The School Bell
Friendship and Wellbeing Week
Dear Mams, Dads, Pupils and Staff,
Our Lady of Good Counsel GNS is a hive of activity this week. The girls are busy learning about wellbeing, kindness and friendship. Each day, we are focusing on a different topic and there is a lovely, friendly, happy feeling around the school. We can’t wait to see the girls dressed in their colourful clothes on Friday for our annual “Wear your Bright Colours Day”. A big thank you to Miss O’Reilly for updating our website and sharing our daily message with parents. We hope everyone is enjoying this special week.
Remember to wear your brightest colours tomorrow.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Shanahan
National Parents Council Helpline
If you know any families that have recently arrived from Ukraine, this helpline may be useful for them.
Bike Week
We have a fabulous bicycle shelter and we would love to see it full during Bike Week which takes place from May 14th to 22nd. Girls, if you are cycling or scooting to school, please keep yourself safe. Wear your helmet and your high-vis jacket. The girls in Fourth Class have recently completed a Safe Cycling course so this is a good opportunity to put what they have learned into practice.
On Wednesday 18th, we will be counting the number of girls who cycle to school and we will submit the numbers to a national count of cyclists on that date.
First Holy Communion
Our very best wishes to all the girls in Second Class who will receive their First Holy Communion on Saturday next. They have been preparing well with Miss Hall, Ms. Fenton and Fr. Kieran and they are ready for their special day. We hope that the girls and their families will enjoy this lovely occasion.
Very Important People!
On Wednesday, four girls from our school travelled to Dublin to take part in a consultation with the Department of Education (DE). The DE is reviewing its procedures for Anti-Bullying Policies in schools and they wanted to hear the views of children. Out of 3,200 primary schools, only 13 were invited to attend so we are very proud that the girls from Our Lady of Good Counsel GNS were included. Well done girls! We know that you made a great contribution to the discussion, and we hope that you enjoyed meeting with the Minister of Education, Ms. Norma Foley. Thank you to Mrs. Shanahan and Tracey who travelled with the girls and who looked after them so well.
On Wednesday, we attended the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in Dublin. The
Department wanted to consult with children to get their views on the anti-bullying action plan 2013
and make suggestions how to improve it.
We met with government officials and 12 other schools. We were put into our class groups. We
spoke to new people and even made new friends. We were lucky enough to meet with the Minister
of Education Norma Foley. She explained they wanted to get children’s point of views and
suggestions for improving the anti- bullying plan.
She asked us about our opinion on bullying and what we would do if someone got bullied. She asked
us how we could improve our school’s anti-bullying policy. We did lovely activities to explore the
above. We were able to tell the other schools about all the wonderful stuff we do in our school.
We were treated very well in Dublin and had lovely pizza, goujons and chips for our lunch. A big
thank you to, Miss O’Reilly, Mrs Shanahan and Tracey for organising the trip.
By – Alianna, Charlotte, Ella and Amelia
Senior Infant Future World Champions!
Miss O’Reilly has had visits this week from some of our Senior Infants. The girls have been taking part and winning cups and medals in lots of different competitions, from Irish dancing to athletics. Well done Amber, Charlotte, Ella and Ciara and keep up with your exercise.
Reminder
As far as possible the girls are expected to be in their line and ready to come in the gate at 9.10 every morning. The gate will be closed at 9.20a.m.
Important Note
Staff members have to undertake one more in-service training session during this school year. We have agreed with St. Mary’s BNS that both schools will close early on Friday June 3rd to facilitate the training. The girls will go home at the following times on that date:
Junior and Senior Infants @ 12.15p.m.
First and Second Classes @ 12.25p.m.
Third to Sixth Classes @ 12.30p.m.
Congratulations
We send a big welcome to little Bobby Dooley who arrived safely in the world last week. Warm congratulations to Bobby’s Dad, Mr. Dooley, to his Mam and big sister.
