Welcome to St.Mary’s National School Cobh Website

Much work has gone on behind the scenes to mark 6th Class’ completion of primary school. Many thanks to Mrs. Murphy who put together the 6th Class photo montage. Thanks also to Ms. Fitzgerald who organised the celebrity messages and co-ordinated the making of the 6th Class yearbooks. The yearbooks are being funded by the Parents’ Association, many thanks to them for their generosity. A commemorative St. Mary’s NS pen has also been organised for each 6th Class girl. Many thanks to the Board of Management for funding these beautiful momentos. Yearbooks, pens and certificates are all being sent by post to each 6th class girl this week. Thanks also to Ms. McElhinney and the Student Council who, in collaboration with class teachers, coordinated the ordering system for the 6th Class hoodies. Ní neart go cur le chéile!

Bun Friday Speisialta Video

Ms. Fitzgerald’s 6th Class created this wonderful video ‘Bun Friday Speisialta’ for Seachtain na Gaeilge. The girls worked very hard creating a plot, writing the script, designing costumes and props, filming and editing to create this finished product- all as Gaeilge! Maith sibh cailíní!  

We look forward to welcoming our new Junior Infants to school at the end of August. An information pack has been sent to each family.  Transitioning from Pre-School to Primary School can be a time of excitement, worry and change for young children and their parents. The following information will provide you with tips and strategies to prepare your child for this transition.

Click here to view: paediatric-occupational-therapy-transitioning-to-primary-school

The following links are being shared to support children transitioning to secondary school. More supports are available to view under the Parents tab above.

Click here to view: Parents-The-Transition-To-Secondary-School

Click here to view: Transition from Primary to Post Primary

12/06/20: End of Year Reports are now available to view on the Aladdin Connect homepage. For families without access to Aladdin Connect, End of Year Reports will be sent by post.

On June 13^th 2019, our School Library was officially opened by author Olive Mooney. Olive stayed to deliver creative writing workshops for our pupils on what was truly a wonderful day for our school. The celebrations continued with a ‘Literature Lookalike’ day and a whole-school ‘Readathon’.

Over the past year, all pupils have used their very own St. Mary’s N.S. library cards to withdraw their favourite books. Our Library Committee, comprising of 8 pupils from 3^rd – 6^th Class and 5 teachers (Ms. McCarthy, Ms. Lynch, Ms. Kelleher, Ms. Walsh and Ms. Fitzgerald) has worked tirelessly to organise events and competitions for all of our girls.

On this, the first anniversary of the opening of our school Library, I want to congratulate all of our pupils on their fantastic reading! Thank you to their teachers who have made visiting the Library a fun part of school life. Books are a very special part of life in St. Mary’s N.S. and as we always say; ‘Today a reader, tomorrow a leader’.

I want to express my gratitude to our wonderful Parents’ Association who worked so hard to fundraise for the Library and are always willing to lend a hand.

I also want to especially thank the Library Committee. Each and every member has a passion for reading and while many of the wonderful ideas that we have were put on hold this year, we look forward to enjoying the Library together again when it is safe to do so.

In the meantime- keep reading!

S. Fitzgerald (Deputy Principal)

More photos are available to view by clicking on the news tab above. 

Families are asked to forward a photograph of their daughter’s favourite piece of work/ achievement they are of most proud of which they completed during the school closure to homelearning.2020@stmarysnscobh.com. Photographs will be shared with the school community via the school website. There are some great photographs coming in already… keep them coming. We are so proud of all that has been achieved by our wonderful pupils at this time. Well done girls! To view more photos hover over the school closure tab above and click on the Home Based Learning Hall of Fame tab. 

 Please email office@stmarysnscobh.com if having difficulties with Aladdin Connect system.

2^nd class will celebrate their First Confession on Wednesday, 4^th March, 7.00pm. Best wishes to all 39 children. Sincere thanks to Ms. Hallahan and Mrs. Kelly for preparing the children for the sacrament. 

Our Lenten collection will commence on Wednesday, 26^th February. This year we intend to raise funds for Trócaire. For every 50c donated, pupils will receive a raffle ticket. At the end of lent a raffle for Easter eggs will be held. As with all charity collections, all donations are voluntary.

