School Photographer- Friday 18th September

Memory Lane School Photography will visit the school on Friday 18th September. Like every other aspect of school life we have to change our system to stay within Covid Guidelines. We will take class photos of Junior Infants and 6th Class. Instead of the group photo we will take a photo of each pod (the group your child sits with each day) and the photographer will merge the 5 or 6 images to create one cool class photo. Previously we took photos of every family. This year we will only take a family photo upon request. If you would like a family photo please send your request to [email protected]. I would ask you only request a family photograph where you really want one. If you can go without one for this year please do. All children being photographed wear full formal uniform on the day. Kind regards,...

Tracksuit Days!!!

Good morning everyone, We are delighted to be back up and running! It will take a little bit of time for new routines to embed themselves in every day life but so far the measures we have put in place seem to be working well. We are reviewing the choreography in the car park and we will be in touch with you next week with any changes we will be making there. We will make sure children are outside as much as possible so send a coat every day and pupils from Junior Infants to First Class should have a pair of wellies in school. Tracksuit days are as follows: Múinteoir Day 1 Day 2 Tara Wednesday Friday Karen Tuesday Wednesday Naomi Tuesday Thursday Maria Wednesday Friday Edel & Catherine Tuesday Friday Cailín Monday Thursday Rachel Monday Thursday Sarah Monday Wednesday Niamh Monday Friday Jack Tuesday Thursday As explained in our Covid Response Plan: there are no recommendations in the public health advice to suggest an increased risk in wearing uniforms. The Department has not issued any guidance on the wearing of school uniforms in a COVID-19 environment. Normal washing and hygiene arrangements should apply to uniforms. We will review this advice if guidelines...

Back to school advice from the Department of Education

The re-opening of schools will require everyone to adjust and get used to new arrangements and routines. This change of culture won’t happen overnight and will take a bit of time in the initial re-opening period to get fully established and embedded into the daily operation of our school. The Department of Education have released a leaflet with advice for parents (click here) and 3 videos for families outlining what to expect when returning to school. I hope you find these resources useful....

New Entrants- September 2020

24.08.2020   Dear Parents of incoming Junior Infants, There are only 2 more sleeps until your child’s first day at big school. I am sure your emotions are a strong mixture of excitement and nerves. If there is anything you cannot get sorted before Wednesday please do not worry. We will be keeping very calm and relaxed about the whole thing. It is only 2 hours each day so the time will fly by and our teachers will do everything they can to make your child’s first day as positive as possible. Children should bring a tiny snack and a drink of water for their first day. We are working hard to make the school as safe as we can. In previous years we had lots of induction activities to prepare the children for school life. This year our overarching goal is to open and to stay open. Unfortunately coming together to celebrate this big occasion is not possible this year.  We will stagger opening on Wednesday. As per the time you received along with this message; at 9.45 we will welcome half of Rang Tara, at 10.00 we will welcome Rang Karen and at 10.15 we will welcome the rest of Rang Tara. Please park in the car park and walk up to the school. There will be lots of school staff on hand to direct you. We will accept the children into the school from the blue doors. Children only past the blue doors. Teachers will wear mask and visor until they are in the teacher zone in their classrooms. Two teachers have been assigned as official...

Have a Wonderful Summer

Dear Ard Rí Community,  Anyone who suffered illness or lost loved ones over the course of the Covid pandemic, on behalf of the team at Ard Rí Community National School I would like to offer you our deepest sympathies. No doubt it was a challenging time for everyone. Social distancing, job loss, cocooning, illness all causes grief, worry and anxiety.   As a community we definitely learned how to dance in the rain!   Our frontline workers rose to the challenge in caring for the evolved needs of the country. On behalf of everyone thank you.   Parents you worked hard to ensure your children were kept safe. You protected them. You embraced remote learning. You used the time not only to teach the academics but to pass on your own skills and funds of knowledge to your children. Through baking, cooking, gardening, teaching electronics and coding, sewing, playing, exercising you were educating your children…probably without even realizing. Well done.  I would like to thank our teachers who, in a few short weeks, shifted teaching and learning from their classrooms to online and into pupil’s homes. You were dynamic and positive throughout the last 16 weeks and I am very grateful for your commitment to the school and your profession. We are dedicated to working hard to follow all the advice and have all the recommendations in place to ensure we can provide a safe learning environment for our boys and girls in September. We look forward to welcoming 36 new Junior Infants to Ard Rí CNS. We will do everything we can to make your first day in big school one to remember. Teacher recruitment is currently underway. We will let you know who your child’s class teacher for next year will be as soon as the details are finalised. Most of...

New Track for Navan

On a Tuesday night every metre of track and field at Claremont Stadium is packed with boys and girls training for Navan Athletics Club. You will find lots of the Ard Rí Community among the athletes, coaches, volunteers and spectators and plenty of the Ard Rí mums, dads and teachers will be at the adult training afterwards. Claremont is also home to PT Fitness, Badminton, Basketball, Soccer, Wheelchair Sports, Special Olympics, Navan Men’s Shed. After 20 years of training for all ages and abilities and hosting schools, county and provincial competitions the track at Claremont is worn and torn. This summer a new state of the art track is being installed and the club need to raise €50,000 to get the job over the line. Ard Rí CNS medal winners 2019 schools competition at Claremont Stadium   How can we help? There are lots of runners and walkers among us. Why not take part in the Navan AC Virtual 5k and Family 2k Fun Run Take on the Tullys in a #60secondchallenge (video below). Complete your own family challenge then donate through Go Fund Me New Track 4 Navan  Sponsor local ultra runner Keith Russell as he completes a 220km 24hour run around the track at Claremont Stadium (video below). To sponsor Keith donate at Go Fund Me New Track 4 Navan To keep up to date and share the fundraising like New Track 4 Navan on Facebook  #60SecondChallenge Family Fitness Challenge, can you match the Tully Family, Tag a family you know with the #60SecondChallenge donate, if you can, to the #NTN fundraiser to be in with a...