Poetry Day Ireland
Dear Mams, Dads, Pupils and Staff,
Welcome back to school for the final term of the 2021-2022 year. We have had a busy start this week with the girls participating in outdoor activities such as cycling, basketball and camogie. Well done to our Camogie team who played an away match against Kill NS on Wednesday and thank you very much to the staff members who give their time (and their lunchbreaks) so willingly to give the girls the opportunity to play sports.
Last Tuesday was the feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel. The story of the painting of Our Lady is on the Latest News tab of the website. Two terrific readers from Sixth Class shared the story with us over the school’s intercom system – thank you girls. We are also celebrated Poetry Day Ireland this week and I am looking forward to reading the many poems that the girls have submitted for our annual Poetry Competition. I will share some of their wonderful work with you at a later date.
For your reference, here are the planned closures for the rest of the school year. The calendar for next year will be published as soon as it has been agreed.
Term 3 begins April 25th
May Bank Holiday School closed Mon. May 2nd
June Bank Holiday School closed Mon. June 6th
School year ends Fri. 24th June 2022
May Our Lady of Good Counsel guide each and every one of us through a safe, happy term full of learning and fun.
Yours sincerely,
C. O’Reilly – Principal
What To Do If You or Your Child Has a Problem
Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, a problem will arise that needs to be sorted out. In our school, we follow the nationally agreed procedure for dealing with any concerns or problems and even though times are different right now, the procedure still applies. Conversations may now need to be held over the phone, and if necessary, we can arrange meetings in a manner that keeps everyone safe, but we can still work things out. Thankfully, it is our experience, that we very rarely need to go past No. 1 or No. 2 as most problems can be sorted out quickly when adults can have a reasonable conversation with each other. So, if you or your child has a problem, this is what you need to do:
1. Make an appointment to speak with the class teacher. To do this, call the school office on 051 832984. Problems will not be addressed by email.
Problem solved? Yes – procedure finished No – Go to next step
2. Make an appointment to speak with the school principal. To do this, call the school office on 051 832984.
Problem solved? Yes – procedure finished No – Go to next step
3. Make an appointment to speak with the chairperson of the Board of Management. To do this, call the school office on 051 832984.
Problem solved? Yes – procedure finished No – Go to next step
4. Lodge a complaint in writing with the chairperson of the Board of Management
Problem solved? Yes – procedure finished No – Go to next step
5. Chairperson makes a formal report to the Board of Management
6. The Board determines whether or not the complaint is substantiated.
Problem solved? Yes – procedure finished No – Go to next step
7. The Board conducts an investigation
The Board makes a decision and informs the parent/guardian and the person against whom the complaint was made in writing of its decision. The decision of the Board shall be final.
May, the month of Mary
Can you believe that it is already time to set up our school May Altar? This is a beautiful tradition that has been part of our school for many years, and the girls always make a great effort to bring flowers for Our Lady. All the classes will take turns looking after the Altar.
Week beginning May 3rdth: Junior Infants and Third Class
Week beginning May 9th: Senior Infants and Fourth Class
Week beginning May 16th: First Class and Fifth Class
Week beginning May 23rd: Second Class and Sixth Class
There is no need to buy any flowers. If everyone brings one or two blooms from the garden or a bunch of wildflowers, they will be just beautiful. As our school is dedicated to Our Lady, our May Altar is a lovely way to honour her. Sixth Class will lead a special Assembly tomorrow for the month of May.
‘Mary, our mother, the Lord is with you.
Guide us, protect us, in all that we do.’
Eid Mubarak
We wish a happy and holy day to all the families in our school community who will celebrate Eid next Monday and Tuesday. Eid comes at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. We are full of admiration for the girls in our school who have been fasting during Ramadan and we hope that you enjoy celebrating with your families. Check out this little video where four children explain Ramadan and Eid in their own words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OF4HEGNBRQ Eid Mubarak!
Give It a Try!
Waterpark Rugby Club on TUesday May 3rd @ 6p.m. Under 8 to under 14 year old girls welcome. Scan the QR code below to register.
Census 2022
Dear Dads, Mams, Pupils and Staff,
It has been a busy week so apologies for the late arrival of this School Bell.
