Parent Info

FAQS

Below are some of our most frequently asked questions. If you have any other questions please do let us know.

School commences at 8:45 a.m.

Mid-morning break from 10:30 – 10:45 a.m.

Lunch break from 12:15 – 12:45 p.m.  

Infant classes finish at 1:30 p.m.

First to Sixth finish at 2:30 p.m.

Our school operates a HEALTHY EATING POLICY and junk food is not permitted.  The success of this policy is entirely due to the continuous support of parents.  Whenever possible, we avail of initiatives such as “FOOD DUDES” to complement our classroom practice.

It is the policy of the school to issue written reports to parents once per academic year.  These reports are sent out through Aladdin Connect to parents in late June and copies are kept on file in the school.  

During the first term of the academic year, we hold our annual parent/teacher meetings.  This provides parents with an informal opportunity to discuss your child’s academic progress with the class teacher.  These meetings are usually held in November.

If your child is sick, he/she should not come to school. In the event of your child becoming sick during school times, every effort will be made to contact you.  In the unlikely event that we are unable to contact you, we will act in the best interest of the child and medical attention will be sought if deemed necessary.  Please ensure that you specify a family doctor on your “Enrolment Application Form”.  

Our school is an enthusiastic supporter of the “Green School Programme” which is organised by An Taisce.  Our five “GREEN FLAGS” are proudly on display at our school roundabout and the values of this programme guide our school ethos.  

Recycling is evident in our daily school routine and our flowerbeds, wooded areas, bird-feeders and organic garden enhance the promotion of our natural environment.  

Each year our fifth class pupils organise and maintain our ORGANIC GARDEN.  The success of this project is due to the partnership that exists between parents, pupils and staff.  

We have a strong musical ethos in our school and a music teacher visits our school each week.  All pupils from first to sixth class learn the tin whistle and are introduced to a wide variety of musical instruments.  

Children in senior classes are invited to join our school choir.  Both our band and choir perform for parents during the course of the academic year.  

 

Our school has a strong sense of all things theatrical and each year we have several productions ranging from concerts to plays.  Children in various classes have the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of performances over the course of their time in school.  Our school band and choir perform at a wide variety of events during the course of the year.  These include concerts in the Westport Coast Hotel and Westport Town Hall Theatre.

News
School Circulars

September Circular 2024

October Circular 2024

November Circular 2024

Grant Scheme for EU NRRP Funding to Schools to address the Digital Divide St Colmcille’s NS

St Colmcille’s National School acknowledges receipt of the Digital Funding in December 2021 from the EU National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).

The National Recovery and Resilience (NRRP) has been developed by the Government to enable Ireland to access funding under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.

 

The Recovery and Resilience Facility is the largest component of NextGenerationEU which is the European Union’s response to the global pandemic. The aim is to help repair the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the pandemic and to prepare for a post-Covid Europe that is greener, includes improved digitisation, is more resilient and fit to face the future.

 

The following is a summary of grant expenditure:

  • We invested in 6 new iPads along with supporting apps (numeracy & literacy) and headphones. This allowed us to integrate digital technology in our Literacy Lift-Off and Guided Reading programmes through in class support and station teaching for all classes.
  • We invested in a Prowise 75” Touchscreen to facilitate pupils with EAL, SEN and additional needs to support their learning in a fun and active way.
  • We focused on coding senior classes – Scratch programming and purchased 4 Lego WeDo 2.0 boxes to enhance coding/ problem solving amongst our pupils.
  • We purchased 15 Micro:bit V2 Project kits to enhance engagement of learners, encourage collaborative learning across the curriculum and engage in computational thinking and support for pupils. This allows the pupils to become active learners, becoming creators and designers of code which ensures that they retain information with greater ease.
  • We invested in age appropriate apps that support the struggling learners in each class setting.
  • We organised IT support to guide and support whole staff in setting up eportfolios for pupils as a form of Self-Assessment and Learning Folders.
  • We engaged in digital storytelling using Stop Motion and Lego to create stories and animations.
  • An annual subscription to Mathletics.
  • An annual subscription to Nessy Reading and Nessy Fingers Touch Typing.
Lesson Study

What is Lesson Study?
Lesson study is a model of professional development which supports teacher learning through collaboration. Lesson study consists of a cycle of phases, where a group of teachers work together to plan, conduct, observe and reflect on a research lesson. Through these phases, teachers share their knowledge and experience and have the opportunity to collaboratively identify, trial and reflect on new practices. By participating in lesson study, teachers become researchers of their own practice through their investigation of innovative pedagogical approaches, with careful consideration of pupil learning. Teachers who have participated in lesson study have noted positive changes in their classroom practices and in their collaborations with colleagues. Research has also indicated that participation in lesson study has the potential to positively impact pupil learning, develop teacher knowledge and build teacher community (Lewis & Perry, 2017; Ni Shuilleabhain & Seery, 2017; Lieberman, 2009).

