Tuesday 10 November 2015

Parents Association AGM this Thursday.

Hi,
Just a reminder that we will be holding the AGM of the Parents Association this Thursday 12th November at 8pm in the school.

This is our second attempt to hold the AGM as the attempt in October was very poorly attended. We really need your support at this meeting. The Parents Association is there to support parents but without the participation of parents the association itself can't function.

Agenda:
1. Welcome & Apologies,
2. Minutes from last meeting.
3. Chair's report
4. Secretary's report.
5. Treasurer's report.
6. Update by Principal Claire Moloney.
7. Election of Officers.
8. Plans for Christmas (Santa & Market Stall)
9. AOB

Some other issues:
The school will be holding a Christmas Market in early December. As part of our fundraising for the year, and to support the school, it was agreed at the last meeting that we would take a stall. Please start to think about anything you could donate to help the stall. As usual baked goods will be gratefully accepted but if anyone is good at crafts and can make something to be sold at the stall that would also be appreciated.

Finally as you may be aware the school is in the process of selecting a new Board of Management. An election will be held for two parents reps on the BOM, one male and one female. As discussed at the last meeting it is important that the Parents Association is represented on the board and that the parents reps on the BOM should in turn attend the Parents Association. This gives a formal process for the concerns of parents to be raised with the board (through the parents association and on to the BOM) and it also more closely links the school with the parents association so we can work together on things like fundraising etc.

Accordingly I have put myself forward for male parent position on the board of management. Eilish Fenton is also running for the female parent on the BOM. If elected to the board I will continue to attend Parents Association meetings and work to build the link between the BOM and the parents. I haven't seen the list of candidates but if anyone else from the Parents Association is running I will post their details here. Voting forms will be sent home from the school in the next few days. Hopefully at least one active member of the Parents Association will be elected to represent the parents of the school on the BOM.

Thanks & Regards,
Colm Flynn

Tuesday 3 November 2015

A note from Scoil Mhuire Parents Association


A note from Scoil Mhuire Parents Association

All parents have an important role to play in ensuring their child’s years in school are a positive time in their lives. We want to help. The parents association is your association.
During the year 2014/2015 with the school staff, we the parents ran, organised and fundraised for the following:

         Tea/coffee welcome for parents of all new entrants.
           Provided all the food and refreshments after the annual Fun Run.
         Organised and funded the annual Sports Day for the kids.
         Purchased a wind sculpture to remember the 6th class students.
         Helped the school run events such as grandparents’ day and the official opening of the school garden.
         Held a craft & bake sale at the Christmas Concerts.
         Brought an expert guest speaker to speak about bullying.

Without the funds to buy things, parents to help and a parents association to organise these events, they will not happen. We think these activities are important and we hope you agree.  So we need some feedback from you.
Our next meeting is on Thursday November 12th at 8pm in the school please come along and share your voice.


Scoil Mhuire Parents Association Parents Survey 2015

We have sent a survey to all parents. If you didn't get it or if you would prefer to answer on e-mail please complete the below and e-mail it to scoilmhuireparentassoc@gmail.com
 
Do you want the parents association events to continue?                       Yes      No

Do you want to be informed of these events?                                         Yes     No

If yes please add your details so we can keep in touch.

Name of Parent:____________________________

Name of child/children and class/classes:____________________________

Mobile Telephone number:____________________________

Email address (if you have one):____________________________

Please let us know your opinion about the type of events we run. We are delighted to have people help us in any way they can.

Sporting events e.g School sports day:

Do you think this is important?                     Yes            No

Would you be willing to contribute some time to running such events?    Yes      No

Social Events e.g welcome for new parents in the school

Do you think this is important?                 Yes            No

Would you be willing to contribute some time to running such events?    Yes      No

Fundraising for parent association activities.

Do you think this is important?                  Yes            No

Would you be willing to contribute some time to running such events?    Yes      No

Fundraising for school equipment:

Do you think this is important?                   Yes            No

Would you be willing to contribute some time to running such events?    Yes      No

If there are any issues that cause you concern or you have a particular topic you would like a guest speaker to speak on, make a note here:

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Reminder about AGM and Whats app.