Sunday, April 3rd is Census Night. On that night, every household in the country is asked to record how many people are in their house, how many children there are, what jobs they do, etc. The information collected in the Census is used to plan for facilities and other resources in the years ahead.
This year, there is a special section on the Census where families can record whatever they like about their lives in 2022. This information will be saved in a time capsule for one hundred years so that the people who live in Ireland in 2122 will know what it was like for us in our time.
Check out this link for more information www.census.ie.
Have a great weekend.
Your sincerely,
C. O’Reilly – Principal
Mother’s Day
Our Junior Infants have great reasons to love their Mammies everyday and not just on Mother’s Day. Here are some of the things they said.
I love my Mammy because:
- She loves me
- She is good at cooking, gives me water and packs my lunch
- She gives me apples
- She makes good dinners
- She is always kind
- She helps me and she learns with me
- She makes me happy
- She lets me go to the park
- She makes me crisp sandwiches!
Kilkenny One-Parent Community
This is a volunteer-led network providing supports to one-parent families. For more information, go to www.kilkennyoneparentcommunity.ie or Facebook Kilkenny One Parent Community
Reminders
School will close for the Easter holidays on Friday 8th April. Pick up times are as follows:
- Junior and Senior Infants @ 12.15p.m.
- First and Second Classes @ 12.20p.m.
- Third to Sixth Classes @ 12.25p.m.
Birthday Invitations – We would appreciate your support in not sending birthday invitations into school. They should be distributed outside of school time.
Camogie
Our school Camogie team who will play their first match in the u13 League yesterday afternoon and they had a narrow defeat to Ballyduff NS. However, the Good Counsel girls played very well and we are so proud of them. The girls have been training at lunchtime and their coach, Mr. Dooley is delighted with their progress. There will be four or five matches in the competition, and we look forward to supporting the girls. Go Good Counsel!
Ramadan Mubarak
Ramadan began on Friday April 1st and will end on May 1st. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is a time of fasting and many Muslims fast during daylight hours. Suhoor which means ‘of the dawn’ is the meal eaten before the sun rises. The fast is broken after sunset with a meal known as Iftar. At the end of Ramadan there is a big celebration called ‘Eid ul-Fitr’,
To all the families in our school community whoa re observing Ramadan we say, Ramadan Mubarak.
Chime ‘n Play
Junior and Senior Infants had a lovely surprise on Thursday. Each class had a Chime n Play session with Audrey and they had such good fun.
Children’s Creativity During Covid
We know that many of the girls used their time during school closures to create all kinds of wonderful art works. The Ombudsman for Children wants to hear from young people (10-17year olds) about how they have responded to all the changes brought about by Covid. Here is some more information.
The project is looking at the creative and innovative ways children have been responding to the changes during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
CoVision is asking for children aged 10-17 to answer a very short survey and to submit their artwork, videos, stories – anything thing creative that they made during the pandemic that helped them or those around them – to the study team.
Children can upload their submissions here: www.covision.ie/your-art through a secure app.
More information about the project can be found at www.covision.ie and www.covision.ie/your-art
Special Assembly
We are looking forward to a special Assembly next week. Miss Cunniffe’s First Class will lead us in preparing for Holy Week. The girls have been learning the Easter story and all about why it is a very special celebration.
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig – Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Dear Dads, Mams, Pupils and Staff,
After a long wait, it is wonderful that we can look forward to celebrating Ireland’s National Day and our country’s Patron Saint.
We have been celebrating our Irish culture this week through language, music and art. Here are some of the activities that have been taking place, with thanks to Miss Kelly for organising everything.
From March 1st until today, the girls from Fifth Class have been broadcasting Nuacht an Lae (News of the Day) over the school’s intercom system. We also had Seanfhocal an Lae (Proverb of the Day).
The girls made a big effort to learn our National Anthem, Amhrán na bhFiann, and Third to Sixth Classes enjoyed a quiz, as Gaeilge – thank you Miss Power for asking the ceisteanna.
