School Opening Hours
Junior & Senior Infants: 8.50-1.30
For the first two weeks Junior Infants go home at 12.00 noon.
1st – 6th classes: 8.50-2.30
School gates open at 8.30
School Uniform
The school uniform is an important part of being a pupil in SCM. Once in the uniform your child is instantly recognisable as a member of our school community. The full uniform is required to be worn in school and while representing the school. The uniform must always be well presented. The uniform is as follows:
Grey trousers/skirt/pinafore
Grey jumper with school crest
White shirt/blouse
Red tie
The school tracksuit is grey and red and it is to be worn with a white/red polo shirt underneath.
The school jumper and tracksuit can be bought at https://carriguniformshop.ie/
All personal belongings are to be clearly labelled with child’s name. The school will not accept any responsibility for any uniform, shoes or items lost or mislaid.
Healthy Eating
Here in Scoil Chlochair Mhuire we have a healthy eating policy which aims to promote the health and well-being of all the pupils and to encourage healthy food choices in the children’s lunch boxes. We are a NUT FREE school due to some students having high allergies. Do not put any of the following in your child’s lunch Nutella, Milky Bars, Kinder Bueno, Granola Bars etc..
What does a healthy lunch look like?
The following are suggestions for quick and nutritious lunches:
Drinks: Water, milk.
Bread and alternatives: Bread, rolls, wraps, pitta bread, pasta, potato salad, wholemeal scones,
Breadsticks, crackers, rice cakes (plain or with a healthy topping).
Fruit and vegetables: Fruit, berries, cucumber, sweetcorn, tomatoes, carrot sticks, coleslaw.
Savouries: Lean meat, chicken, turkey, tinned fish, cheese, vegetarian sausage, hummus, beans.
A small treat is allowed on a Friday
Formal Parent Teacher Meetings
These are held once a year and it is hoped that all parents attend. Should a parent wish to speak to a teacher at any other time during the year, an appointment can be made through the school office.
Personal Insurance
Each pupil is encouraged to participate in the school personal insurance scheme, which gives cover for 24 hours a day 365 days a year – in and out of school.
Attendance
Parents can input notes explaining absences into the Aladdin system. The school authorities must make reports to the National Education Welfare Board for any pupil who misses twenty or more days and these reasons will be noted.
Curriculum
The primary school curriculum celebrates the uniqueness of each child and is laid out in seven curricular areas: Language, Mathematics, Arts Education, Physical Education, Social Environmental and Scientific Education, Social, Personal and Health Education and Religious Education. In Scoil Chlochair Mhuire, visiting teachers may attend for Irish Dancing, Speech & Drama and some areas of the Physical Education Curriculum in all class groups.
Piano lessons during school hours are available to those who wish to avail of this option. Pupils are prepared for Royal Irish Academy Examinations.
Aistear
Aistear is the early childhood curriculum framework for all children from birth to six years. The word Aistear is the Irish word for journey and was chosen because early childhood marks the beginning of children’s lifelong journeys.
Aistear is the key learning and teaching tool used to implement the primary school curriculum in infant classes in Scoil Chlochair Mhuire. The children play for an hour each day, with an emphasis on active learning and oral language development. Curriculum subjects covered during Aistear include: S.E.S.E., S.P.H.E., oral language, reading, writing, maths, art, music, drama.
During the Aistear hour, the children are implementing their numeracy and literacy skills in a more meaningful way through the use of roleplay, games and real-life situations.
Assessment
Teachers assess pupils at regular intervals in order to build up a record of children’s learning and give parents/guardians a clear picture of how their children are progressing. Children needing extra support and assistance are provided with this as needs arise. The standardised tests used in the school are Drumcondra, Test 2R and the Belfield Infant Assessment Profile.
Parents’ Association
We are fortunate in having a very active Parents’ Association and meetings are held on a regular basis. The Parents’ Association organises the annual School Walk, the Book Rental Scheme, Book Shop at the end of the school year and a Savings Scheme for school books.
Aladdin
Scoil Chlochair Mhuire is using the Aladdin System to assist us with the smooth and effective administration of the school. Aladdin is a secure, cloud based system with extended SSL encryption meaning that even if it is accessed across an unsecured wireless connection, the data is fully protected. It also eliminates the chance of physical loss and theft of data and enhances our school’s compliance with data protection law. Aladdin is designed to be easy to use.
The Parent Portal section of Aladdin gives you secure access to your child’s details and enables you to check up on his/her progress. You can:
Monitor your child’s attendance
View notices from the school and/or your child’s teacher
View school emails and texts
View school newsletters
View class lists
View booklists
Update your personal contact information
Opt into or out of your child’s class contact list (this allows you, if you wish, to share your contact details with the other parents/guardians in your child’s class)
View your child’s standardised test scores
View and print a copy of your child’s end-of-year school report.
Along with strengthening our home-school partnership, we also envisage the parent portal helping the school to:
Improve attendance by allowing parents view just how many school days their child may have currently missed, along with late arrival and early leaving information.
Eliminate class/school notes being sent home.
Help the school/teachers communicate with parents when the need arises.
Reduce costs by eliminating the need to post home school report cards
Reduce costs by reducing the number of texts that need to be sent
In order to allow you to access your child’s end of year documents via Parent Portal, we will need your email address. Please ensure that we have an active, valid email address for you at all times.