult watching

Method:

Ø 1. Add funnel

Ø 2. Carefully open foil bag of bicarbonate of soda slowly pour 10g into the funnel.

Ø 3. Now add a few drops of red food colouring.

Ø  4. Measure out 15ml of malt vinegar and pour into the cup remove funnel and watch the volcano eruption.