Dear Parents/Guardians and Teachers,

We have been working on an online bullying survey with Mr Kelly (Jack’s Dad) from IBM. Can you please give a few minutes of your time to complete the survey. All pupils from 2nd to 6th class will answer the survey on the i-pads this week. The information we receive will be of huge value when informing our next step in the fight against bullying. Please click on the link below.

Thank you for your time,

The Anti Bullying Ambassadors

http://bit.ly/rnsbullyingsurvey

Tuesday 7/2/17:
Dancing will continue for all classes and all pupils should wear their tracksuit and runners.

Wednesday 8/2/17:
We are still continuing our Walk On Wednesday. Well done to all participants. Keep up the good work, working for our next Green Schools Flag “Active Flag”.

Thursday 9/2/17:
5th class are visiting Irish Dog Foods, during the school day for the Junior Entrepreneur Programme.

Friday 10/2/17:
This is the last swimming lesson for 3rd and 4th classes. Swimming will commence for 1st and 2nd classes in the near future. More details will be given at a later date.

Saturday 11/2/17:
The First Holy Communion class will have the next Mass in Allen Church @ 7:30pm.

Tuesday 14/2/17:
There will be a Staff Meeting and all children will be going home at 1:20pm to facilitate this meeting. There will also be no Dance Class from Carla on the day.

Wednesday 15/2/17:
We are doing a Run-A-Thon during the school day as part of our Active Flag for the Green Schools. More details at a later date.

Sunday 26/2/17:
As we draw closer to our school Fun Run, you are reminded that training continues every Monday and Wednesday nights in Robertstown G.A.A. @
You can register for the event at www.popupraces.ie Places are limited so don’t delay.

Catholic Schools Week:
Congratulations to 3rd class pupils, Ms. Murphy, Maria Moran (S.N.A.) and Patricia Fitzsimons (S.N.A.), who hosted an amazing Grandparents Day last Wednesday. The event was organised as part of Catholic Schools Week 2017. Fr. Byrne celebrated mass in the hall for the whole school along with grandparents. Afterwards the grandparents engaged in some art and I.T. activities in the classroom before returning to the hall for high tea.
Many thanks to all the parents who sent in the lovely refreshments. There were gratefully received. We were delighted that 33 grandparents attended on the day from far and wide. We hope you had a memorable afternoon.

Reminder:
The gates open every morning from 8:50am to 9am. Classes start at 8:55am, please be on time for start of school day.

All absences must be explained by a note. We have a legal obligation to report any child who have been absent 20 days or over to the The Child and Family Agency (TUSLA) at the end of every term.

Tuesday 31/1/2017:
Dancing continues this week with Carla Prestreshi.  All students are to wear tracksuits and runners.

Wednesday 1/2/2017:
Catholic Schools Week:
The theme for Catholic Schools Week this year is “Catholic Schools: Learning with Pope Francis to care for our Common Home”.
Grandparents/Grand Friends Day:
Grandparents/grand friends Day will take place for 3rd class with Mass @ 12pm.
Retreat:
6th class have their Retreat in the Ressurexit House, Kilmeague.  Please drop and collect at the Ressurexit House.
Walk On Wednesday:
Don’t forget the Walk On Wednesday.  Leaving the Hotel @ 8:45pm.  W.O.W. was an astounding success for the first week and we hope to see more walking this week.  The Chart for taking part in the W.O.W. is outside the hall.
Homework Club:
There is no Homework Club as there is staff training today.

Tuesday 24/1/17:
Dance Classes
Carla Prestreshi an experienced dance teacher, will begin a block of dance classes for six weeks for all classes in the school.  Carla will teach the children a selection of modern dance steps over the block.  The Parent Association are covering the cost of these sessions.  We wish to express our gratitude to the Parent Association for such generosity.

Wednesday 25/1/17:
Green Schools:
As part of our Active and Green School Incentive “Walk On Wednesday” will re-commence.  Children and parents are asked to meet at the hotel at 8:45am sharp to arrive at the school at 8:50am.  To launch the walk this year, children are asked to decorate a brightly coloured flag or streamer to bring along and wave and you’d never know, perhaps there might even be a few homework passes or spot prizes up from grabs.  A monthly “Golden Boot” class award will be presented for the most dedicated class.
More update about Active School activities to follow.

Homework Club:
There will be no Homework Club, this is to facilitate the staff attending a course.

30/1/17 – 3/2/17:
Catholic School Week:
During the week all classes will engage in activities to celebrate the week.  Mass will be celebrated in the school for all pupils, staff and grandparents/grand friends of 3rd class pupils on Wednesday, 1st February 2017 @ 12:30pm.

Tuesday 14/2/17:
Staff Meeting:
All pupils will be going home @ 1:20pm to facilitate a staff meeting.

Sunday 26/2/17:
Couch to 5km:
Training continues on Monday and Wednesday nights @ 8pm in Robertstown G.A.A. pitch in preparation for the 5km run.  It’s not too late to sign up!!

The Parent Association are seeking your support on the day to help run the event.  Please contact any members of the Parent Association if you can help.