Hi All,
Just a quick reminder about the AGM on Thursday the 15th. Also we are still looking for volunteers to serve on the committee. If you are interested please let me know. Without people willing to take up committee positions the Parents Association will not be able to function for the coming year.

Also if you are interested in joining the whatsapp group and have not yet done so please e-mail scoilmhuireparentassoc@gmail.com with your telephone number.


Thanks & Regards,
Colm

Wednesday 10 June 2015

Garden Opening

The school will be holding the official garden opening on Friday the 19th of June. There is a lot of activity happening there at the minute and it is really coming together. The plants will be going in this week. They may need a hand early next week just to help tidy the place up a bit. The school will be sending a general invite to all the parents, P.A, B.O.M and anyone who has worked and volunteered in the garden. Representatives from Mercks will be there also. Eileen Condon will be doing catering and may need a hand with this on the day so if anyone is available to help that would be very much appreciated.

Parents Association updates

Hi All,
We will have our June parents association meeting this Thursday.  Included in the meeting will be Una O'Dwyer from National Parents Council giving a very beneficial Anti-Bullying talk this Thursday.  The meeting will happen earlier than usual at 7pm. All Parents of Primary School children are welcome regardless of the school they attend. Hope to see you there! Thanks to Jessica Connolly for organizing this training.
Along with the training there are also a few other things coming up and we could really do with help with these.
Thursday June 11th 7pm: June PA meeting & Anti-Bullying training as already mentioned.
Thursday June 18th: The new Junior Infants will be coming in on this day from for an hour in the morning. The rest of the school is going on their school trip (1st-6th). We are hoping to have tea/coffee for the parents. If anyone is available to give a hand with this that would be great.
Friday June 19th: The school will be having the official garden opening on the 19th.There is a lot of activity happening there at the minute and it is really coming together. The plants will be going in this week. They may need a hand early next week just to help tidy the place up a bit. The school will be sending a general invite to all the parents, P.A, B.O.M and anyone who has worked and volunteered in the garden. Representatives from Mercks will be there also. Eileen Condon will be doing catering and may need a hand with this on the day so if anyone is available to help that would be very much appreciated.
Monday June 22nd: The school are holding their Annual Sports Day on Monday 22nd June @12pm in the GAA field. We would greatly appreciate if any parents are free to help out on the day.
Finally the Parents Association have traditionally purchased a gift to mark the graduation of the 6th class from Scoil Mhuire.  In the past this was a tree and plaque.  This year the suggestion is a wind spinner (photo attached). It will cost €75.  We would like to move on this quickly so it is available in time for the graduation so if anyone has any objections please let me know ASAP.
Thanks & Regards,
Colm

NPC Conference - Final Countdown‏

Dear NPC Contact,

The NPC Education Conference is taking place this Saturday the 13th of June in the National College of Ireland, Mayor Street, Dublin 1 (in the IFSC, on the LUAS redline easily accessible from Heuston and Connolly train stations). The conference start time is 10.30am.

This is the final countdown, with only 4 days left to register (registration closes on Friday 12th at 5pm) if you haven’t booked your place already please click here to find out more and to register for same. We will have experts in the area of Education and Parental Involvement from Ireland and Canada. There will also be information stands with lots of information on products and services of interest to parents.

Don’t forget to pass this information on to other parents you might know, all are welcome, ADMISSION IS FREE and lunch will be provided (do let us know if you have any specific dietary requirements and we will try to accommodate same).

If you have registered, we look forward to seeing you, you should have received an email confirming your place. Also if you have registered and it turns out you cannot attend, please do let us know as soon as you can, to give others the chance to register as spaces are limited.