What is our goal?
Our Goal: Children will be able to develop a growth mindset while working collaboratively and communicating effectively on their journey of independent lifelong learning.
Lesson Study Project in St Colmcille’s NS, The Quay 2018-2019
Research Question: Would it benefit the children’s initial understanding of ‘to’ if we represented time in a linear fashion?
Please click on the link below for further details:
Lesson Study Project 2018-2019 St Colmcille’s NS
Lesson Study Project in St Colmcille’s NS, The Quay 2019-2020
Our Goal: To facilitate pupils to become flexible critical thinkers who can solve problems independently using a diverse range of strategies.
Research Question: If the numbers in word problems were written as words, would pupils read the whole problem rather than focusing on the numbers?
Please click on the link below for further details:
Lesson Study Project 2019-2020 St Colmcille’s NS
https://pdst.ie/sites/default/files/A0%20POSTER%20St%20Colmcilles.pdf

Literacy Lift-Off

Literacy Lift-Off St Colmcille’s NS
“Literacy Lift-Off”, also known as “Power-Hour” or “Guided Reading”, is an intensive programme of Reading and Writing, which gives the pupils lots of opportunities to read books at their own level of competency. It gradually lifts the complexity of what they can do in both reading and writing by equipping them with the necessary problem-solving skills. Pupils on the programme would typically be expected to progress at the rate of one level per week. The aim of Literacy Lift-Off is to make pupils constructive learners. It teaches them ‘how’ to problem-solve independently.

Literacy Lift-Off (An Outline)
What is LL-O?
LL-O is an intensive programme of reading and writing for a set number of weeks.
Why?
Children learn to read and write by reading and writing. This programme gives the children lots of opportunities to read books at their own level of competency and gradually lift the complexity of what they can do in both reading and writing.
How?
Pre-test: a running record of each child’s reading ability to find an instructional reading level (90 to 95% accuracy: to establish an entry-level to graded reading programme PM+)
Children organised into 4 or 5 groups according to their reading level attained.
4 to 5 teachers assigned to different station of literacy lesson (familiar reading, new reading, phonics and writing)
One person takes charge of marking the change of activity using a timer (8 – 10 mins)
Teachers rotate through each station.

Familiar Reading
Purpose: For enjoyment, fluency, comprehension and speed. Every child has an opportunity to read each day. Do not interrupt the reading. As they are reading note what is going well and one or two things you want to draw the group’s attention to e.g.
A good self-correction.
Or something that didn’t sound right, look right or make sense.
Or a visual analysis.

Word Work (Phonics)
Purpose: To show children how words work so that they can make a fast visual analysis of their reading.
Use magnetic letters to show children how words are composed of letters and sometimes bits that look the same and sound the same.
Elkonin boxes (initially cvc words, blends and initial consonant digraph)
Chunking words (segmentation: clapping out sounds etc., rhyming words) Base this on words that they know and are in the book being read.

Writing
Purpose: The children will learn how they can write their own messages by:
Hearing and recording sounds in words,
Using analogy
Learning unusual words (by look, cover, write, check).
Creative writing from visual cues and pictures
Children have unlined A4 copies with practice and a writing page for each day. Children write with markers. They are encouraged to ‘have a go’ at spelling new words on practice page and then check with the teacher. On the practice page, they can try out words and every day they must learn one or two new words or practice one or two words that they nearly know. They compose a story and have a go at writing it. The teacher models the activity when necessary.

New Book
Purpose: To allow daily practice in attempting to read new material. The child learns to use strategic activities to read new texts. The teacher prepares the children for success by initiating discussion of the pictures and introducing them to any new vocabulary or unusual phrases in the book. The children are provided with opportunities to predict the plot and to connect and refer to personal experiences. As the children are reading the new text the teacher directs them to the most effective strategy to use at any given time.
That might be:
A prompt to meaning e.g. Where are the children going?
A prompt from picture cues (look at the picture and question)
A prompt to visual information e.g. Cover the ‘ing’ or ‘can you see a bit you know.
A prompt to structure e.g. Predict how the phrase might end.
A prompt to read with expression (teacher models reading)
If the child is to read for meaning he/she needs to read in a phrased and fluent manner and this should be encouraged at all times. The child needs to be encouraged to monitor his/her own reading and writing. The children should know that when it doesn’t sound right, look right or make sense they need to re-read and correct it.
The children take home this book to read with their parents each night and it becomes the ‘familiar reading’ book for the following day.