Thursday 9/3/17:
First Confession:
Second class will be receiving their First Confession @ 7:30pm in Allen Church.

J.E.P.:
5th class have been busy carrying out market research for their business idea.  The research covered 3rd to 6th classes including all staff.  They will be calculating the data received and will some be preparing for the next stage.

Lost Property:
There are still coats unclaimed outside the assembly hall.  They will be going into the Clothes Bank this Friday if they are not claimed.

Grandparents & Grandfriends Day
Wednesday 1st February 2017 12.30pm – 2.30pm.

Dear Parents/Grandparents,
Third class are delighted to host Grandparents Day, we would like to invite all the grandparents of the children in 3rd class to our school. Mass will begin at 12.30pm, followed by some activities in our classroom. The children will guide you to our class and there you will do some craftwork, be interviewed by the children and partake in an interactive i-pad quiz! It’s all very informal and a bit of fun. This will take about 30 minutes.
After all this excitement you’ll be ready for some entertainment and light refreshments so it’ll be back to the hall for song singing, dancing and some much needed tea/coffee and biscuits.
I do appreciate that some children do not have grandparents or that their grandparents live too far away to attend. In this case encourage your child to bring along a special older friend, great aunt/uncle, family friend etc. If this isn’t feasible, the children will let me know and I’ll organise for them to join up with other grandparents so no one will feel left out.
I hope this doesn’t offend but this event is for grandparents and grandfriends only and space is limited, so parents and siblings cannot attend this event. However should a grandparent need assistance a parent may attend to help.
We look forward to seeing you,
Kind regards,
Fidelma Murphy.

Dear Parent/Guardian,
Congratulations to all who are currently taking part in our Couch to 5K program. We have been overwhelmed by your support. We are delighted to announce that Hanlon Concrete will be our title sponsor for our 5K Fun Run which will take place on Sunday 26^th February at 11am and KFM will be our official media sponsor.

Sonia O’Sullivan, Olympic Silver Medallist and World Champion, will be participating in our Fun Run and she will also be taking part in a special run on the day with the pupils from Robertstown National School. This short run will take place before our main event in Robertstown GAA – details to follow in the coming weeks.

We will be sending sponsorship cards home with all children in early February and would encourage the children to get sponsorship from family and friends for their run with Sonia. All children who take part will be presented with a certificate of their achievement which will be specially signed by Sonia.

Registration is only required for our 5K Fun Run and this is available on https://www.popupraces.ie/events/robertstown-n-s-5k-fun-run/. Places are limited to 500 and we anticipate that the event will sell out. Registration may not be available on the day so please register early to avoid disappointment!! Updates on the event will be available on our Facebook page Robertstown N.S 5K Fun Run

For the event to be a success and run smoothly we will require help on the day from parents. We particularly need your help on the day with marshalling, number pick up and car park attending so if you feel you or a member of your family can assist please contact us through the Fun Run Facebook page, the Robertstown N.S Parents Association Facebook page or the numbers below :

Hannah Teague (086) 128830
Frances Whelan (086) 1717477
Niamh Jacob (087) 6483787
Wynita Balfe (085) 1489936

All funds raised will go towards reinstating the Jungle Gym playground in the school. We really need your support for this exciting venture to be the success it can be.

Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you at the start line !

Parents Association

Monday 16/1/17:
French Class and Gymnastics resume this week.

Tuesday 17/1/17:
Girls Basketball match in the school @ 2:30pm V Rathcoffey.

Saturday 21/1/17:
Communion Mass in Allen Church @ 6:30pm.

Mrs. Kelly:
Mrs. Kelly will be finishing up on Friday, 3rd February 2017 for this school year.  She is taking parental leave for the remainder of the year.  Mr. Darren McHale will commence the role of Second Class teacher on Monday, 6th February 2017.  He will meet the class before Mrs. Kelly leaves.

Transition to Secondary School for 6th Class:
Ms. Conroy will meet all pupils in Sixth Class individually and in small groups over the next term.  She will implement a programme that will help prepare the class for the transition to Secondary school.

This is a big step for Sixth Class pupils and research has shown that many pupils experience huge levels of anxiety relating to the move.  Ms. Conroy will address these worries with the children and help them identify strategies that will make them more resilient over the next year.  We are very enthusiastic and excited about this new programme.

5km Run:
Training continues on Monday and Wednesday nights @ 8pm in Robertstown G.A.A. pitch for the Couch to 5km, in preparation for the 5km run on Sunday, 26th February.

Lost Property:
There are still some coats on tables in the corridor outside assembly hall.

Date:                    Tues 7^th February 2017 (7pm-9pm)
Course Code:    17KEC202
Venue:                 Kildare Education Centre
Facilitator:       David Dempsey

This is a short course on how to help your child with their maths homework.
Reduce the “That’s not how teacher does it!” effect with tips on making homework more successful for your child and less stressful for you.

On-Line booking is required via the Kildare Education Centre website (www.eckildare.ie) .  Alternatively, click on this link to bring you directly to the Booking-In Page: http://www.eckildare.ie/index.php?option=com_eventbooking&task=individual_registration&event_id=971&Itemid=256