Return to School ’25

June 2025 Last Few Points to Note Community is a Core Value of Education and Training Board (ETB) schools. I want to take a moment to sincerely thank and congratulate every member of our school community for showing up and giving your very best each and every day this year. A heartfelt thank you to all the parents for your incredibly generous summer gift. We had a lovely night out in Navan to mark the end of the school year—it was the perfect way to celebrate all that we’ve achieved together. A special word of thanks to our fantastic Parent Association for your ongoing support of teaching and learning in our school. Our Career Day was a brilliant success again this year, and the Summer Carnival continues to be one of the highlights of our calendar. I strongly encourage more parents to get involved next year. With solid structures now in place, your contribution can have a real impact, and it’s a wonderful way to show your child how much you value their education. To the incredible staff and school management team: thank you for your dedication, your positivity, and your commitment to always putting the child at the centre of everything we do. Your efforts don’t go unnoticed. I’d also like to thank LMETB and our Board of Management for their ongoing support in the running and development of our school. Finally, the biggest thanks and congratulations go to our wonderful pupils and the fantastic Pupil Council. You are the heart of this community, and it is a privilege to witness your growth, enthusiasm, and achievements every day....

Summer Camp 2025

Ard Rí CNS Summer Camp caters for children from incoming Junior Infants to 3rd Class (2025/2026) from 30th June to 4th July 2025, 9:30am to 1pm daily.  Forms link: https://forms.office.com/e/GT4TFN3jMw  Places on the camp are limited and we will operate on a first come, first served basis. Filling out this form does not guarantee a place in the camp due to limited availability. I will be in contact with you via email or text message to let you know if you have secured a place. Thank you,  Múinteoir Karen...

New Entrants September 2025

June 2025 A few last points to note before we close for summer! We look forward to meeting all our campers next Monday morning. If you are not going to camp we will see you on Wednesday 27th of August at 10am. School Calendar available here. School attendance is very important. When booking holidays please stick to the school holidays. There will be pre-loved uniforms available for you during camp week and again in August. Teacher recruitment is on-going. There will be at least two rounds of interviews over the summer. We will let you know which class your child is in and who their teacher will be in August. Each child will require a well-stocked pencil case: Primary Pals and Primary Pals PlusWe understand childcare is a huge challenge for families in our community. Primary Pals is a club for pupils in Junior and Senior Infants which runs daily from 1.40-2.40pm. Primary Pals Plus runs from 2.40-3.30pm each day. If you are interested in this service please contact Jana on 0863445115 to discuss. If you have any questions over the holidays drop us an email. We will get back to you within a few days. 📞 087 1341007📧 [email protected] Happy days ahead,Darragh and all the team at Ard Rí CNS June 2025 Free School Books & Your Child’s Annual School Costs 2025/26 As part of the Free School Books Scheme, all schoolbooks, workbooks, copybooks, classroom resources, shared books, photocopying, and Art & Craft materials will be provided free of charge to every child in Irish primary schools. However, there are some additional costs not covered by the grant....

LMETB Interschools Art & Photography Competition 2025

We are thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s LMETB Interschools Art & Photography Competition 2025! Our talented pupils have showcased their creativity, skill, and artistic expression, making this competition a true celebration of the arts. This year’s competition featured a broad variety of themes and artistic styles, reflecting the unique perspectives and talents of our pupils. A big thank you to all the pupils who participated! Your artwork amazed and inspired us, and we are incredibly proud of your efforts. After much deliberation, our judge, the great Irish artist Robert Ballagh, has selected the following winners: Winning order and prizes will be announced shortly.   Congratulations to all our winners and participants! Your creativity and passion for art continue to brighten our school community. The Awards Ceremony 2025 and the official opening of the Winner’s Exhibition will take place in The Droichead Arts Centre, Stockwell St., Drogheda on Thursday 13th of March at 7pm. Invites will follow. The Winner’s Exhibition will remain open to the public until Saturday 29th of March. Stay inspired and keep creating! #SchoolArtCompetition #CreativityInAction...

Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE)

As per the February Newsletter, Teachers will be commencing the Relationships and Sexuality education programme (RSE) this week. RSE is an integral part of the Social Personal Health Education (SPHE) programme. RSE provides children with opportunities to develop knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practical skills necessary to establish and sustain healthy personal relationships with self and others. In addition to learning about relationships, RSE invites children to explore concepts such as physical development and human sexuality. Topics are explored with children in a developmentally appropriate, spiral nature throughout their primary education. The sensitive elements of the Relationships and Sexuality education programme are covered under the Strand Units, ‘Growing and Changing’ and ‘Taking Care of my Body’ and ‘Safety and Protection’. We will be completing these Strand Units with all class levels during Term 2. This programme forms part of the SPHE curriculum which all primary schools are required to implement. Co-operation between parents and teachers is essential to the success of this programme. It is important that parents are aware of the content of RSE lessons and can discuss the content with their children. Your child may bring home worksheets which will inform you on the topics being covered in class and how you can reinforce the messages and/or content at home. You can familiarise yourself with the content of the Primary School RSE lessons at: https://www.pdst.ie/sites/default/files/RSE%20in%20Primary%20School%20Parent%20Tips.pdfhttps://www.curriculumonline.ie/primary/curriculum-areas/social-personal-and-health-education/sphe-rse-toolkit/ The Ard Rí CNS Relationships and Sexuality Education policy has recently been updated: https://www.ardricns.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/RSE-Policy-2023.pdf We encourage every child to complete this worthwhile scheme of work. If you have any concerns, please email us on [email protected]...

Agree to Agree Pilot Programme

15.01.2025 Dear Parents, Thank you for attending the recent webinar with Dr Maureen Griffin—I hope it provided valuable insights into the Agree to Agree project and highlighted the importance of working together to meet children’s needs and ensure their online safety. Feedback has been very positive. We’ve already completed a staff survey and pupil focus groups, and now it’s your turn! Please take a few moments to complete our Agree to Agree Parent Survey and share your thoughts on this very important process. The survey is completely anonymous. Please complete one survey per family. If you have more than one child in the school please complete with your eldest child in mind. Agree to Agree Parent Survey Your feedback is essential in shaping our next steps. Thank you for your support! 14.01.2025 For those who couldn’t attend last night’s webinar, here’s a quick overview of our online session about the “Agree to Agree” project, a collaborative initiative aimed at addressing the challenges of children’s use of internet-enabled devices. Host: Dr. Maureen Griffin, Forensic Psychologist Why Are We Doing This? We know that parents often feel torn. You don’t want your child to feel left out, but keeping up with trends can be overwhelming—especially when children use “pester power.” The project emphasizes the importance of the school community working together to meet children’s needs, rather than their wants. The Challenges Dr. Maureen Griffin highlighted some key issues affecting children today: Overexposure to age-inappropriate content Mental health concerns such as anxiety, low self-esteem, and poor resilience Sleep deprivation due to excessive screen time From an Irish perspective, the “Left to their...

Ard Rí Winter Show 2024

Dear Junior and Senior Infants, Happy Christmas to you all. I hope you are having a holiday. I am delighted to share the video of your Winter Show with you. It will be a memory you will cherish forever. Enjoy watching it with your family on Christmas Day. To your family and friends all over the world I wish you Nollaig Shona (Gaelic for Happy Christmas). Thanks once again to our friends Victor and Luana for recording and producing these beautiful videos. I look forward to hearing all your stories when you get back to school in January. Rang Niamh Junior Infants: https://vimeo.com/magnafilms/review/1041818973/38790c0109 Junior Infants all together: https://vimeo.com/magnafilms/review/1041815426/9b8b50e4ad Rang Ciara Junior Infants: https://vimeo.com/magnafilms/review/1041816321/b7f40e6da7 Rang Gráinne Senior Infants: https://vimeo.com/magnafilms/review/1041817574/e96d826417 Senior Infants all together: https://vimeo.com/magnafilms/review/1041812777/9668b42a37 Rang Ruth Senior Infants: https://vimeo.com/magnafilms/review/1041813672/233b354c14 The Grand Finale: https://vimeo.com/magnafilms/review/1041814677/ad677be2fd I look forward to hearing all your stories when you get back to school in January. Happy days,...

