Athy Model School

October 2017 Newsletter                                                                                                    Athy Model School

We have all settled back into school and are looking forward to a busy and productive year ahead. Thank you to the Parents Association Committee for organising a get together for new parents in the Bay Tree on the first morning of school; there was a great turn out and it was a lovely opportunity for people to get to know each other.

A big welcome to our new Junior Infants who have adjusted to Big School so quickly and are working very hard!- Abel Adewuyi, Tadgh Chinamasa, Sam Kavanagh, Cameron Kelly, Rian Lazenby, Charlie Manase, Tom McCann, Arnas Nordens, Lee Stacey, Ruby Cullen Kavanagh, Rebecca Iancovici, .  We also welcome Alana Darcy and Wisdom Joao into Senior Infants, Kene Anaedozie and Harry Greene into 1^st;  Alisa Merenkova into third; Daniel Greene and Heaven Anaedozie into 4^th, Kamila Merenkova into 5^th and Kingdom Anaedozie and Lara Greene into 6^th.

We also welcome Vicky Cobbe who is teaching 1st and 2nd Class to the Model School.

Swimming has resumed for 1^st , 2^nd, 5^th, 6^th  classes until Halloween and there will be swimming for for infants, 3rd and 4th classes for six weeks after Halloween.

The Model School has started the journey to achieve our third Green Schools flag  which has a water theme. This theme develops awareness around water conservation and how to effectively manage this important resource in schools.

5th and 6th class attended the Athy College Open Day on Friday 22^nd  September. Many thanks to Richard Daly and his staff for his hospitality.

Student Placement We would like to welcome Sophie Edghill  to the school. Sophie is a 3^rd  year student in DCU and is doing teaching placement with Mrs. Deane in 3^rd and 4^th Class until Friday 14^th October.

A reminder to all parents that a photographer will be taking photos for the school calendar on Tuesday 3^rd October. Infant pupils will be staying until 2.20 pm on this day. Children are to attend school in full uniform and will change into their costume during the day. Anyone wishing to sponsor a month of the school calendar may contact a member of the Parents’ Association.

Our school will be taking part in the MS Readathon this year which is running from 13^th October to 13^th November . This will involve the children reading lots and lots of books in aid of a very worthwhile cause so we hope that it will be well supported.

Thank you to the parent and parish volunteers who are coming in to listen to the children reading in small groups or who have volunteered for the Word Wasp programme. Your support is much appreciated and it is a great help to both teachers and children. Anyone interested in helping out can still get in touch.

Christchurch Diocesan Service will be taking place on Thursday 19th October and pupils from 6th class will be in attendance. This will be followed by a visit to the Dublinia exhibition to learn more about Vikings

The school will be closed on Monday 13^th November to facilitate a training day for teachers on the implementation of the new Language Curriculum.

A reminder that school will be closed for midterm break from Mon 30th to Fri 3^rd November.

The Parents Association A.G. M. will be held on Tuesday 10^th  October in Athy Model School. All parents are strongly encouraged to attend.

We will be having a Dress Up Day on Friday 27th October in support of Temple Street Hospital so now is the time to start planning your outfits!

As part of our IT programme  we have recently invested in some new ipads for the school and we have subscribed to a maths program called Mathletics which will be available to every child in the school. We will be in touch soon with passcodes for each child so that they can access it from home as well. It can be accessed on any mobile device or laptop. A big thank you to Karyn Cole for her help with organising this.