FEBRUARY 2017 NEWSLETTER

Congratulations and Thank You

Congratulations to our indoor Camogie team who were runners up in the recent South West Antrim competition. Many thanks to MissConvery for taking the girls, who were narrowly beaten in the final.

Well done to the quiz teams who represented the school so well at the recent Credit Union Quiz – especially the Under 11 team (Lucy, Eva, Odhran and Remus) who have qualified for the next round.

Congratulations to the soccer team who won both their recent matches and are second in the league.

Many thanks to TirNa nOg for the use of their fantastic indoor facility and to the parents of children who have been so prompt and supportive in collecting the children from Whitehill when training finishes.

Many thanks also to the Eco group for all their efforts to keep the school tidy.

Catholic Schools Week.

The theme of Catholic Schools’ Week this year is “Catholic Schools: Learning with Pope Francis to care for our common home.”

WecelebratedGrandparents Day as part of Catholic Schools’ Week on Thursday, 2 February with Mass in the Church followed by refreshments in the school. We were delighted to welcome so many of you and wish to thank you for the lovely feedback you gave us.

Thank You

Emma, Amy and the McAuley family wish to express their gratitude to the pupils, parents and staff of Mount St. Michael’s who supported the girls as they raised £875 for Meningitis Research, which was combined with a kind donation of £500 from Santander to make a grand total of £1375! Well done girls.

Shared Education

The Shared Education programme with Central Primary School continues this month with visits to and from each school. We are about to embark upon exciting programmes in P4A, P6C and P7A classes. We are also honoured to host a meeting of the Education Authority’s Shared Education Standing Committee- they have obviously heard about the great sharing taking place between the schools!

Upcoming Events

  • Autism Support Meeting on Wednesday, 8 February from 3.00 – 4.00 p.m. in Mrs Ward’s room.
  • Tuesday, 7 February the RSPB will visit the school as part of the Big Bird Watch; many thanks to Mrs. Traynor for organising this.
  • Big Spring Clean in Randalstown will be held on Saturday, 25 March.
  • A group of P6/7 pupils will attend the Celtic v Motherwell match in Celtic Park, Glasgow on Saturday, 18 February.
  • P4 classes will further explore their weather topic when they receive a visit from BBC weatherman, Geoff Maskell, on 8 February.
  • The Tommy Jackson Soccer School will begin for pupils in P6/7 on 23 February; further details will follow shortly.
  • To assist in the celebration of World Book Day, Heather Poots from the Schools Library service will visit all Foundation and KS1 classes to read stories and discuss favourite books with the children. We are indebted to Heather for the kind donation of her time and enthusiasm for reading.

Maths Award

Congratulations to all the children who have been awarded the Maths Star award this month. The award, devised by Numeracy coordinator, Mrs McConkey, is intended to promote maths in class.

This Friday is Number Day. Children are encouraged to dress up in a number related outfit. £1.00 per child will be donated to the NSPCC.

Young Enterprise

Primary 7 classes will participate in the Business Beginnings programme facilitated by the Young Enterprise organisation. They do however need some enthusiastic volunteers from the local business community to act as mentors and to help them along their business journey. We would ask for a commitment of one hour per week for up to seven weeks. If you feel that you would be able to support the children in this endeavour, please contact Mrs Downey or Mr Lavery.

Award winners in January

Our Golden Award, Pupil of the Month and Class Cup winners in January are as follows:-

P1 – P3 Golden Awards

P1A-Lauren McCartney

P1B-Shea McConville

P2A-Oisin Henry

P2B-Ruairi Docherty

P3A-Ava Burke

P3B-Ciaran Corr

P4 – P7 Golden Awards

P4A-James Johnston

P4B-Brogain McGuckien

P5A-Heloise Carey

P5B-Eoghan McParland

P6A-Ethan Wallace

P6B-Patrick McCloskey

P6C-Dylan O’Neill

P7A-Lucy Burbidge

P7B-Lucy McKee

P4 – P7 Pupil of the Month

P4A-Aideen Loughran

P4B-Patrick Doherty

P5A -Pauric Redmond

P5B-Rihanna Robb

P6A-Shane Johnston

P6B-Roisin McGale

P6C-Catriona Fagan

P7A-Matthew Martin

P7B-Ellie McKee

Friends of Mount St. Michael’s Award for Friendship

KS 2

Kayden Letters P6B

Eoghan McParland P5B

Class Cup

P7 A & B- Mrs. Downey and Ms. O’Neill

P5B-Mrs. Diamond

Healthy Lifestyles

During the spring term, we highlight healthy lifestyles with children. Good health is a very precious gift and it is important that children learn good habits early in life. Please support us in this by ensuring that breaks and lunches reflect our healthy eating policy. Please note the following:-

As part of our Healthy Break Policy we would encourage you to select items from the following list for your child to eat / drink at break time:-

  • Milk
  • Water
  • Fruit
  • Vegetables
  • Any bread based products e.g. sandwiches, pancakes or scones.(Butter or spread can be used;avoid sugary spreads such as jam, marmalade and chocolate spread)

Fresh fruit is available each day in school and may be ordered on Friday for the incoming week.

