Ard Rí

Community National School

Return to School ’25

Jun 12, 2025 | News

Dear parents, We are currently busy planning for the new school year, including teacher recruitment, class allocations, buildings, furniture, school books, and more. This blog will be my way of keeping you informed every step of the way. As most of our classes now have waiting lists, it’s very important that we know if your child will not be returning to Ard Rí CNS in September. If your circumstances have changed, please let us know as soon as possible (email [email protected]) so we can ensure a smooth and well-organised start to the new school year. 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. Your child’s annual school costs for the 2025/26 school year will be €52 per child, which covers: • €7 – Irish Public Bodies (IPB) Student Personal Accident Insurance (more info) • €10 – Text-a-Parent & Aladdin communication tools • €35 – School Tour* *The €35 school tour fee covers the cost of your child’s annual school tour in May. Due to significant increases in bus transport costs we are taking a different approach by collecting for the school tour at the start of the school year to allow for early planning and booking. Thank you for your continued support in helping us provide a rich and well-organised school experience for all our pupils. Ard Rí CNS is a...

Summer Camp 2025

May 13, 2025 | News

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

Apr 30, 2025 | News

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. Your child’s annual school costs for the 2025/26 school year will be €52 per child, which covers: • €7 – Irish Public Bodies (IPB) Student Personal Accident Insurance (more info) • €10 – Text-a-Parent & Aladdin communication tools • €35 – School Tour* *The €35 school tour fee covers the cost of your child’s annual school tour in May. Due to significant increases in bus transport costs we are taking a different approach by collecting for the school tour at the start of the school year to allow for early planning and booking. Thank you for your continued support in helping us provide a rich and well-organised school experience for all our pupils. Ard Rí CNS is a cash-free school, and we are proud to maintain the highest standards of financial compliance. On Thursday 12/06/2025 you will receive a Way2Pay billing notification for the €52 Annual School Costs. Way2Pay is a secure payment platform powered by Bank of Ireland. Each payment is uniquely coded to you and will be transferred directly into the school’s account. You will receive an automatic receipt for every payment made via Way2Pay. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation. Kindest regards, Darragh June 2025 🐞 Hello to everyone joining us in September, 🐞 Each child...

LMETB Interschools Art & Photography Competition 2025

Feb 10, 2025 | News

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)

Feb 4, 2025 | News

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

Jan 10, 2025 | News

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...