Opening And Closing Times
School commences at 9.20am. Children must be in school by 9.10am – No earlier, no later. School finishes at 2pm for Infants and 3pm for all other classes. The school does not accept responsibility for the safety of the children left in the school grounds outside of these times.
Notes When Absent
Under the rules of the Education Welfare Act, parents must forward a note stating why their child is absent from school. If your child is to be collected early from school, you must let the class teacher know. The person collecting your child must sign a record book in the Office when the child is leaving school early. This is in the interest of child protection and safety.
Appointments With Teacher/Principal
If at any time you have concerns/questions or wish to meet with the teacher to discuss your child, please make an appointment through the school secretary, stating briefly the nature of the meeting. An appointment will allow both yourself and the teacher the opportunity to meet and spend the necessary time your child deserves. There may be another teacher present at the meeting. Should a parent/guardian arrive to school unannounced, it may not be possible to have a meeting at that time.
School Uniform
Our school uniform consists of
Boys – Grey trousers, grey shirt/polo shirt, wine jumper and wine tie.
Girls – Grey skirt/pinafore/trousers, white shirt/polo shirt, wine jumper and wine tie.
These can be bought in any retail/high street shop.
School uniform must be worn every day and when representing Faugher School at quizzes and at other events. Please put your child’s name on every item of clothing. Please send a note if there is a problem. On P.E./Sports days, children may wear tracksuits/sports clothes. Faugher National School, Dialann Scoile
Healthy Lunches
As part of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) Programme, we encourage the children to become more aware of the need for healthy food in their lunch boxes.
Children are encouraged to eat healthy, nutritious lunches – these may include sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, yoghurt. Crisps, sweets, chocolate bars, chewing gum and fizzy drinks are strictly forbidden in school.
Treat Day- Friday will be our treat day. On this day, children can include a small, sensible treat e.g. small snack bar, popcorn, cereal bar.
Medical Plan
If a child has an accident during school time, the class teacher or teacher on playground supervision will attend to him/her. Should the child receive a minor graze/cut, the teacher will wash the wound with water or sterile swabs. Plasters may be applied at the discretion of the teacher.
With more serious cuts, abrasions, illness etc. the teacher will consult with the principal who in turn will inform the parent/guardian.
All accidents requiring further attention will be recorded in the school’s accident book.
Please note– No medicines will be given to a pupil by the class teacher. Parents must call into school to administer medicines if prescribed. Parents must inform the principal in writing if their child has a specific medical problem. Faugher National School, Dialann Scoile
Problem Solving
One of the main aims of the maths curriculum is to develop children’s problem-solving skills. They don’t learn to add, subtract, multiply or divide just for the sake of it! They need to see these applied in real-life situations.
When your child is trying to solve a problem, ask what he or she is thinking. If your child seems puzzled, ask them to tell you what doesn’t make sense. (Talking about their ideas and how they reach solutions helps children learn to reason mathematically)
Solving problems can be a real PROBLEM !! However is we look at a problem more in terms of a story with clues to help us find the answer then it becomes more of a CHALLENGE than a problem.
RUDE is a word we can use to help us to remember how to solve a problem
R Read (at least twice)
U Underline (the important information)
D Draw (in order to see the problem)
E Estimate (know roughly the answer)
Never give children the answers to problems! By giving away answers, you are depriving your child of the chance to develop the mental processes required to learn a new concept. No parent enjoys seeing their child struggle, but providing answers could set them up for frustration when they have to tackle more difficult problems and might even stunt their progress as classmates move on to more advanced lessons. Furthermore, your child’s teacher will not be able to address the misconceptions or areas of weakness that should be targeted in school if homework assignments do not reflect the student’s level of understanding.
- Do encourage persistence. Some problems take time to solve. Taking a break often provides fresh enthusiasm and alternative strategies.
- Do build on your child’s strengths and what they already knows. Make links between maths and daily life.
- Do correct wrong answers in a positive fashion. The goal is to help build your child’s confidence and develop positive attitudes toward math.
Homework Guidelines
All children are set homework, but not at weekends. The main purpose of homework is to reinforce work done in school and to encourage children to work independently. Parents should supervise homework and be available to help and support the child. In no circumstances should a parent do a child’s homework. It is most important to check the homework has been completed satisfactorily and to sign the Dialann Scoile. Please ensure homework is completed fully before signing. The following are general guidelines as to how much time the average child should spend on his/her homework.
Junior Infants & Senior Infants 20 minutes
Rang 1 & Rang 2 20 to 30 minutes
Rang 3 & Rang 4 30 to 40 minutes
Rang 5 & Rang 6 40 to 60 minutes
Remember – if homework becomes a stressful experience between parent and child, please contact the class teacher as soon as this happens.
Self Assessment Learning Folders (SALF)
We have recently introduced ‘Self-Assessment’ folders for the children.
The purpose of having children engage in self-assessment is to help them determine what they think is their most gratifying and well-done work and what goals they set for themselves.
A central aspect of the Self-Assessment process is that the children build and maintain a folder with evidence of their learning and achievements together with justification for their choices. The folders will include an organiser that children complete as they insert evidence of learning in each curriculum area. They will become aware of the need to include samples of their work across the breadth of the curriculum being experienced in school.
The children will bring their folder home from time to time. This is an opportunity for you to discuss their work with them and for them to show-case their work. Parents are invited to discuss the content, ask questions and provide feedback to their children about it.
Folders should be returned to school, intact.