Information for Parents of Incoming Junior Infants
Dear Parents,
Please find below a summary of all the information (and a little more!) that was presented to you at our Zoom Junior Infant Induction meeting last night.
There is a link at the bottom of the page to download and print the information as a Word document if you wish!
Starting School
Preparing your Child for Junior Infants
We are delighted to welcome all prospective parents to this page. Starting School is a big mile-stone in the life of your child. While he or she may have spent some time in Pre-School, beginning Primary School is very different. Classes are bigger, the school is a larger building than what your boy or girl has been used to. The day is more structured and in most cases the day is also longer.
To help your child prepare for the journey ahead of him or her I would like you to take into consideration the following:
- Talk to your child. Don’t just tell him/her to do things. Engage in real conversations, talking about the world about you, likes and dislikes, where you are going, what he/she did with friends. Discuss names of familiar things, numbers of things, colours etc.
- Read with your child every day, or if you are a good story-teller, tell some stories. Go to the library. Help him/her pick our colourful picture books. Discuss the pictures in the book. Read and talk about the story
- Keep Screen Time to a minimum. This can be TV, video games, iPads, iPhones etc. It has been proven that the over-use of screens has a detrimental effect on children’s language development and learning. (See below**)
- Encourage your child to play. Get him/her to play with friends, but also give him/her space to play on his/her own.
- Provide your child with jig-saws, beads, plasticine (Márla), play-dough, crayons, scissors etc
Please have a look at the following web-sites which will provide additional information for your child’s learning:
**Research proves that too much television and use of screens may cause the following problems
- Obesity in Children: children who watch TV or use screens for more than two hours per day are more likely to be overweight. They don’t have time to play.
- Irregular sleep: even for adults research has shown that falling asleep in front of the television causes sleep disruption. TVs in children’s bedrooms should be discouraged. Bedrooms are places of rest
- Children who watch more than 2 hours TV exhibit more behaviour problems
- Children who have TVs in bedrooms show impaired academic performance , as the passive activity of watching TV doesn’t encourage language development
- Children may come to believe that violence is a part of normal life and a way to solve problems if they watch too much TV or play unsuitable video games
Some tips to make it easy for you, the teacher and your child when school starts in September.
School bags
- School bags do not have to be huge and should not have too many zips and catches. They should be big enough to hold a lunch box, a folder and a story book.
- Please do not buy the “wheelie bag” style school bag for your child. They are a hazard in the classroom and on corridors.
- There is no need for pencil cases, markers, copies etc. All are provided by the school.
- No toys please. These only get broken or lost.
Lunch
- Make sure your child’s lunch box is simple to open and close and that your child can manage the lunch given to him/her. Have oranges peeled and provide a spoon if you give your child yogurt. Avoid food items such as “Frubes” etc which require opening. Also “sippy” bottles are the most appropriate for drinks as these are easy to open.
- Healthy lunches are encouraged: please do not give your child sweets, crisps, nuts, cereal bars or fizzy and sugary drinks etc.
School Uniform
- Shoes and runners should have Velcro fasteners.
- Coats and jackets should be as simple as possible for your child to manage.
- Some parents like to buy two tracksuits instead of buying one tracksuit and one uniform. If you would like to do this, this is not a problem.
- Please put your child’s name on his/her property. Show your child where you have written the name.
- Coats, jackets and jumpers are the most frequently lost items. Please put some identifying mark on these that your child can recognize.
School Books
- Please write the name of your child on the outside of the book, preferably up high where it is easily seen.
- Write clearly with a capital letter at the start of the name only. Do not join your writing.
Attendance
- Children should be in school every day.
- School begins at 8.50am and finishes at 1.30pm (For the first 2 weeks children will go home at 12 o’clock)
- Children will be collected by the teacher in the line in the school yard. If you are a little late you should still enter by the yard doors. After 9.10am you must ring at the main door.
- A phone call to the office is required if a child has a serious or contagious illness. Otherwise a note on his/her return will suffice.
- Early collections for dental or medical appointments only. Please call to the Office first to collect a visitor’s pass.
- Please avoid taking your child on foreign holidays during term time.
Health Issues or Other Problems
- Please inform the class teacher if your child has any medical problems e.g. an allergy. If your child needs to take medication during school time please come to the office to sign a Medical Indemnity Form.
- If your child has Special Needs the school and teacher need to be informed as early as possible in order to have resources in place for the beginning of the school year.
General Rules for Adults entering the School Premises
- Cars are not allowed into the school grounds. This is obviously for your child’s safety. Also, please be aware where you park in the locality. We regularly get calls from neighbouring houses saying that their driveways are blocked by cars of parents collecting children.
- There is a strict no-smoking policy once you are inside the gates of the school.
- No dogs are allowed on the school grounds.
- All children enter by the yard doors in the morning. These doors are opened until 9.10am. If parents come into the classroom to see the teacher in the morning they must also exit by these doors.
- The yard is not supervised in the morning time so please stay with your child until the teacher collects him/her at 8.50am
We at Scoil Bhríde wish you and your child the very best as we embark on this stage of the education journey together. Please feel free to talk to your child’s class-teacher or the Principal if you have any concerns. We do encourage the making of appointments so that you get the attention and time you deserve.
Go n-éirí an bóthar leat!