Rang a 6- Newsfeed

January 2025 Dear parents and guardians of 6th Class pupils, Children starting Post Primary school in September ’25 will have their Assessment Tests on different Saturdays from the end of January through February. Your child’s school will contact you shortly with specific details. It is very important that the pupils understand that there is no work they need to do in preparation for this test. These are not Entrance Exams. The students have already been accepted into First Year. Remind them that they cannot fail, the assessment just informs the school of their individual strengths and the type of learning that supports them best. Please check what time your child’s test is at and arrive 15 minutes early. Schools have different requirements on the day. Some require you bring stationery, some ask you bring wired headphones, some ask you bring a snack and a drink for a morning break. Prepare for this in advance, you do not want a panic in the morning when headphones don’t work etc. Children should be well slept and have a good breakfast before they go in. Choose an outfit which will make a positive first impression. Schools are using Cognitive Ability Tests for this assessment. As far as I know, they use a test by GL Assessment (or similar). Some schools use a digital version which will be carried out on a computer, others use a paper test. Cailín and Wilma will be doing some work with the children. This will mainly focus on visualisation. They will discuss what to expect from the day, test environment, staying calm, what to do if you can’t answer...

School Bus

Update 12/09/2024 We have added some more stops to the Bus Service. The bus is now also stopping in Limekiln Wood close to the bollards in the center of the estate. The bus will be able to offer a one-way service to Athlumney Abbey and Athlumney Wood on the way home from school only. The new approx. timetable will be as follows: Morning: 8.25am Bus Stop Super Valu Metges Road Bus Stop Boyne View- Metges Road Boyne View- steps between Spire View and Chestnut Court (Old Johnstown Village) Bus Stop Cois Glaisín- Metges Road 8.45am Limekiln Wood at the bollards in the center of the estate 8.50am Baker Hall stopping on The Avenue at entrance to The Way The Park The Grove The Close 8.53am Academy Street 9.00am Arriving at Ard Rí CNS Afternoon: At home time the bus will leave Ard Rí CNS just before 2.40pm 2.40pm Ard Rí CNS 2.45pm Limekiln Wood at the bollards in the center of the estate 2.50pm Baker Hall stopping on The Avenue at entrance to The Way The Park The Grove The Close 2.55pm Academy Street stopping at Academy Square The bus will turn left over St Martha’s Bridge and up Bóthar Sion Athlumney Abbey Athlumney Wood 3.10pm Bus Stop Super Valu Metges Road Bus Stop Boyne View Metges Road Boyne View- steps between Spire View and Chestnut Court (Old Johnstown Village) Bus Stop Cois Glaisín Metges Road This service is a fully self-financed, private job. Going forward, the cost of the bus is €30 per child per week two-way, €20 per child per week one-way or €50 for two children...

Return to school ’24

August 2024 Dia dhuit gach duine, I want to bring you all a few more updates before the last weekend of the holidays. School Lunches Ard Rí CNS is a nut free school. The Health and Safety of our pupils is top priority. The serving of food can pose a risk of allergic reactions. We now have a considerable number of children allergic to both tree nuts and ground nuts throughout the school. Our Health and Safety Team will be running an Allergy Awareness campaign throughout the school this September. No nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box please. To learn about our Healthy Eating Policy click here The Lunch Bag provide every pupil with a free hot school lunch every day through the National Hot School Meals Programme. If you already have a Lunch Bag account you can proceed to order lunch for your children. If you are new to the school you can download the Lunch Bag app and we will give your child a code on your first day to get you started. Hot lunches will commence for pupils in Senior Infants to 6th Class from the first day. Junior Infants will get their first hot school lunch when they begin full school days on Monday 9th of September. Class Allocation I am pleased to announce we begin the school year with a full compliment of staff. I am delighted to welcome back Ciara Hughes, Emma Bathe, Lucy Walsh, Cathy Clarke and Niamh Kenny to the team. These teachers have all worked at the school previously. It is great to have them back. New...