A huge ‘Well Done’ to all the girls, their parents and our staff for making such a great effort for National Colours Day – the school was a riot of colour – and a special thank you to Tracey for decorating the inside of the building.
We brought our celebrations to a close today with our very own St. Patrick’s Day parade – thanks to Mrs. Foley for the music. You can see some photos on the Latest News tab.
Due to the extra Bank Holiday, school is closed until Monday 21st. We wish all of you a happy and safe St. Patrick’s Day. Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig.
Yours sincerely,
C. Ní Raghallaigh – Príomhoide
Special Assembly
On Monday 14th March, Miss Power’s Senior Infants led a Special Assembly to help us to get ready for St. Patrick’s Day. The girls told us the story of St. Patrick. They explained why we celebrate and remember St. Patrick on March 17th and why we wear shamrock. Well done girls!
Congratulations
Congratulations to all the girls in Second Class who made their First Penance on Tuesday evening. Thank you to Fr. Kieran for a lovely ceremony. The girls had prepared well with Miss Hall and Ms. Fenton and we know they are now looking forward to starting their preparations for First Holy Communion.
Holi
Holi is a Hindu festival that marks the end of winter and honours the triumph of good over evil. It is a bright, colourful festival when everyone has lots of fun. This year Holi takes place on March 18th. We hope that everyone in our school community who celebrates this special occasion will have a wonderful day.
STEM
Remember to check our school’s STEM website where you can read about just some of the fantastic Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics activities that take place in our school. https://sites.google.com/view/olgcstem/home
Try the Pipes – Music Generation Kilkenny
Music Generation Kilkenny is offering a free uilleann pipes taster session to young people as part of Kilkenny Tradfest 2022. The event will be held on Friday 18th March 2022 from 11am – 1pm at the Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle.
Members of the public will have the opportunity to try out the instrument for themselves with the assistance of an experienced player. Try the Pipes is open to ages 10 – 18 and uilleann pipes will be made available on the day.
Tickets are free and can be booked from the event brite on the following link:
Tickets can be booked for children taking part and anyone can book to come and watch. Children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the event.
Please Let Us Know
Please continue to let us know if your child is staying home because she has tested positive for Covid-19. There have been a number of positive cases in the school in the past week, so we all need to be vigilant.
Songs for St. Patrick’s Day
Paidir ar son na Síocháin Prayer for Peace
Dear Mams, Dads, Pupils and Staff,
Everyone in our school has made a promise that during Lent, we will pray for peace.
Yours sincerely,
C. O’Reilly – Principal
Lord Jesus,
We ask you to bring us peace.
Peace in our hearts and in our minds.
Let your peace reign in our families, in our school
and in the world.
Prince of Peace, pray for us. Amen.
Seachtain na Gaeilge Irish Week
Tá Seachtain na Gaeilge buailte linn! Seachtain na Gaeilge is here again. Over the next few weeks in the run up to St. Patrick’s day we will be doing our best to speak the cupla focail. We will have a daily broadcast of Nuacht an lae and we will be learning some Seanfhocail.
Seachtain ‘Scoot ar Scoil’ Scoot to School Week
Scoot to School Week begins on March 7th. We’d be delighted to see the girls scooting safely to and from school. Look out for pedestrians, cross the road safely, wear your high-vis vest and your helmet. Happy scooting.
Tionól Speisialta – an Charghais Special Assembly – Lent
Thank you to Mr. Dooley’s Fourth Class for leading us in a very special Assembly to mark Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. The girls reminded us what Lent is about and we are all excited to begin our journey towards Easter.
For the next few weeks, the focus for our Interfaith Space is ‘Fasting’. Fasting is common to many faiths. No matter which faith they follow, most people fast to try to become closer to God and to try to become better people themselves.
Dánta – an tEarrach Poems – Spring
Mrs. Burke’s Fifth Class girls have been writing poems on a spring theme. Here is just one example. Well done to all of you girls!
Spring
By Megan
Goodbye winter, spring is here
Beautiful flowers start to appear.
