Swimming started today for all children in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th classes. We were absolutely thrilled with how well the first lesson went.

​Planning for this started back in 2015 when we devised our swim policy and development plan. In 2016, the children who were then in 2nd and 3rd classes piloted the programme for us and we are now able to implement the programme in full.

​From this year, every child in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th classes will attend an 8-week term of swimming lessons in the 3rd school term. By tight scheduling and nurtured relationships with the service providers, we are able to provide these lessons at the extremely reasonable cost of 40 euro for 8 lessons.

​Some learning points from today that will help all children in future lessons:

• ​Please send swim gear in a bag that will hold all of your child's belongings while they are swimming, including shoes and coat. With up to 50 children per session to store and find their belongings, it really helps with efficiency if each child can pick up their belongings easily and quickly and this means that the children are left standing in their wet swim gear for less time after their swim session.
• Please encourage your child to wear their swim gear under their clothes coming to school in the morning. Children wearing a body suit can pull their togs up to their waist only so that they can go to the toilet during the day and just pull the straps over their shoulder at the start of the swim session.
• If at all possible, take your child swimming between swimming lessons. This practice and familiarity with the water will make the lessons more fruitful and valuable.
• Remember swim hats please!
• Warm hats for afterwards are great.
• Swimming is hungry work. Please send an extra piece of lunch on swim days.

​We were so proud of all of our children today. Especially those brave children who had never been in a swimming pool before. Well done!

​Swimming is a very important life skill. Being comfortable in the water and knowing how to keep yourself upright and afloat may just save your life one day. How lucky our children are to get this opportunity! Thanks so much to all parents for your support and cooperation in this; it means so much to us to know that we are a team.

Unfortunately, due to staff changes in the HSE, there is no longer a dental nurse available to visit our school and deliver the school based oral health promotion programme in senior infants and second class. This is very disappointing  but we have been assured that the HSE are trying to resolve the situation. In the meantime please visit www.dentalhealth.ie for information on how to promote oral health with your children at home.

You may or may not know that we keep careful track of school attendance, analysing data and communicating privately with families and our Education Welfare Officer to support increased school attendance. We appointed our first Attendance Officer in the middle of the last school year and the quiet work Orla has been doing in the background has had a massive impact on our levels of school attendance.

This school year is the first year in the history of the school that our average monthly attendance has stayed above 90% every single month!

​It is also the first time in the history of the school that we have had increased school attendance almost every month when compared to the previous year! There were very slight decreases, less than half a percentage point, in the months September 2016 and March 2017 but, other than these slight anomalies, every single month since February 2016 has shown improved attendance compared to the same month in the previous year!

​This is absolutely wonderful and we thank and praise all the parents and pupils who make such a great effort to have high levels of school attendance.

​Now for the challenge...
​Since our school began, we have always, every single year, had increased levels of attendance year on year for the months April and May! They are the only months of the year that have shown improved attendance figures every single year! Can we do it again?! Yes we can!

​Keep up the super work, everyone. What a great community. Thank you.