October 2012

NEWSLETTER

OCTOBER 2012

SCHOOL CLOSURES

ASSEMBLIES
Assemblies continue this month with Mrs O’Prey’s P5 class on Friday 5 October, Mrs McClurg’s and Miss Feely’s P2 class on Friday 12 October, and Ms Dorman on Friday 19 October 2012. All assemblies begin at 9.30am and parents, family and friends are welcome.

ORCHESTRA
Orchestra resumed on Wednesday 3 October for Primary 5, 6, and 7 pupils. It takes place in the school hall from 2:30-3:30pm. Please remember to bring instruments every Wednesday! Children may be collected from the hall at 3:30pm. (Any P7 child, attending Entrance Test After-School Club is excused if they wish).

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES
We were delighted to celebrate European Day of Languages this year with the help of our local post-primary schools on Wednesday 26th September.

P1-P7 pupils received language tuition in French, Spanish or Irish facilitated by sixth year students from Dominican College, St Patrick’s College and one of our own parents Fabienne Nugier.

The Primary 6 children very kindly baked buns for their bun sale, selling buns from around Europe to help with the celebrations. Proceeds went to the Northern Ireland Hospice £200! Well done, P6.

On Friday our staff had the opportunity to enjoy a continental breakfast in the staffroom at break-time, with all donations given to the Northern Ireland Hospice.

We would like to thank everyone involved in celebrating European Day of Languages.

LUNCHTIME ACTIVITIES
At lunchtime the children have been enjoying playing a variety of games and sports with our Lunch-time Activities programme. P4 and P7 pupils have been doing a fantastic job as leaders for the activities. All the children in P4 and P7 will have the opportunity to be a leader throughout the year. Since introduced a number of years ago, the lunchtime activities have always been a huge success and greatly benefit the
children, not just in terms of their physical health and well-being but also in the development of their social skills. Activities rotate, so there should be plenty of variety for the children!

WALK TO SCHOOL MONTH
October is officially designated as ‘Walk to School’ month and a number of activities are being organised throughout the month to encourage all children to walk, cycle or scoot to school! Monday 22 – Friday 26 October is ‘Walk to School’ week in St Therese of Lisieux. Class teachers will be speaking to the children about this special week.

EDUCATION WORKS BETTER
The Department of Education has launched a new programme encouraging parents to get more involved in their child’s learning and have asked that we bring this campaign to the attention of our parents. In St Therese of Lisieux we are extremely fortunate with the level of support we receive from our parents and continue to look at ways in which we can sustain and improve this support. For further information on the campaign visit www.nidirect.gov.uk/education-works.

WET DAY ARRANGEMENTS
If the weather is inclement, the following arrangements will be in place:

Mornings:
Children go to Assembly Hall until 8.45am. From 8.45, children go straight to their classroom.

Afternoons:
• P1 parents and parents from Miss Gargan’s class should wait under the canopy and teachers will send the children out when they see the parent/guardian.
• P2 parents should go to the back door (follow the path to the Nurture Room) and teachers will send the children out when they see the parent/guardian.
• P3 parents should wait outside the main playground door and teachers will send the children out when they see the parent/guardian.
• All other children will be dismissed as normal with class teachers escorting the children outside.

BIKE IT
We are delighted to announce that we have achieved all of our cycling targets and will soon be receiving the ‘Bike It’ Bronze Award! Our cycling to school levels have jumped from 4.6% to 32.5% since January 2012! Congratulations and well done to everyone for such great cycling efforts! We are looking forward to many cycling events this year, starting with our ‘Hallowe’en Cycle to School Day’ (Wednesday 31st October). Children are invited to dress their bicycles/scooters up in spooky Halloween costumes. The spookiest bicycle/scooter will win a prize. Good luck everyone!

CAVEHILL PROJECT
Last year, six P7 children worked alongside artist Alan Cargo and children from Cavehill Primary School to design and create a special bench, which has now been installed on the slopes of Cavehill. On Wednesday 3 October, the children involved in the project and two of our current P7 children were invited to the launch of the bench with local press and the Deputy Lord Mayor. The children were inspired by the landscape and natural materials from the Cavehill and used clay to make their designs. These designs were then incorporated into the artist’s final creation. The children thoroughly enjoyed working on the project and are very proud of the result! Make sure you go for a walk and have a look, if not a rest!

POETRY IN MOTION
Mr McKiernan’s P5 class have recently started the Poetry in Motion Programme. The children are working alongside a local poet, to create their own poems, which will be published later in the year. They have chosen “Belfast Our City” as a theme and are really enjoying the sessions. They will also perform their work for other Belfast schools at a special celebration event later in the term.

NATIONAL POETRY DAY
The Theme for National Poetry Day this Year is “Stars.” It is celebrated on Thursday 4th Oct 2012 and our Foundation Stage Children will be taking part in activities to celebrate their love of poetry on this day. Have fun everyone!

EXTENDED SCHOOLS
We are delighted to inform you that we have, once again, been awarded an extended schools budget for the new school year. Many clubs have already begun for the children and others will be introduced throughout the year.

A new venture this year is extending the provision for parents, friends and family members. From Monday 22 October the school will be open two evenings a week, initially, for adult clubs/courses/workshops. We are hoping that, in the 5 initial clubs – Salsa, Circuits, Knitting, Art and one other (tbc), we have managed to have something that will appeal to many!

Full information on these clubs will be sent home shortly. If you have any suggestions or feedback regarding our extended schools programme please contact Mr Scullion at the school.

SCHOOL COUNCIL
Congratulations and thank you to our 2011/2012 School Council members for all their hard work, dedication and achievements. The School Council consists of one representative from each class in P4 –P7. We are currently seeking new members for this year’s School Council and we look forward to another successful year. Look out for their first Newsletter ‘News and Views’!

ASSOCIATION OF THE FRIENDS OF ST THERESE
Our Parents Association ‘The Friends of St Therese’ had their first meeting last month and new officers were elected. They are currently preparing a Newsletter/Information sheet for parents outlining some of their work. They are very keen to have new members so if you are interested, leave your name at the school office and one of the members will be in contact with you. Below are a few of the events they will be running this term.
 
Cinema Day
Monday 15th October
P1 - P4 4.30pm - 6pm
P5 - P7 6.30pm - 8pm
 
Halloween Disco
Thursday 25th October
P1 - P4 6pm - 7pm
P5 - P7 7.15pm - 8.15pm
 
Christmas Disco
Friday 7th December
P1 - P4 6pm - 7pm
P5 - P7 7.15pm - 8.15pm

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER
The School Photographer will be visiting the school on Tuesday 23 October and Wednesday 24 October. Letters will go home shortly.