Children playing without a care
The smell of spring in the air.
Daffodils are as yellow as the sun
Little baby animals begin to run.
Goodbye to the dark, hello to the bright days
Winter has slowly faded away.
Ullmhúchán Sacraimintiúil Sacramental Preparation
Parents of children who have been registered with the Parish for the sacraments of First Penance, First Holy Communion and Confirmation have been invited to the Parish Church tonight to pick up their Information Packs and codes for the online preparation programme.
First Penance and First Communion packs will be available between 7p.m. and 7.30p.m.
Confirmation Packs will be available between 8p.m. and 8.30p.m.
Cuirí Breithlá Birthday Invitations
Now that restrictions are lifting, birthday parties may be taking place. Please remember that the girls should not bring birthday invitations to school. Any invitations should be shared outside of school time.
Súgradh agus Spraoi Play and Fun
The girls always enjoy their time in the school yard, and there is even more opportunity for fun thanks to the great new games and activities that have been painted on the yard. Thank you Miss Kelly for organising this with Waterford Sport Partnership.
Go nÉirí an tÁdh Libh Good Luck
We wish the very best of luck to the girls who are doing their Entrance Assessments for Secondary School on Saturday. We know that you are ready girls. Follow the advice of our school’s Wellbeing Warriors – make your best effort and all will be well.
Lá Domhanda na Leabhar World Book Day
Miss Trunchbull was very happy today to see the school full of so many different characters from your favourite books 😊. Well done girls and continue to enjoy reading. Thank you, Mams and Dads, for the great effort you made.
Amber Flag News
Our Wellbeing Warriors have been busy helping us to develop a positive mindset. Here are some things you can do!
Instead of saying, “this will do”, try saying “is this my best work?”
Instead of saying, “I just can’t do it”, try saying “I am going to try a different strategy”
Instead of saying “I’ll never do it! It’s too hard”, try saying “This may take some time and effort” Also, a little breathing activity that is easy and useful when we get overwhelmed or upset.
Lá Idirnáisiúnta na Máthairteangacha
International Mother Language Day!
International Mother Languge Day
We had a magical few days in our school celebrating International Mother language Day. Thank you to all the girls who shared with the school community their first languages. We looked forward each day to hearing a selection of different languages that our girls speak with their families. All girls in each class coloured in a flower, showing their languages. Each flower has been included in our Language Garden displays. We had a selection of our Dual – Language storybooks for the girls to browse and see their languages and the English language in print and in story. We are proud of the many languages spoken in our school community and how the girls use their language skills to help their learning. We are looking forward to sharing more of what we do with our languages during our Intercultural Week and Seachtain na Gaeilge.
Miss Kelly
Language – It’s part of who we are
Dear Mams, Dads, Pupils and Staff,
The 21st of February marks UNESCO International Mother Language Day. We in Our Lady of Good Counsel School will celebrate this day with teachers and children all over Ireland.
The theme for this year is ‘a language garden’. This shows the importance of nurturing languages like growing flowers. The more diverse the range of flowers, the more colourful the garden.
Research shows that when a child has a solid foundation in their first/home language, it really benefits the learning of additional languages. Here in Our Lady of Good Counsel every classroom is a garden of languages. We have connections to 26 mother languages. These are English, Irish, Polish, Lithuanian, Georgian, Portuguese, Croatian, Czech, Latvian, Arabic, Tamazight, Farsi, Yoruba, Igbo, Lingala, Bengali, French, Hungarian, Russian, Slovakian, Moldovan, Ukrainian, Welsh, Thai, Malayalam and Marathi. Some of our staff and pupils also communicate through Lámh and Irish Sign Language (ISL).
Happy International Mother Languages Day from all of us in Our Lady of Good Counsel GNS.
Yours sincerely,
M. Kelly – Deputy Principal
Things to Do on a Stormy Day
Go to the Latest News tab for ideas on how to stay busy today.