Parents’ Association:

• Next Meeting- Monday, 9th March, 7.15pm. All Welcome.
• Next event- Family Quiz: Sunday, 5^th April, Cobh GAA Club, 1.45pm

Sincere thanks to all parents who have signed up to the new system. Aladdin Connect is an excellent system of communication and will give you secure access to messages from the school and to details of your child’s attendance, test results, reports cards etc via secure login from your internet browser or Aladdin Connect App. If you have not yet signed up please do so at your earliest convenience or contact the office, as without sign up, you may miss out on important communications from the school.

This year St. Mary’s will again enter the FAI Primary School Soccer 5’s Blitz which will take place in March. Training will commence on Wednesday, 26^th February with interested children from 5^th & 6^th Class. Thanks to Ms. Walsh, Ms. Hanley and parent volunteer Stephen Mulcahy for giving up their time to coach the girls.

Camogie Training will recommence on Wednesday, 26^th February at 2.30pm. Thank you to Ms. Walsh and parent volunteers Lorraine Mullane and Sarah Leahy for giving their time to train the girls. Girls from 4^th, 5^th and 6^th Classes are welcome to attend.

St. Mary’s NS will close on Friday, 14th February at 2.30pm and will re-open on Monday, 24th February at 8.50am. Enjoy the break!

Safer Internet Day was celebrated on Tuesday, 11th February. The theme for this year’s Safer Internet Day was “Together for a Better Internet”. Mrs. Lane guided classes to https://www.webwise.ie/saferinternetday/ to assist in our exploration of the theme. https://www.webwise.ie/ contains many resources that can be used both at home and at school to encourage safe use of the internet. There is a specific section for parents offering advice and tips. Webwise booklets for parents available from the office for any interested parent. 

On Friday, 7th February perfect attendance was celebrated when children received certificates for attending school, without absence, for 100 consecutive days. Thank you to Ms. Hanley for coordinating our efforts here. Ms. Greally’s 4th class were also awarded the Best Class Attendance certificate for the month of January with an attendance of 96.4%. Well done girls, well done families!

Congratulations to all 27 children from 4^th-6^th class who participated in the annual Credit Union Quiz which took place on Monday, 3rd February. Sincere thanks to Ms. Greally and Ms. Gilley who organised the teams and worked diligently during lunchtimes to prepare the girls for this exciting event. All teams scored highly and were a credit to both their school and their families.

Bun Friday: Sincere thanks to all the bakers, particularly, Ms. Walsh’s, Mrs. Kelly’s and Ms. Kelleher’s classes. €513 was raised on Friday, 7th February! Thanks to all families for supporting our school.

E-Mail Address: We are having trouble with our eircom email address and therefore have commenced the process of changing to a new account. The school’s new e-mail address is office@stmarysnscobh.com. The new email address will commence to be in operation from Monday, 3^rd February.

Enrolment: We are now enrolling for September 2020. The closing date for enrolment is Friday, 31^st January 2020.

School App: This term our school will be moving to sign up to the Aladdin Connect system. What is this? Our school uses the Aladdin Schools software service www.aladdin.ie for administrative purposes. The Aladdin Connect portal is part of this and will give you, as parents/guardians secure access to messages from the school and to details of your child’s attendance, test results, reports cards etc. via secure login from your internet browser. Aladdin Connect is a fantastic way to enhance our school’s communication with its parents. It will further enable you as parents/guardians to stay connected and informed about your child’s education. Access codes were issued to parents on Monday, 3rd February. Please contact the school if you did not receive an access code or are having trouble logging in. 

Oral Language: All classes explored Proverbs for the months of November and December. Our whole school Oral Language work now moves to the exploration of Similes. See Parents Area tab of the website for Similes each week.

C.A.P.E.R: Children and Parents Enjoy Reading- As Junior Infants are new to this initiative, the teachers of the Junior Infant children, Ms. McCarthy and Ms. Lynch, welcome any Junior Infant parent, with a question about CAPER, to an informal question and answer session in Rooms 2 and 3 on Tuesday, 14^th January at 1.35pm.

Parents Association: Next meeting is scheduled for Monday, 3^rd February at 7.15pm in the Library. All welcome

Family Mass: Saturday, 11th January, 6pm. All families welcome.

Physical Education: 1st – 6th class will gain extra enjoyment from their PE classes for the next 5 weeks, commencing Tuesday, 14th January. The Community Centre hall has been booked in order for them to enjoy a large indoor space to explore many of the important elements of Physical Education.