We will also be holding a Healthy Hearts Day after mid-term when children will have opportunities to help make fruit smoothies and other healthy snacks in our dinner hall. Details to follow.

  • Book of the Half-Term – This month we will continue to focus on “Once Upon an Alphabet” by Oliver Jeffers.
  • Friends of Mount St Michael’s- The PTA are organising a Family Ceili eveningin the Parish Centreon Thursday, 16 March at 8:30pm. Tickets will be available shortly and your support will be greatly appreciated.

E-Safety

Tuesday, 7 February is Safer Internet Day and part of Internet Safety Week. Children will be reminded about safe internet use at special assemblies on Thursday, 9 February. This will be further developed after mid-term.

Parking

Please note that there have been several complaints received by the school regarding cars parked outside the playground on the Barnish / Station Road at drop off and pick up times.

Cars must not park on the zig zag lines which are designed for the protection of children at the school (and their families). Also cars must not park across the entrances / exits of Mount St. Michael’s Primary School or St. Benedict’s College nor should they be left in either school’s staff car park whilst children are being collected. We would remind parents that it is possible to park in the Church car park and cut through to the playground.

We would ask that if parents feel it necessary to park on the Barnish / Station Road they do so with due consideration for other road users and residents.

Applications for Free School Meals / School Uniform Allowance

Parents / guardians with children attending full-time nursery schools / primary schools,who wish to apply for the above allowances, can obtain forms from the school office. Please note that children attending nursery units in primary schools are not entitled to assistance with school uniform.

After School Activities

-

  • Wednesday-Gaelic football P6/P7 boys
  • Thursday-Shrek rehearsals
  • Friday-Guitar

Ballymena Speech and Drama Festival

Best of luck to all those competing in both the Belfast and Ballymena Speech and Drama Festivals at the end of this month. Over 140 children have entered the individual verse speaking competitions this year and there is a still lot of time to rehearse all the words!

We are also delighted to enter a choir, jointly with Central Primary School, in the music section. Many thanks to Mrs Kelly for arranging this.

Parent/Teacher meetings

Parent/Teacher meetings for children in Years 1 to 6 will be held during the week beginning 10 April – details to be advised at a later date.

Liturgy and Sacraments

Year 3 Children

Service of Enrolment for

First Confession - 6.00 p.m. in the Church Saturday, 25February

First Confession - 7.00 p.m. in the Church Tuesday,4 April

Year 4 children

First Holy Communion -Sunday, 21 May 2017 at 12.00 noon

Year 7 children

Confirmation -Thursday,25May at 11.00 a.m.

School Closures

13 - 17 February inclusive-School closure

2 March-School closure- Polling Station

17 March- School closure

14 April- 21 April inclusive-Easter Holidays (Please note school closes on

Thursday, 13 April at 12 noon)

1 May-School closure

5 June- School closure

30 June-School closes at 12 noon

Reminders

  • As you know, Mrs. Downey is our designated teacher for child protection. If you have concerns about the personal safety of any child, please talk to Mrs. Downey, Mr. Lavery or Mrs. Carville.
  • Could parents please sign Homework Diaries each night when checking your child’s homework.
  • Routine head checks. Please ensure that children’s heads are regularly checked and treated if necessary.
  • Please remember that we have a number of children throughout the school who have a nut allergy. Children with this condition may have a severe reaction which could prove fatal if they come in contact with nuts. Consequently we ask that no nuts or nut products, such as peanut butter or Nutella sandwiches, etc are brought into school for your child’s break or lunch. We also ask that children do not bring birthday cake into their class.
  • Party invitations should be given to children outside of school hours as it can cause distress to those who have not been invited.
  • Parents are reminded that teachers are unable to provide school-work for children who take holidays during term time. To avoid disruption, it would be greatly appreciated if holidays could be taken during school closure only.

Our School Poem (written by Mr. Lavery)

Our Pupils will:

Learn their ABC and 123s

Write of imaginary life under the seas

Talk about journeys and shooting stars

Calculate the travel time to Mars.

Learn to count, write and read

Feel what it’s like to succeed

Use pencil, pens and ICT

Explain what it’s like to be ’me’.

Experience new things, practice for life

Have the quest for learning and knowledge rife

Gather skills to help them grow and survive

These are the things for which we strive.

A good school is ours

Planting seeds for tomorrow’s flowers.