Check out our school’s STEM website https://sites.google.com/view/olgcstem/home
You could also check out this Winter Olympics themed Brain Break https://youtu.be/RNFTdiwTV_I
The younger girls could practise their sounds by finding items around the house that start with different letters. Practise your letter and number formation in flour. Pancake Tuesday is coming so why not listen to the story ‘Pancakes Pancakes’ on https://youtu.be/MjKUEJBpA4s ?
Well Done!
We would like to congratulate our pupils from Sixth Class who had great success at a Basketball Blitz in Tramore on Saturday last. It’s wonderful to see that the skills they have learned at school from Mrs. Burke are being put to good use on their club teams.
Reminder
The school will close for the mid-term break on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th February. We will re-open on Monday 28th February.
Thank You
Thank you very much to Ferrybank Community Group for noticing the lovely new lights on the front of our building. (Go to the Latest News tab for a photo). We look forward to marking different occasions during the year by changing the colour of the lights so keep an eye on us!
Internet Safety Day
We hope everyone enjoyed Internet Safety Day. As fantastic as the internet is, it is important to remind everyone about the dangers too. We hope the girls have learned how to stay safe on the internet and what actions to take, if they encounter a problem. We have been very impressed with the quality of colouring & poster competition entries. We can’t wait to announce the lucky winners next week!
Mrs Ryan & Mrs Shanahan
World Book Day
This year, World Book Day takes place on Thursday March 3rd. On that day, the girls can dress up as a character from their favourite book. Maybe you could take some time over the mid-term break to think about the books you enjoy and to decide which character you will be.
Attendance Rates
There has been lots of coverage in the media about the impact of Covid-19 on attendance rates at school, with some schools reporting pupil absences of up to 40%. In our school, we have certainly seen a rise in the number of Covid-19 infections since Christmas. However, thanks to all the measures that we have in place, the hard work of staff and the co-operation of our wonderful pupils, the level of absence has been relatively low. Thank you very much Mams and Dads for all your support and co-operation over the last two years – it is much appreciated.
Attendance Rates at our school
January 2020 93% January 2021 School Closed January 2022 84%
February 2020 88% February 2021 School Closed February 2022 85%
We are waiting for the Department of Education to publish new guidelines about the protocols that are in place. When they are published, the Board of Management will consider them, and update our Covid-19 Response Plan as necessary. What we have been doing is working, so we will take a slow and cautious approach. We have made it this far by working together, so let’s continue to do so until we can safely return to normal.
Getting To and From School Safely
At the beginning of the school year, Mrs. Shanahan gave a high-vis jacket to every pupil in the school. The girls are encouraged to wear their high-vis vests every day to help to keep them safe on their way to and from school. As part of SPHE, the girls learn about lots of ways to keep safe.
The Seatbelt Sherriff Programme is taught in First Class and Fourth Class takes part in a Safe Cycling Programme
For their own safety, it is very important that the girls observe the rules of the road as they are walking, cycling or scooting to school. Perhaps this is something that you could talk about at home. This leaflet from the Road Safety Authority may be helpful. https://www.rsa.ie/docs/default-source/road-safety/r3-education/rsa-going-to-school-guide.pdf?sfvrsn=3aa1845c_2
Staying Safe
Dear Mams, Dads, Pupils and Staff,
You may remember that we had a Child Protection and Safeguarding Inspection last year. Our school is fully compliant and the feedback from the Inspectors about the girls and how they are taught was very impressive.
Part of the girls’ learning about keeping safe relates to online safety. In today’s world, where so many of our social contacts are online, it is more important than ever that the girls are aware of how to use the internet safely and wisely.
Next Tuesday, February 8th is Internet Safety Day so that is the focus for this edition of the ‘School Bell’.
Mrs. Ryan and Mrs. Shanahan have put together a programme of activities for the day, and they have also provided information for Mams and Dads. Our Parents’ Association has shared information on a survey from the National Parents’ Council. I hope to have news for you soon about an information session for parents on how to address the issues that families may have in dealing with the children’s use of the internet. Finally, I have shared some of our school’s Anti-Bullying Policy to raise awareness of the definition of bullying when it relates to online activities.
