The board of management has recently approved an official enrollment policy for Carrigaline Educate Together National School.

One significant change is that the age requirement for entering Junior Infants is that the child is between 4 and 6 years old.  This differs from the previous policy where for entry from September 2009 children had to be 4 by June 30th.

You can download the enrollment policy as a pdf document here or contact the school if you wish to have a copy sent to you.

Pre-enrollment is also now open for 2013.  The basis of our enrollment policy is a first come first served principal, so pre-enrolling is highly recommended.

In consultation with the Board of Management and the Principal, Mel Thornton, the Parent Association has decided that the proceeds from February’s bag-packing fundraiser, which are projected to come to roughly €900, will be divided between three areas.

First, the PA needs to cover our own start-up costs of €240, which include National Parents’ Council membership, insurance and PA training. We will also keep an additional €200 for other expenses that may come up in the year, with any extra to be put towards next year’s costs.

Secondly, the school trip to see the Cork Pops’ annual Concert for Schools will cost €306.

Finally, another 20% of the money raised will go towards our long-range goal of purchasing a new photocopier for the school. Any excess money will be allocated in consultation with the Board and Principal.

A full account of the money raised and how it was spent will be given to all parents after the bag-pack.

Many thanks to all CETNS parents for their support!

CETNS parents will raise money while helping customers bag their shopping at Dunnes Stores in Carrigaline. The bag pack will run on Saturday & Sunday, 14th & 15th February from 12-6pm.

There will be two shifts each day, 12-3pm and 3-6pm. We need four or five parents for each shift so that we can cover all the tills so please plan to give a few hours of your time and help make our first PA fundraiser a success!

The initial round of offers for places for Junior Infants starting in September 2009 have been posted.  The offers should arrive within the next couple of days.  Please take the time to carefully read the offer letter and the steps required to enroll.

An enrollment evening for parents is planned for Thursday 5th February at 7.00pm at the school.  This is an opportunity to enrol your child for September 2009 and to meet members of the staff, board of management and parents association.

Enrollment for Junior Infants 2009 will remain open, with offers being sent out on a first come first served basis if spaces become available.

If you have any questions regarding enrollment please feel free to post them on the comment section below or contact us directly.

The CETNS Parent Association wants to know what you need from us. Members of the sub-committees are surveying you for your views on what kinds of extra-curricular activities you want for our children, what topics you would like informational workshops for parents to cover and how you would like to get information from the PA. Tell them what you want and make your voice count!

Wednesday evening’s Parent Association meeting was well-attended and very productive.  Eight parents and our principal, Mel, worked hard and got through a packed agenda, including setting up sub-committees to work on: Fundraising, Building our Parent Community, writing the Parent Association Constitution, organising Extra-Curricular Activities for our children and setting up Information Workshops for Parents.  We hope to have news of our next fundraiser and PA-sponsored event very soon.

We are still a very new school but we already have a fantastic level of parent participation. The CETNS Parent Association is committed to building a strong parent community with a culture of active involvement and inclusion. Every voice counts and every parent can make a difference. Why not come to our next meeting (Feb.19th) and see how you can be part of making our school the best it can be?

All parents are invited to our monthly coffee morning which will be held next Friday, 23rd January.  There is no need to book ahead, or even to be on time! Just come along any time between 10:30-12. Directions & contact info from pa@carrigalineeducatetogether.ie

And as always, small children are very welcome! This is a very relaxed and informal way to get to know your fellow parents and enjoy a coffee and a chat.   Hope to see you there!

The Department of Education’s Senior Education Needs Organiser visited our school in November 2008 and allocated our school 32 hours per week for Special Needs Assistance (SNA) support. 

Since January 2009 we have engaged two part-time Special Needs Assistants.  They help by assisting our teachers with any needs of a non-teaching nature for pupils who have specific learning and/or physical challenges.  Both Special Needs Assistants have recognised SNA qualifications.

For more information on the role of an SNA please check out the Special Education & Support Services website.

To celebrate the end of a successful first term, on Tuesday, 23rd December 2008 the new Educate Together National School in Carrigaline (CETNS) invited everyone involved with the school to a party. Held in the clubhouse of Carrigaline United A.F.C. on Ballea Road, where the school is temporarily accommodated, the party opened with a speech by Principal Mel Thornton and Chairperson Billy Tague.

With the school‛s multicultural and multi denominational approach in mind, a variety of snacks made by the parents were served up, while everyone enjoyed time for chat and play. The children did a great performance of songs and poems they practised during the term. Afterwards they took part in a session of mini-music with Val Davin. The party peaked in a lucky-dip with a present brought by each child.

During its first term, CETNS formally finalised their Board of Management and Parents Association. Also, the new surface surrounding clubhouse and school has finally been completed, and portacabins will follow in January.

The two classes of the school have been continually enrolling more children throughout the term. Junior Infants have been learning English, reading, writing, numbers and lots of other skills with the help of their teacher Christine Donnery.

Principal Mel Thornton‛s class caters for Senior Infants up to third class in a child-centered environment. Since the start of December, the school has the pleasure of welcoming the help of Resource Teacher David Barker. In early 2009, two Special Needs Assistants will take up work in both classrooms.

Together, the start-up group, Board of Management, teachers and parents of the school have created an open, welcoming climate, fostering good relations in keeping with the ethos of the Patron Educate Together.

If you would like more information about CETNS, please visit www.carrigalineeducatetogether.ie
or call 087 7453659.

Enrolments from 2009 will be offered in January.

Carrigaline Educate Together National School would like to thank everyone for their support and looks forward to continuing its great relationship with the community into an exciting new year 2009 and beyond.

The next CETNS Parent Association meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 13th from 8-9:30pm in the Junior Infants classroom (downstairs). Our first project together, the End-of-Term party, was a great success, thanks to the involvement of all parents – well done to us! At the meeting we will set our goals for the rest of the school year, choose a fundraising project, discuss ways to build our school community and plan to write our PA constitution.  All parents are invited to come along to the meeting and participate. We need everyone’s ideas and enthusiasm to make our school the best it can be!  See you there!