Many thanks
Michelle Davern

Tuesday 19 May 2015

NPC Education Conference 2015

13 June 2015 - National College of Ireland, Dublin 1 - 10.30am to 4pm

Building Brighter Futures - Partnership for Success

Speakers included experts in the area of education and parental involvement from Canada and Ireland

The conference is aimed at supporting parents in becoming involved in their children’s education
Guest speakers include:
  • Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O'Sullivan T.D.
  • Annie Kidder, Executive Director of People for Education, Toronto, Ontario, Canada - Helping your child succeed at school– what matters most
  • Paul Gilligan, Clinical Psychologist and CEO of St Patrick’s Mental Health Services - Parenting and Education; Getting the balance right
  • Pam Buchanan, Learning Facilitator - Fun Learning Activities to Try at Home

Places are limited, to secure your attendance you must register in advance click here to register or email your contact details to info@npc.ie or contact 01 8874034
Open to all parents and others interested in primary school education.

Wednesday 6 May 2015

May Parents Association meeting

Hi All,
We will have a Parents Association Meeting this Thursday in the School at 8pm.

Some of the topics to discuss:
  • The Upcoming Sports day (June 22nd)
  • The 6th Class Graduation
  • Possibility of Anti-bullying training by the NPC
  • The PA Facebook page.
Hope to see you there.
Thanks & Regards,
Colm

Thursday 30 April 2015

Cyber-bullying & Parents

E.U. ParentNets Project: Cyber-bullying & Parents

As part of a concerted effort to aid parents in the prevention and combating of cyber-bullying amongst children the E.U. has established the 'ParentNets' project, which aims to provide a practical tool for parents to use to better inform themselves and, crucially, help deal this problem.

The Anti-Bullying Centre in Dublin City University, as the Irish partners of the ParentNets project, is running a survey for parents of Irish children. This survey is a crucial part of the project as it will help inform them of the needs of parents, and guide the design of the output of the project towards being of most use to parents.
As a central part of that project they would be exceptionally grateful therefore, if you have a child aged between 9 - 16, if you could take the time to complete this short survey on internet usage by yourself and your children.

Here is the weblink to the survey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y7J88RZ

Wednesday 29 April 2015

INTERNET SAFETY TALKS – Talking to your child about the Internet

The Tipperary Branch of the National Parents Council – Primary has arranged two talks on Internet Safety in the forthcoming weeks. This is a subject which we know is of great interest and concern to parents and we hope these talks will be of help and assistance to you.

INTERNET SAFETY TALKS – Talking to your child about the Internet

These sessions focus on what children are doing on line, why the internet is so popular, what are the risks and what you as a parent can do to protect your child while they are online. It looks at the most popular sites children are using and strategies for improving communication between parents and children and negotiating boundaries for their internet use. Parents will be introduced to strategies to help their children be responsible, effective and safer Internet users.

Details of the Internet Safety talks in Co. Tipperary in April/May are as follows:

Venue:        Cahir House Hotel, Cahir
Date:           29 April 2015
Time:          8pm

Venue:        Racket Hall Hotel, Roscrea
Date:           06 May 2015
Time:          8pm

Admission is FREE and all parents of Primary school children are welcome.
For further information phone 085 1058568

Tuesday 28 April 2015

New NPC training for Parents in conjunction with St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services – please see an application for same attached.

‘Supporting parents to support their children’s mental health and well being’
Positive mental health and wellbeing enables young people to lead fulfilling lives. It is recognised that the family is the primary source of nurturing and support for children and the promotion of their positive mental health.

This programme supports parents to encourage and promote positive mental health and wellbeing in their children. The programme also explores how the building of resilience in children helps them to manage and cope with the day to day stresses of life as they occur

Parents who attend this session will:
1.      Explore the factors that influence mental health and well being in their child.
2.      Learn how to build and nurture resilience within their own child.
3.      Be given tips on how best to support their child’s positive mental health and wellbeing.



NPC Education Conference.

Dear NPC Members
Just a reminder to Save the date, Saturday the 13th of June 2015 for the NPC Education Conference.
Keynote Speaker – Annie Kidder, Executive Director of People for Education, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Further information will follow very shortly.

Open to all parents and others interested in primary school education.

www.npc.ie