Let’s all work together to keep our girls as safe as possible.
Yours sincerely,
C. O’Reilly – Principal
Safer Internet Day – Mrs. Ryan and Mrs. Shanahan
Safer Internet Day takes place on Tuesday February 8th.
On this day we will be joining people in more than 150 countries around the world celebrating Safer Internet Day and helping to promote a safe and better internet for our children and young people.
It is also a great time to engage with you as Mums and Dads and raise awareness of the important role parents play in helping your child have a positive experience online.
For Safer Internet Day ‘Webwise’ are encouraging families to #TalkListenLearn and to talk regularly about the benefits and challenges that children encounter online.
Webwise has developed lots of resources for parents including:
- Updated online safety advice booklet for parents.
- Parent toolkit with information, advice and resources for parents.
- A new topic generator to help parents begin conversations with their child.
All the information can be accessed on the Webwise parents’ hub at: www.webwise.ie/parents
We will be having lots of Safter Internet Day celebrations here at school on Tuesday February 8th.
Mrs. Ryan & Mrs. Shanahan
Cyberbullying in our Anti-Bullying Policy
In our school’s Anti-Bullying Policy, cyberbullying is listed as a form of bullying.
Cyber Bullying includes
- Denigration: Spreading rumours, lies or gossip to hurt a person’s reputation
- Harassment: Continually sending vicious, mean or disturbing messages to an individual
- Impersonation: Posting offensive or aggressive messages under another person’s name
- Flaming: Using inflammatory or vulgar words to provoke an online fight
- Trickery: Fooling someone into sharing personal information which you then post online
- Outing: Posting or sharing confidential or compromising information or images
- Exclusion: Purposefully excluding someone from an online group
- Cyber stalking: Ongoing harassment and denigration that causes a person considerable fear for his/her safety
- Silent telephone/mobile phone calls
- Abusive telephone/mobile phone calls
- Abusive text messages
- Abusive emails
- Abusive communication on social networks e.g. Facebook/Ask.fm/ Twitter/You Tube or on games consoles
- Abusive website comments/Blogs/Pictures
- Abusive posts on any form of communication technology
The Policy goes on to say that:
placing a once-off offensive or hurtful public message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum, where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people, will be regarded as bullying behaviour.
When we are dealing with any form of bullying, we use a Restorative Practice approach. These are the questions that we ask:
What happened?
What were you thinking at the time?
What have you thought about since?
Who has been affected by what you have done? In what way?
What do you need to do to make things right?
For more information, please refer to the school’s Anti-Bullying Policy on the Policies tab of www.goodcounselgns.ie
Parents’ Association News
Dear Parents/Guardians,
As your child attends Our Lady of Good Counsel GNS, you automatically become a member of the school’s Parents’ Association. The internet can be a fantastic resource that can give children and young people the opportunity to learn, create, research, play games, have fun and connect with other people, however, sometimes they can have negative experiences whilst online.
As Safer Internet Day approaches, we’d be delighted if you would take a few minutes to complete this survey. It has been put together by the National Parents’ Council and the results will be published on February 8th.
To complete the survey please click this link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NPC_survey_Your_child_and_the_Internet
The National Parents’ Council is also running Internet Safety Training for Parents from 7th to 11th February. Check out this link if you would like to register. https://www.npc.ie/news-events/keeping-your-child-safe-internet-safety-training-for-parents
Catholic Schools Week
We ended Catholic Schools Week last Friday with a Special Assembly led by Second Class. The theme was ‘St. Brigid’. The girls began with St Brigid’s Song, then shared the story of St. Brigid, led us in some prayers and displayed the wonderful artwork they had made. St. Brigid’s Cloak is now in our school Sacred Space.
A special word of thanks to Fr. Kieran and the Parish Community who were so welcoming when 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Classes attended daily Mass during the week. Each of the classes mentioned how happy they were to go to the Church at their reports to our weekly Assembly.
Thank you also to Ella who made a beautiful St. Brigid’s Cross for the school.
