Ferrybank, Waterford
Since returning after the holidays, Senior Infants have been learning all about food. This week the girls got to prepare some food in the school kitchen.
They made a healthy fruit salad using apples, grapes, oranges, melon, strawberries and bananas. They had great fun washing, peeling and cutting the fruit and enjoyed eating it even more.
Schools have been asked by the DE and the HSE to share the following information:
COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) recommends parents and guardians consider vaccinating their 5 to 11 year old children.
COVID-19 vaccine is particularly recommended if children:
· Have a health condition that puts them at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19
· live with a younger child or adult who is at risk of severe illness if they get COVID-19 e.g. another child with complex medical needs, or an immunocompromised adult
The vaccine that will be offered to children aged 5 to 11 years is Comirnaty® Children’s formulation. Children in this age group will be given a smaller dose of the vaccine than adults. Parents and guardians can register their child for their vaccine online at https://vaccine.hse.ie/. As part of this stage of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, information for people considering vaccinating their children including information about the benefits and risk of vaccination and information about how to get vaccinated is available on https://bit.ly/HSEC19511
A cartoon strip has also been developed to help children understand what will happen when they go to a HSE clinic to get their COVID-19 vaccine https://bit.ly/C19Cartoon511 Page 2 of 2
Getting COVID-19 vaccines with other vaccines
NIAC advises that children aged 5 to 11 years wait at least 2 weeks between getting a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, like the flu vaccine or 4 in 1 and MMR vaccines. Children aged 2 to 17 years can get the free nasal flu vaccine through participating GPs and pharmacies until the end of this month. Information about the flu vaccination programme is available on the HSE website at www.hse.ie/flu. A list of pharmacies giving flu vaccines is also available on https://bit.ly/PhFluFinder Children in Junior Infants may also be due their 4 in 1 and MMR vaccine, school teams will work with your school to ensure where possible the vaccination programme continues and children whose parents have consented for them to receive 4in1 and MMR vaccine can do so.
Consent
Only parent(s) and legal guardian(s) are entitled to provide consent for vaccination for students under 16 years of age. A video covering information about consent is available from our office YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/vE1X5AcwNgE
The girls have been very busy this week again. In Maths the girls were putting their knowledge and skills to practise when learning about length. The girls were set some targets in class to estimate and measure items in our classroom. We progressed on to Perimeter after this. Following this, we took a look at scale drawings. As you can see, they were very busy!
In Irish the girls have been focussing on na Briathra Neamhrialta (irregular verbs). The girls pass a ball around the class practising these verbs and changing from Aimsir Chaite, Aimsir Laithreach, Aimsir Fhaistineach (past, present and future tense).
This week we finished our Clay structures in Art. We painted our Humpty Dumpties and our Historical masks. Take a look below. Nice memories to have and remind the girls of 6th Class.
These are just snippets of all the work the girls do each and every day. Well done girls, keep up the great work.
Mrs Power
Catholic Schools Week
Dear Pupils, Mams, Dads, and Staff,
Catholic Schools Week 2022 begins on Sunday next, 22nd January. It is an annual celebration of all the wonderful things that happen in Catholic schools in Ireland, including the fact that many Catholic schools cater for children of other faiths and none.
This year, the theme is Catholic Schools: Living Life to the Full. Each day, we will look at a different aspect of the theme.
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning, we are delighted that one class from the school can attend Mass in Ferrybank Parish Church. On Friday, we will have some special prayers and reflections at our school Assembly. You can find more information about Catholic Schools Week on https://www.catholicschools.ie/catholicschoolsweek2022/
Yours sincerely,
C. O’Reilly – Principal
School Creed
Author Unknown
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.
Stop, Drop/Pick Up, Go
Our Stop, Drop/Pick Up, Go system has been in operation since September 2020 and based on feedback from parents it is working well. I am very grateful to the staff members who stand outside every morning and afternoon. They are not obliged to be there, and they do everything they can to make sure that the children arrive and leave safely. The girls have told us that they enjoy being greeted by staff members in the morning. I am also grateful to all the parents, grandparents and childminders who help us out by co-operating with the system that is in place.
As the system has been operating for over a year now, it is probably no harm to remind ourselves of a few basics that will help everyone to keep moving as quickly as possible.
Finally, our Stop, Drop/Pick Up, Go signs have been removed from the railings twice in the past couple of months. Please keep an eye on the school as you are passing by and phone the Gardaí if you see anyone on the school grounds or damaging school property.
Extra Bank Holiday
Yesterday, it was announced that there will be an extra Public Holiday this year, to take place on March 18th. The school will close for St. Patrick’s Day, Thursday March 17th and will remain closed until Monday 21st of March.
Thank You Miss McElroy
Miss McElroy, who has been teaching Second Class since 20th September, will be leaving us at the end of this week. Tomorrow will be her last day with the girls. Miss McElroy has done great work with Second Class, and I know that the girls will miss her. She will also be missed by our staff, but we wish her every success in her new position.
From Monday onwards, Miss Claire Harney will teach Second Class.
Headlice
Please help us to prevent the spread of headlice by checking your child’s hair regularly.
Congratulations
Congratulations to one of our past pupils, Saoirse, who is representing Waterford on the National Comhairle na nÓg. Saoirse was chosen as a Good Counsel Good Citizen of the Year when she was a pupil here, and we’re delighted to hear that she is continuing to develop her leadership skills.
Community Information
St. Brigid’s Family and Resource Centre and Waterford Childcare Committee have asked us to share the following information:
On Friday the 14th of January 3rd class took part in a live In-Class Wellbeing Webinar. It was very worthwhile and enjoyable and it will help us start 2022 with Optimism, Positivity and Wellbeing.
Every second Thursday 3rd class visit Ferrybank Library. We enjoy exploring and reading books by different authors. We share our thoughts and feelings on lots of books and authors before each visit. DEAR time (Drop Everything and Read) is our favourite time of the day!
Welcome back to all the girls in 6th class. We are looking forward to a new term, full of fun and learning. After hearing about the wonderful break that everyone had, we eased ourselves back into the routine of school.
The girls have started researching some facts for their new English genre ‘Persuasive’ writing. Our title is ‘Screen time is bad for children’. After doing some research, the girls are finding out that there are two sides to this story! Let’s wait and see who agrees and disagrees with this motion.
The girls learned about directed numbers in Maths and how positive and negative numbers are used in our daily lives. They play a ‘Scratch’ game and a board game based on a hot air balloon. The girls can explain more.
We have been busy modelling clay in Art. Last week the girls made humpty dumpties and learned some clay techniques – slip, score, blend. This week we are making clay masks linking to our History and Geography- Aztecs, Egyptians, Aborigines and Maori. We will post some finished products soon.
More updates next week.
Thanks,
Mrs. Power
