Dear Parents and Guardians/A Thuismitheoirí agus a Chaomhnóirí,
Value of the Month of October is Respect
PTA AGM : Relax in your slacks with your children
Fair play to our wonderful PTA who organised a talk by Joanna Fortune last week. Parenting is hard work so here are a few tips from her:
She emphasised the importance of play for all children, not just because it’s fun but vital for their development as it nurtures a sense of self and helps with relationships with others. Initially children (approx. 0-3yrs) need lots of sensory play (water, sand, bubbles, dry pasta, baking, playing in the muck, hand/back massage treatment). Next (approx. 3-5yrs) they then need lots of narrative and role play with toys, lego, dolls, etc. Next (approx. 5-7yrs) the child learns through being part of the role play e.g. dress up games, playing in role as the character. From approx. 7-12yrs the children may still need more of one or all of the above and at the same time opportunities for greater independence should be given e.g. joining a new team/sport/club, opportunities to make new friends even if that is challenging for the child. She emphasised the importance of allowing children to solve their own problems as they become more independent e.g. following a tricky situation for a child responding with “that must have been really tough for you, what are you going to do about it tomorrow”.
Basically, she recommended trying to spend 15minutes a day playing with and engaging in a fun way with our child. Nothing new but just spend some simple meaningful time with our child.
ECA’s
A huge thanks to Amanda for the fabulous programme of afterschool activities that have commenced this week.
Please see attached Information about ET National Forum Meeting Sat 12th October
If interested in attending as a representative of our school, please let us know. We are still looking for more volunteers on the day.
ET One Day Together
24th/25th October we will doing a fundraiser for two events in the one day. Dress up for Trick ‘r Treat for Temple St. and One Day Together for Educate Together.
Upcoming Events
• Hosting of National Educate Together Forum on Saturday 12th October 2019.
• Highlight of the Term: Awesome Autumn Fair Sunday 20th October 2019. Thank you to all the parents who are already working furiously on this, every bit of help reduces the load.
• Formation of a new Board of Management: all parents are eligible for election
Frása na Seachtaine: “Tá na duilleoga at titim”- The leaves are falling
Le meas,
_____________________________
Róisín Conlon,
Príomh Oide
Educate Together are holding a National Members Forum (NMF) on Saturday morning 12 October 2019 in Glasnevin ETNS from 10am to 1pm.
At the forum, there will be a number of simultaneous presentations/workshops followed by a plenary session and a light lunch. Thank you to those who have already indicated that they will attend and which of the presentations or workshops they wish to attend.
The National Members Forum is open to our Members – Principals, Board of Management members and Executive Committee members of Independent Educate Together Patrons. Should other members of the school community wish to attend we would ask the Chairperson to email [email protected], to confirm their attendance before Monday 7 October. No more than 6 delegates should attend on behalf of each member.
The Draft Agenda for the National Members Forum is as follows:
Plenary Session: Update from the Board of Directors
Simultaneous Workshops as follows:
How does an Educate Together School know it’s an Educate Together School?
Information on the Ethos Quality Framework and Guidance
We have more than 100 Members – How can we make sure our members are involved in all our big decisions?
Presentation on the Review of the Standing Orders for the AGM and ToR for the Standing Orders Committee
The Next Five Years –
Preview of our New Strategy and Operational Plan
How do we know if our buildings are safe?
Discussion on Accommodation, Structural and Fire Safety
The provision of Critical Policy Documents
Discussion on a motion referred to the Board at the AGM this year
Plenary Session: Report back from Workshops
Lunch and Networking
Please let us know who will be attending and indicate which workshop(s) you and your delegates would like to attend by completing and submitting this form before Monday 7 October.
AUTUMN FAIR
20th October 2019 12:00-3:00pm
The day is getting ever so near, and Second Class parents along with lots of brilliant volunteers are all busy getting ready for another amazing Autumn Fair. Every year this is the biggest fundraiser in the school, and this year we are aiming for another great one!
We have all of the old favourite stalls like Aladdin’s Cave, Arts & Crafts, Books, and Toys, and a few new ones like Go Karts, Story telling and Illustration sessions with Chris Judge, as well as a Luck Dip for children and for adults. The Boutique, Fruit and Veg stall, and our relaxing Holistic Haven are also back! And the ever popular cafe is back with a sustainable twist this year: the Green Tea Cafe.
So bring your family, bring your friends, come and join in all the fun: everyone is invited, everyone is welcome!
To make this amazing day happen, we need some help from you:
RAFFLE TICKETS
Raffle tickets have now been sent home with the kids. Please try and sell as many as you can, a book of 5 tickets is €10. As soon as you fill the book, return it to the school for collection. Make sure you return all tickets – sold and unsold – by Friday 18th October.
There are lots of great prizes to be won, including Hotel breaks, Health and Beauty vouchers, Gym vouchers etc. If you would like to donate a prize or voucher to our raffle you are still in time; please get in touch with us at the email below.
DONATIONS! DONATIONS!
We are now taking in your lovely donations. Anything and everything is welcome: bric-a-brac, women’s clothing and accessories, toys, sports equipment, homemade stuff, your imagination is your limit. We only ask that all items are in sellable condition. This will help us with our sustainability aim for this year, where we are hoping to keep waste down to a mimimum.
We are hoping to have a concise list of all items we are taking for donation up and running very soon. In the meantime, keep your donations coming, everything will find a new, loving home. Thank you in advance.
SUSTAINABILITY
As mentioned, we are working very hard to make Autumn Fair as sustainable as possible this year. We have a whole team dedicated to this and they are working very hard, making sure we generate as little waste as possible. In order to do this we are requesting that you help by doing the following:
1) bring your own reusable cup on the day – there is discounted tea and coffe for those who do
2) Get your child to bring their own reusable bottle that they usually bring to school, as well as a little lunch box for any food and drink bought on the day
3) Donate a plate: donate to us any small (side) plate/s you may have. You know the ones, we all have them: at the bottom of the pile, the odd, little plate that’s never used anymore. If you donate it to us, we are going to use it to replace paper plates. So give your odd plate a new purpose, donate it!
FOOD
And what good would a plate be if it didn’t have delicious food on it?! Once again we are looking for food for the Green Tea Cafe. As long as it does not have cream and it does not need to be heated we will take it. So bring in your cakes, fairy cakes, scones, sandwiches, vegan food, vegetarian food, and let everyone share. Then come and sit in our cafe and let your taste buds indulge as you enjoy a cup of tea with a slice of cake.
BOOKINGS
Our Holistic Haven team is bigger and calmer than ever, and they are currently taking bookings. If you are interested in any of the therapies provided: Acupuncture, Reiki, Chair Massage, get in touch. Tarot Card Reading and Mindfulness will aslo be available on the day:
For acupuncture: Paula: 086 845 7217 / [email protected]
For reiki & chair massage: Karen: 087 955 8997 / [email protected]
Sessions run from 10 – 20 minutes and are limited.
Grab a bit of ‘me time’ during the hectic madness of the Autumn Fair. Go on – you deserve it!
VOLUNTEERS
Finally, this day would not be possible if there weren’t a generous number of parents offering their time to help. We still need need lots of helping hands on our stalls: Haunted House, Toys, Aladdin’s Cave, Boutique to name but a few.
We also need more people for setting up on Friday 18th October, right from 2:20pm, and for clean up at the end of the day on the 20th, from 3pm.
If you’d like to get in touch about anything Autumn Fair you can do so on [email protected], or you can stop us at any drop off or pick up.
Regular updates and more information about Autumn Fair can be found on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GETNSAutumnFair Please like and share.
Thank You,