Dear Parents,
This booklet contains information about our school. We want you to be fully informed about life in our school.
St. Malachy’s Primary School is a co-educational CatholicMaintainedSchool. It is in a rural setting beside the ParishChurch and hall.
Originally built in 1971, it amalgamated the former St. Malachy’s primary School in Drummullan and St. Patrick’s primary School in Coagh.
The school has good facilities. These include three good, sized classrooms, a mobile classroom, staff room, office, kitchen and dining room.
School meals are of a high standard and are prepared and cooked in Cookstown Primary School.
On behalf of all the staff, I would like to express our sincere appreciation for the very high level of support you give to the school.
If you have any queries or comments on this booklet, do not hesitate to contact me at the school.
Anne Bell
Principal
Our Mission Statement.
We are a Catholic co-educational school seeking to promote a caring ethos throughout the school community.
We endeavour to promote positive, happy, secure and trusting relationships within our whole school.
We will aim to provide high quality learning and teaching in a rich and varied environment.
In achieving this we recognise that each child is a valued and unique member of God’s community.
Aims
The agreed aims of this school are:
- To reflect the religious ethos of our community and ensure that each child feels a valued member of the school community.
- To promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, intellectual and physical development of our pupils.
- To provide a broad and balanced curriculum appropriate to the needs of each pupil at his/her development.
- To create a love of learning, a knowledge of how to learn and the motivation to produce his/her best work.
- To foster an environment in which this learning and development may take place.
- To develop an attitude which leads to self-discipline, independence, courtesy, good manners and respect for others.
- To provide opportunities for pupils to achieve success in a variety of contexts, promoting positive self- esteem.
- To develop a knowledge and understanding of their own environment, of the wider world and the interdependence of individuals, groups and nations.
- To foster and develop close relationships between home, school and the community.
School Year September 2017 – June 2018
At the beginning of this school year we have a total of 52 pupils in the school.
Admissions to the school are regulated through our Open Enrolment Procedure.
School Staff
Principal
Mrs Anne Bell
Rec/P1/2 Mrs Laura Corr
P3/4/5 Mrs Siobhan Dillon, job sharing with Mrs Patricia Close
P6/7 Mrs Anne Bell
Secretary Mrs Madonna Devlin
Caretaker Miss Mary D Donnelly
Classroom Assistants
Mrs Jacqueline Devlin
Miss Mary McVey
Miss Teresa O’Hagan
Supervisory Assistants
Mrs Jacqueline Devlin
Kitchen Staff Mrs Denise McGorrey
Miss Teresa O’Hagan
Attendance
Regular attendance is very important if pupils are to make good progress at school. At St. Malachy’s, we have a very good attendance record.
Education Authority’s Educational Welfare Officer monitors attendance and visits the school on a regular basis.
Each child should aim to have full attendance throughout the year.
School Closures
A diary of all school closures is sent out to all parents at the beginning of the new school term. Reminders of these are then posted on the Parent Information Board on a monthly basis.
Closure due to Exceptional Circumstances
In all such circumstances where the closure is known about in advance, I will inform parents and others as early as possible in advance of the closure. However, should such circumstances arise during the school day, then, I and the rest of the staff will attempt to contact all parents/guardians to arrange for collection of children. NO child will be left unattended or in circumstances which in any way compromises their safety and security.
Personal development
We are a Catholic school, proud of our heritage and the traditions of our parish community. The practices and teachings of the church are central in the daily life of our school.
We pray together in class, we have monthly school mass and termly confession. We prepare for the sacraments, First Confession, First Holy Communion and Confirmation.
We all want to create an atmosphere of love, security and understanding. We want St. Malachy’s P.S. to be an extension of the home. We appreciate the excellent quality of partnership we have with our parents. We encourage you to speak to any member of staff about any of your concerns.
“Our children are central to everything we do”
These are our guidelines for the development of children in our care.
- To respect themselves and to show respect for others.
- To be the best that they can be, personally, socially and academically
- To take part in all activities
- To make use of their time in school
- To respect and value the opinion and worth of others.
- To be patient and understanding
- To be friendly with everyone.
Discipline
All children are good. No child is bad.
We have a strong positive attitude to discipline.
We spend more time praising our children than being negative.
We do not have a long list of rules in our school. The children have been given the opportunity to contribute to class rules and whole school rules.
We do expect the children to show respect for each other and for all adults in our school.
We also expect that they will always show good manners and courtesy to all. Everything in the school belongs to the whole school, so children should respect their property and the property of others, their books and the equipment in their classrooms. Our resources are for the benefit of the children.
We expect all the children to use the toilet facilities properly.
We would ask that children do not bring glass bottles to school.
Friends
We encourage children to be friends with everyone and not just the best friend of one child.
All children have their own personality. They may be very outgoing or withdrawn. It is sad to think that any child has no or very few friends. We can only change this by encouraging our children to play inclusive games so that no child is left out.
We encourage our children to be parts of groups, sporting or otherwise. Play, mixing with others and taking part not only develops friendships, it also greatly helps to increase the child’s self-esteem and confidence.
Illness and Accidents
In the event of illness or accident we will try to contact you at home. Please make sure that any change to telephone numbers, are given to the class teacher. If you carry a mobile phone please give this number to the teacher as well.
If we are unable to contact parents and your child needs attention we will contact your doctor’s surgery.
At all times we will seek to act in the best interests of your child.
We are advised by the School’s, Medical Service about infections and other conditions. Some of these, such as chicken pox, measles and impetigo require exclusion from school for varying lengths of time. Others require no exclusion. Please contact the school for advice if required.
Head Lice
The current advice through Homefirst is that parents should regularly check hair. Shampoo containing pesticides should only be used if lice are found. Nits(eggs) should be brushed or combed out. Advice leaflets are available from Homefirst in Cookstown.
Medicine
If your child has asthma and needs to take an inhaler regularly it is advisable that one is kept in the school office. Inhalers should be clearly labelled with the child’s name and instructions for use.
Children should not bring medicine into school
If there is any medical information or changes that happen that we need to know about, please tell your child’s teacher.
School Uniform
We encourage all children to wear their school uniform every day. All our children are very well turned out. It is very impressive to see them all in their uniforms.
Our school uniform is available from:
Select Schoolwear at Magherafelt.
Please mark all clothing with names and check that they are still clear from time to time.
For safety reasons, we would ask that children do not wear shoes with high platforms or heels as these make playing, running and P.E potentially dangerous.
Some types of jewellery are dangerous in school. In particular, hanging earrings and many rings can be dangerous as children play.
Please keep jewellery to a minimum as it can be dangerous and it can often be a distraction during work.
School Dinners
School dinners of are a high quality. Monthly menus are provided in advance to all parents.
From 1st September 2017, a school dinner is now £2:60, this includes a main meal and a pudding. Fresh fruit is also available.
If you think that you may be entitled to free meals, forms are available from the school office. These forms should be returned to the School Meals service at the Board.
Free school meals can only be given after the school has received notification from the Education Authority.
School Trips
During the year our children will take part in school trips with our partner school in Coagh. We have been participating in the Speedwell Programme now for many years.
It has in the past been very successful and all the children enjoy it.
Our inclusion in the programme fosters good community relations.
Before the children take part in any visit you will be asked to return a consent note to the school. We ensure that every child has the opportunity to go on a trip.