Hi ,

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

May the peace, joy and hope of the first Christmas be

with all our children, families and friends this Christmas.

Happy Christmas from all in Scoil Ide.

Beannachtai na Nollag.

Feliz Navidad!

WELL DONE

ACE awards are given to pupils who excel in school life through Attainment,

Community Spirit or Effort.

Well done to our November ACEs.

VI:Nolan: Conor Clery & Evan Mulligan

VI:Heaney: Calum Fitzgerald & Rebecca Bennis

VI: Boland: Eimear Begley & Juan de Dios Serrano

Follow us on Twitter

@ScoilIde

Visit www.scoilide.ie

And sign up for our

eNewsletter

Scoil Ide closes for the Christmas holidays on Thursday, 22nd December at 12.15 p.m.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING IN SCOIL ÍDE

• All our 5ths have begun using the BBC micro:bits as part of their Computer studies. The micro:bit gives great creative opportunities once the basics are mastered.

• Our Orchestra performed for the junior classes on Tuesday 20th December. It’s gratifying to see so many who began learning violin with Marian Ryan in 1st class now playing in the orchestra. Instrumental music tuition is vital to music education and all children in 1st learn violin and all in 4th learn recorder. This is funded through parental contributions.

• Our Athletics teams did very well in the Limerick Cross Country championships recently. Thanks to all the teachers involved and parent  Louise Brennan.

• Advent Services have been conducted with classes from 3rd to 6th. 6th will conclude theirs with the lighting of the Christmas Candle by the youngest child in 6th class on the day of the holidays.

• New STEM kits were acquired for our Junior Infant classes. These encourage problem solving and creativity. Again we are only in a position to purchase such equipment because of parental contributions through the Maintenance Fund.

• 4th Classes attended and really enjoyed the annual musical produced by our neighbours in Árd Scoil Mhuire and St. Munchin’s. ‘Back to the 80s’ was performed in LIT’s Millennium Theatre.

• All our bird feeders are in action again and are restocked regularly by students from Mr. Foley’s 6th. 3rd Classes will be counting the visiting species in the new year.

• Mr. O’Donoghue’s 5th will be visiting LIT at the end of January to take part in a special session where with the help of ESERO they will get to talk directly to the orbiting International Space Station.

• Scrabble Club started after school for pupils of 4th Class  under the guidance of teacher Janet Lennon.

• Representatives from St. Oliver Plunkett Scouts based in Shannon Banks came to talk to the 6th Classes about scouting and checking if any children were interested in joining.

• Senior Infants have been working on Fundamental Movement skills with the assistance of the Sports Dept. in LIT. The children have really enjoyed the sessions.

• Our Bulb Bank got its annual haircut and is now totally bare.  We look forward to the coming of the crocuses in the new year. ‘When winter comes , can spring be far behind?’

• The Students’ Council will be performing the Story of the Nativity for the younger classes as well as for the residents of the Corbally Nursing home before Christmas.

Thank You

We wish to thank  the parents who have so generously  supported our Maintenance Fund Appeal which enables us to add to the educational experiences of children in the school.

PISA & TIMSS

It’s unfortunate  that good news in relation to our national educational performance gets only a scant mention in the national press but the results of recent international tests in Maths, Science and reading were very positive. Although Scoil Ide was not involved in the recent randomly selected schools tested for PISA and TIMSS  the national trends apply to all schools.

TIMSS essentially measures performance in Maths and Science and was determined by testing 4th Class and Second Year pupils in schools. Ireland  moved up to 9th overall in Maths and 19th in Science.

PISA is tested in secondary schools and Irish students came 3rd out of 35 developed countries in reading and 13th in Science and Maths.  An identified difficulty with PISA in Ireland was the unfamiliarity of students with computer based tests but this will change and indeed our pupils start with a computer screening test in Junior Infants and CAT4 ability tests in 2nd/3rd are administered on computer. Other Maths and Reading tests are administered by computer in 5th and 6th. We hope and expect that the annual Drumcondra  tests will be available digitally by 2019.

A slight concern is that the gap  in performance between boys and girls in Ireland in science and maths has widened, with males doing better. In reading, the gap has decreased, but girls still outperform boys in this area.

All the more reason to make sure your sons are reading widely and your daughters are encouraged in the STEM areas.

Parental interest and involvement in a child’s education remains key to success.

YOUNG SCIENTIST EXHIBITION

        Scoil Íde will be represented in the Limerick Young Scientist Exhibition which will be held in Mary Immaculate College on January 19th, 20th and 21st. Mr. Foley’s 6th have been exploring the wetlands– or their absence because of the driest November in 30 years– in the Bishop’s Field. They will be exhibiting their work on the Saturday.

The Exhibition will showcase some of the work promoting Science in primary schools. We are delighted to be taking part as Science is a very important part of the curriculum in Scoil Ide. We hope that many parents will take their children to visit the exhibition.

Christmas Prayer

On Christmas Eve as it grew dark Irish families traditionally gathered to light the Christmas Candle, which was placed in the window or porch to symbolise welcome for Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus. The youngest in the home lit the candle while the simple prayer “ Go mbeirimid beo ag an am seo aris” was said.

May we all be alive this time next year.

 Calendar 2016-2017

Christmas Holidays: Closing Thursday, 22^nd December at 12.15 p.m.

Re-opening Monday, 9^th January 2017

Closed Monday, 20^th February - Friday , 24^th February 2017 (incl)- Mid-Term Break

Closed Friday, 17^th March 2017- Public Holiday

Easter Holidays: Closing Friday, 7^th April at 12.15 p.m.

Re-opening Monday, 24^th April 2017

Closed Monday, 1^st May 2017 -Public Holiday

Closed Monday, 5^th June 2017 Public Holiday

Closing Friday, 30^th June 2017 at 12.15 p.m.

Scoil Íde is used as a Polling Station so we will be closed for any Elections/Referendums that may be called.