Welcome to Junior Infants School Day School opens

Welcome to Junior Infants

School Day • • School opens Break Lunch Home 08. 50 10. 30 -10. 45 12. 15 -12. 40 13. 30 • School begins at 9. 20 am on Thursday August 31 st • Early finish, 12 pm, until Friday September 15 th

Attendance & Punctuality • Children must be in school in time for morning line up. Structured activities begin straight away so they need time to settle into the school day. • Your child should line up with classmates as parents entering the classroom in the morning can hinder their independence. • Notes of absence must be given in written form for record purposes.

Encouraging Independence • Encourage your child to put on/take off his/her jumper or coat (eg. Pulling out the sleeves and zipping up/down). Please practice this at home. • Avoid shoes with laces – Velcro shoes work best. Please ensure your child is wearing appropriate footwear on PE days. • Please dress your child in accordance to the weather (e. g. Warm coat, hat, scarf, gloves in winter) • Toileting – Please ensure your child can manage toileting independently.

Lunch • Children should be able to open/close their own drinks and lunchboxes, and manage their own lunch in general. Please peel fruit in advance. • All rubbish and leftovers from lunch goes home in accordance with our green school policy.

School Lunches • Sandwiches (salad, meat, cheese) • Fruit (1/2 pieces) • Vegetable portions (carrots/cucumber/peppers etc…) • Preferably water in a reusable bottle as per dental nurse recommendation due to sugar content in various fruit drinks. • Fizzy drinks • Crisps • Sweets, biscuits or Chocolate • Avoid frubes and yogurts • Please avoid anything containing nuts (allergy)

Practical things to do at home (motor skills) • Encourage your child to play with: – – – – Playdough Paint Chalk Crayons Lego Jigsaws Safety Scissors (lots of practice at this) – available in Boyds Stores

Practical things to do at home between now and September • Encourage your child to: – Recite songs/rhymes – Practice counting at home – Ask questions – Share their news – Engage in imaginative play e. g. shop, kitchen, doctors – Sort their toys (take responsibility for their own belongings; develop a sense of care; tidy up after themselves) – Sharing with siblings/friends • Read to your child frequently (e. g. bedtime stories) • Please label everything (including uniforms, coat’s, hats, scarves and lunchboxes).

Resources in the school • P. E. Hall • Junior yard (J. I & S. I. ) with playground activities • Aistear Room • Garden & Polytunnel • Library • Multi-sensory room • Chrome Books

Aistear • Aistear - Aistear (2009) is the curriculum framework for all children in Ireland from birth to six years • The framework describes children’s learning and development using four themes: – – Well-being Identity and Belonging Communicating Exploring and Thinking • Children are divided into small groups and visit a different play area each day including a socio-dramatic setting (e. g. opticians, restaurant), sensory (e. g. sand, water play, playdough), literacy (language support teacher), mathematical (e. g. construction, jigsaws) and creative (e. g. painting, clay)

Home-time Routine • At home-time children must wait until teacher calls their name before being released to parent/guardian. • Only nominated persons may collect children. If somebody else is going to pick up your child please inform class teacher in advance. If this is to become a regular occurrence, a consent form must be signed in the office • Please don’t be late. It’s not fair on your child, or on the teacher.

Meetings • Appointments with teacher can only take place after school (i. e not during school hours). Ring the office, or send a note in with your child, requesting an appointment • Mornings are a busy time in school so if your have something urgent to tell the class teacher (e. g. different pick up person, bad nights sleep, cough etc), give your child a note or speak to school secretary who will pass on message. • In afternoons, please wait until all children have been collected before speaking with teacher. • Parent teacher meetings (Late November/Early December)

Homework • Homework will be begin in November, Monday – Thursday and is returned to class teacher on Friday’s. More information about this during Term 1.

Questions • We are available to discuss individual concerns after this meeting. Please inform us if your child has any behavioural, toileting or speech and language needs so we can put adequate provisions in place prior to their commencing school. • We look forward to meeting your • children on June 8 th at 1. 45 pm.