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 safelyto 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 SacraimintiúilSacramental 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 LeabharWorld 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
The school will be closed tomorrow, Thursday 24th and Friday 25th February for the mid-term break.
The Department of Education has not yet sent updated guidance to schools about changes to Covid-19 measures. From what we have heard in the news, the girls are no longer required to wear face masks from Monday February 28th onwards. If they wish to continue wearing a mask, that is absolutely fine.
All of our other Covid-19 measures will remain in place until we have guidance from the DE.
Enjoy the mid-term break and as always, thank you for your support and co-operation in keeping our school community safe.
In this kind of writing we can write Stories, Fairy Tales, Legends, Fables and Plays. Narrative writing is found in Picture books, Storybooks, Novels, Poetry books, Comics and Film scripts. We really enjoyed writing stories in 3rd class.
Second Class is learning all about spring. This week we listened to ‘Spring’ from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. We enjoyed creating our own spring ribbon dances.
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.
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
Girls, you did not expect to be at home today. Do your best to help out and to be kind to your Mam and Dad, sisters and brothers. Keeping busy is always a good idea so here are some suggestions for you to help pass the day. For the older girls, if you would like to, you can post a record of some of the activities you do on Seesaw. (Mams and Dads, we know that you will be having a busy day, so please don’t feel under pressure to post anything.) Most importantly, stay inside until the storm is over and stay safe.
Start the day with a nice, healthy breakfast.
Now, make a plan for the day. These activities might give you some ideas:
LITERACY
Books and Reading
Sort the books you have into two piles – fiction and non-fiction. Choose a book to read. You can read it yourself or for someone in the family. Create an illustration for your book. Write a summary of a chapter or of the story.
Nursery Rhymes, Poems and Songs
Entertain each other by saying all the Nursery Rhymes and poems you know, or sing your favourite songs out loud.
Writing Time
Try some free writing. Give yourself 15 minutes and just enjoy writing whatever comes into your head.
Sit near a window and take a good look outside. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? Now try writing an acrostic poem ‘STORMDAY’.
NUMERACY
Board games and card games
Board games and card games are fun ways to improve our Maths skills. Find the Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, Frustration, Connect 4 or any other board games and have some fun.
Kitchen Time
Can you help in the kitchen by making sandwiches or a fruit salad for lunch? If there’s time, maybe you could do some baking. (Ask Mam or Dad first and if it’s not a good time, then that’s okay).
Hit the Button
GET CREATIVE
Check out the ideas in the booklet at the bottom of this page
SPHE & HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Exercise and Inspiration
Put on your favourite music and have a dance party. www.thenostalgiamachine.com has favourites for all the family. Why not learn about the amazing winter sports at the Beijing Winter Olympics? The Eurosport channel is broadcasting many of the events.
Tidy Up Time
We always feel better when the space around us is tidy. Help everyone out by tidying your room – make the bed, hang up your clothes, sort out the drawers, match up your socks.
Quiet Time – After a busy day, try these relaxing exercises.
Flower and Candle
This is a simple relaxation technique that encourages deep breathing.
Pretend you have a nice smelling flower in one hand and a slow burning candle in the other.
Breathe in slowly through your nose as you smell the flower.
Breathe out slowly through your mouth as you blow out the candle.
Repeat a few times.
Lemon
This relaxation exercise releases muscle tension. Pretend you have a lemon in your hand.
Reach up to the tree and pick a lemon with each hand.
Squeeze the lemons hard to get all the juice out – squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
Throw the lemons on the floor and relax your hands.
Then repeat, until you have enough juice for a glass of lemonade!
After your last squeeze and throw, shake out your hands to relax!
Lazy Cat
This exercise releases muscle tension.
Pretend you are a lazy cat that just woke up from a lovely long nap.
Have a big yawn.
And a meow.
Now stretch out your arms, legs and back – slowly like a cat – and relax
Our Lady of Good Counsel GNS is a Catholic Primary School for girls. Our school is committed to fostering the development of the whole person, in partnership with parents and guided by Christian values and principles, in an environment that is happy, caring and enriching.
A School Creed This is our school. Let peace dwell here, Let the rooms be full of contentment, Let love abide here, Love of one another, Love of mankind, Love of life itself, And love of God. Let us remember That, as many hands build a house, So many hearts make a school.
Traditional (Source: The Works 2 – B. Moses and P. Corbett – Macmillan)
Curriculum
Our School Plan for teaching and learning is derived from The Revised Primary School Curriculum (Curaclam na Bunscoile), which was implemented by the Department of Education and Skills in 1999.
It consists of the following subjects:
Languages
English, Gaeilge
Mathematics
Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE)
History, Geography and Science
Arts Education
Visual Arts, Music, Drama
Physical Education
Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE)
Relationships and Sexuality Education, The Stay Safe Programme, Walk Tall
Religious Education
All of these subject areas are taught from Junior Infants to Sixth Class.
Each teacher draws up a Yearly Plan for the children in her/his care. Every fortnight, teachers develop a Short Term plan from the Yearly Plan and at the end of every month, teachers report on progress to the Principal.
If you would like more information on the Revised Primary School Curriculum, please go to www.curriculumonline.ie
