Author: Damien

The different tables are colour coded and after a couple of days your child will be given a special place to sit for when he is doing written work. Each table then has a group leader on a weekly rota
system which encourages responsibility and delegation skills.

Welcome all children and their parents to a new and exciting stage in your child’s life. During this year your child will make new friends, enjoy new experiences and learn the vital skill of reading. We now, teachers and parents, have the chance to work as partners to ensure that at the end of this school year your child will have a positive attitude towards education based on social and academic confidence.

Welcome

Seating

Starting School in XYZ NS

Points to Remember
Please make sure all your child’s things are labelled
School starts at 9.20am and finishes for junior infants at 2pm
Please keep an eye in your child’s school-bag as it may contain notes for parents
Check the booklist to see what your child needs for school
Please let the school know if your contact numbers change during the school year

The children wear the standard school uniform or tracksuit. (Please see separate sheet and fill in a tracksuit order form) Please ensure that all clothes likely to be removed i.e. coats, hats, scarves, gloves, jumpers etc. are clearly labelled with your child’s name as many children possess similar items. We do not recommend trousers with clasps or belts which may be difficult to open. Shoes or runners with velcro straps are easier for children to fasten and saves the teacher tying many sets of shoelaces!

There are two breaks during the day, a short one from 11am to 11.15am and a longer break from 12.30pm to 1.00pm. We try to ensure that no child feels lonely or left out, and, to this end we recommend that older brothers, sisters, cousins and friends do not ask to visit the younger children during playtime which may restrict them in forming peer attachments. Junior and senior infant children play on a separate yard for safety reasons.

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Starting School in XYZ NS

Clothing

Breaktime

All junior and senior infants go home at 2 o’clock. Please come promptly as your child may fret if he/she thinks he is forgotten. The children will be ready to go with coats and bags. If there are any special collection arrangements please let us know by note. Make sure that your child always knows who is collecting him/her at all times. To ease the children gently into school life, the junior infant children will go home at 12.30pm for the first week in September.
As soon as possible in the school year, try to leave your child at the gate in the morning and collect him/her at the gate in the evening in order to promote independence.

Home Time

We strongly urge you to follow our “healthy lunch box” recommendations. On starting school many children are too keyed up and distracted to eat a large lunch so we recommend a small nutritious snack, for example two sandwiches, milk or fruit juice, a piece of cheese, yoghurt or fruit. Sweets, crisps, nuts, fizzy drinks and bars are not allowed. Please do not give your child a drink in a glass bottle.
We try to ensure that the children eat a good portion of their lunch, particularly their sandwiches. We do not encourage swopping of lunch items so ensure your child is aware of this. Please ensure that your child’s lunch box is clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Informal assessment will be continually made by your child’s teacher. During the second term in senior infants the children are tested using a standardised reading test.
Every year near the end of the Christmas term parent- teacher meetings take place which provide an opportunity for discussing each child’s progress, both social and academic. Please do not hesitate to approach the Junior Infant teacher at any time if there is a point upon which you feel anxious. However, if you wish a more detailed discussion, please arrange a convenient time in advance by making an appointment through the school secretary. Formal written reports are sent out at the end of the Summer term.

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Assessment

Lunches

We are fortunate to have the services of Mrs. Wendy Armstrong, a trained P.E. teacher, under the PEP (Physical Education Primary) Scheme. At present she comes in on Mondays to teach the children. There is a charge for this service and a note will be sent home to this effect during the first term. The charge is collected in two amounts. The school tracksuit and runners should be worn on PE day. The PE lesson usually takes place in the school hall but in good weather it takes place in the yard or field.

Physical Education

The First Day—A Happy One

Please be positive with your child in preparing him/her for school and explain to him/her what will happen re. teacher, other children, breaks, sitting down, tidy-up time and 12.30 o’clock. On arrival it is very helpful if you can show your child where to hang his coat and leave his lunch. After meeting the teacher and some other children and finding a place to sit, please leave promptly because your child will pick up your anxiety. Most children, even if initially upset soon become distracted by their surroundings and settle down.

There is no need for children to bring toys into school and we do not encourage this practice because of breakages, competition and peer pressure. There are many toys and other things in school to play with.

This is a
Seomra Ranga resource. It is free of copyright for classroom use. All other uses are strictly © copyright.
All rights
reserved.
www.seomraranga.com

Junior infants is an important year during which children learn the skills needed for reading and writing which they will use and develop as they progress through the school. For this reason the emphasis is on developing these pre-reading and pre-writing skills.
Pre-reading skills involves lots of oral activities and games to aid language development. “Big Books” and small books are used to develop the children’s vocabulary and reading skills. We would encourage parents to read at home with their children as much as possible. Stories and nursery rhymes are good starting points. See also the separate sheet “Reading—Tips for Parents”.
Pre-writing skills involves, among other things, learning how to hold a crayon / pencil and left-to-right orientation. Letters are taught using the Letterland Programme.

Reading and Writing

Preparing Your Child For Schoolwork Security

Good writing is all about muscle and motor control so it will help your child greatly if he is practised at colouring, drawing, painting, manipulating materials such as plasticine, construction work, jigsaws etc. Noting visual differences is essential to reading and this skill is practised and encouraged by use of matching games, construction work, jigsaws etc. Reading aloud to your child will cultivate an interest in, and love of reading.

As part of health and safety in the school, we encourage regular washing of hands, particularly around eating time and after toilet use. We are not however always able to oversee this so please remind your child of its importance. Unfortunately germs and viruses spread very quickly in a classroom environment so it is vital that the children are encouraged to use a tissue when blowing their nose and to cover their mouth and turn away when coughing. If your child develops any contagious illness such as chickenpox, please keep him away from school until the period of contagion is over and inform his teacher immediately. We recommend that you check your child regularly for headlice which is highly contagious. Treat immediately if they occur and inform the teacher so that notification of possible risk may be sent out to other parents. All information regarding your child’s health is treated in the strictest confidence.
Occasionally your permission will be required for dental, eye or other health examinations.

Health and Safety

Toys

School Opens on Wednesday September 1st at 9.20am

Homework

During the first school term, from September to Christmas, children learn their pre-reading and pre-writing skills. This work is generally done in school so the children will not need to bring home books or do homework until the second term.

“Parents are the child’s primary educators, and the life of the home is the most potent factor in his or her development during the primary school years. It is widely recognised that significant educational, social and behavioural benefits accrue to the child as a result of effective partnership between parents and teachers. Close co-operation between the home and the school is essential, therefore, if children are to receive the maximum benefit from the curriculum.”
- Primary School Curriculum Introduction 1999 (p21)

June 2004

In the interest of safety and security, access to the school is restricted during the school day. Once the children are in school in the morning, doors are closed and access may only be gained to the school through the main school door. A buzzer system is in operation on this door.

This is a Seomra Ranga resource. It is free of copyright for classroom use. All other uses are strictly © copyright. All rights reserved.
www.seomraranga.com