Class Allocation

Dear Ard Rí Community, Staffing arrangements in Primary Schools for the 2020/21 school year are laid out in Department of Education Circular 0018/2020 . Our predicted September enrolment is 270 pupils. This allows us 10 mainstream class teachers. If, for any reason, your family will not be coming back to Ard Rí in September please let us know as knowing our predicted enrolment is very important. We will organise the 10 teachers as follows: There are two main areas of change: 2020 Senior Infants will be in two groups; Teacher 2 will teach Junior Infants and Senior Infants together in multi-grade and Teacher 3 will teach Senior Infants in single-grade. 2020 4th and 5th Classes will be split into two multi-grade classes; Teacher 8 will teach one set of 4th and 5th Class together and Teacher 9 will teach the other set of 4th and 5th Class together. Both in multi-grade. When dividing classes we balance; age, gender, siblings, Special Educational Needs and any other dynamics which may exist. Friendship is an important dynamic. If your child is going into Senior Infants, 4th Class or 5th Class we invite you to email us on [email protected] a list of 2 or 3 friends your child would like in their class next year. It will not be possible to keep all friends together but we will try. If you would like your child to be in the Junior Infant/ Senior Infant multi-grade with Teacher 2 as above you can also let us know by email. Please notify us before close of business on Thursday. We will let you know which teacher each class...

6th Class Graduation

Dear 6th Class, I hope you are all doing the best you can in these very unusual and difficult times. It must be a challenge at this stage to keep motivated. I encourage you to keep going for the last few weeks of term and just do your best. Use your time constructively and positively to pursue your interests and set little challenges for yourself. Read lots, get some exercise and help around the house. Be kind and keep smiling. I am delighted to hear you are doing a few pages from the book ‘Mind the Gap’. This is a great way to start preparing yourself for the big jump to Post Primary. I know even though you missed the final term you are ready for the challenges which lie ahead and you will do very well. It would be a good idea to reach out to past pupils of Ard Rí, or neighbours, or friends who attend your particular school and ask them any questions you might have. They would be delighted to support you. You are not alone. I have now spoken to the Principals of all the Secondary Schools in the town. They know that this September will be different and they will have to do some extra work to support you. They have promised to take good care of you. If you have any questions please ask Jack on Seesaw or email the office on [email protected]. We will do our best to help. Myself and Jack are planning for your graduation night. We will hold a ceremony on Zoom on Thursday 18th June at 7pm....

Photography Challenge

Good afternoon everybody, I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather. It is hard to believe we are coming up to the June Bank Holiday Weekend. School will be closed on Friday 29th May, Monday 1st, Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd of June. Logging on to Seesaw every day can be tiring and I hope all the boys and girls enjoy the time off. I would like to remind children that life as we know it now during COVID won’t be forever. We can see from Seesaw that everyone is making the most out of every day. Families are baking together, making clothes for their dolls, exercising together, embracing technology, meeting up with friends and relations on Zoom, reading more than ever, keeping journals, dressing-up, having picnics. You are making the most out of every day we are apart. Tomorrow teachers will be assigning a photography challenge to all classes. You can submit your entry on Seesaw on Thursday 4th of June. The theme of the challenge is ‘Gratitude’. I encourage you all to pause for a few minutes and reflect on the things you are grateful for in this challenging time. Take a photograph to represent this and you can write or submit a voice message explaining your photo. Teachers will share these photographs on Seesaw on Fab Friday- 5th of June. Here is my entry to get the creative juices flowing…   At a time when so many people were sick I am most grateful for my health. I enjoy active time with my family. This picture was taken at the Ramparts in Navan, a path along...

Distribution of Books: Sunday 24.05.2020

Hi everybody, Teachers are currently preparing packs of books to be sent home. As you know by now the Rugby Club is a COVID Test Centre so safe access to the school is very limited. For this reason we will be distributing books on Sunday 24.05.2020 as follows: First letter of Surname Time             A-C 10:00-10:30 D-G 10:30-11:00 H-L 11:00-11:30 M-O 11:30-12:00 P-Z 12:00-12:30 There will be a drive-through system in place. Remain in your car. Follow the one-way system and as you come to your child’s teacher they will hand you a bag. Follow the directions from stewards and proceed to exit. We will only be returning workbooks, copies, artwork plus any other personal property left at the school. We will not be distributing Book Rental books. We ask you return any of the following school books on Sunday: Oxford Reading Tree- Fun Readers Core Readers Library Books 3rd-6th Class- Starlight, Planet Maths etc. Class Novels e.g. Warhorse If you need to borrow a specific Book Rental book to support your child’s home learning please email a request to...