Bun Friday: In order to pay for the rental of the Community Centre Hall, we will need to fundraise. The rota of bakers is as follows for this term:

7^th February: Ms. Walsh, Mrs. Kelly & Ms. Kelleher’s classes asked to bake

27^th March: Ms. McElhinney, Ms. McCarthy and Ms. Lynch’s classes asked to bake

Please support this effort. All monies raised will go towards the Community Centre Hall rental. Any extra funds raised will be used to purchase classroom resources.

Best Attendance December 2019: Ms. Quinlan’s 3^rd Class with a percentage attendance of 94.6%. Well done girls! Attendance is highly prized in St. Mary’s N.S.The school is governed by the Education Welfare Act 2000. If a child is absent for 20 days or more in a school year, the School Welfare Officer/Túsla must be notified by the principal. Each day of non-attendance must be accounted for, in writing, by a parent/guardian.

St. Mary’s will close at 12.30pm on Friday, 20^th December and will re-open on Monday, 6^th January at 8.50am.

Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi mhaise do gach éinne.

Happy holidays to all.

Policies recently ratified by the Board of Management include:

• Mobile Phone and Electronic Devices Policy
• Internet Acceptable Use Policy
• School Outings Policy

These can be viewed under the Policies tab above. 

This year St. Mary’s NS is working towards achieving The Pieta House Amber Flag. The Amber Flag initiative aims to encourage schools to promote and actively bring about a culture change in the promotion of positive mental health.

Sincere thanks to Ms. Keating who has led the establishment of an Amber Flag committee in St. Mary’s NS. The committee have been busy auditing and affirming the great work already taking place in St. Mary’s to promote positive mental health. They have also devised many exciting ideas which they will begin to put into action in the new year to further promote positive mental health and wellbeing.  

As a start to their great work, the Amber Flag Committee intend to hold a fundraising event on Friday, 20^th December. All children will be invited to wear a Festive Jumper on this date. Children will be asked to contribute €2 and all funds raised will go directly to support the mental health services provided by Pieta House.

We thank all families for their generosity in supporting this worthy cause.

Family Mass: 6.00pm, Saturday, 14th December is also the annual Gift Giving Mass for the less fortunate.   It is suggested that a child/family bring a voucher/cash in an envelope for the less well off

New after-school activity commencing after Christmas if enough interested. Please contact Jessica of Jessica Plunkett Drama Academy on 087-6559592  if interested in attending Drama classes. 

Congratulations to our 4th Class girls team who played an indoor football blitz in Little Island on Tuesday, 26th November. Many thanks to Ms. McElhinney and Ms. Hanley who accompanied them on the day.

Our second Bun Friday was held on Friday, 29^th November. This time it was the turn of Mrs. Murphy’s 6^th Class and Ms. Gilley’s 1^st Class to bake. Sincere thanks to all who baked. €397 was raised.

St. Mary’s National School – Open Evening: Come and view our wonderful school and meet our fantastic pupils and teachers.

Thursday, 14^th November, 2019, 6pm, Principal’s address at 7pm

Many thanks to all who attended. A wonderful evening was had by all. 

Our annual Book Fair is scheduled to take place this year on the following dates:

Tuesday, 19th November: 1.30-3.00 pm, 6.00-7.15 pm

Wednesday, 20th November: 1.30-3.00 pm

Thursday, 21st November: 1.30-3.00 pm

Thanks you to Ms. Fitzgerald for organising our annual Book Fair. Thanks also to Ms. Kelleher, Ms. Keating and the parents who will be assisting over the course of the Book Fair this year.

Best attendance in October 2019: Ms. Kelleher’s Senior Infants with 97% attendance. Well done girls, well done families. Attendance in highly-prized in St. Mary’s. We come to school everyday and we stay for the whole day. 

Science Week 2019 commences in St. Mary’s on Monday, 11th November. The theme this year is Climate Change. Lots of fun and fascinating activities planned. Thank you Mrs. Lane for co-coordinating our efforts here. 

Thank you to all parents who attended the meeting on Tuesday, 5th November to elect parent nominees for the new Board of Management which will take up office on 01/12/19. The two parents elected were David Doyle and Georgina Hamilton. 

St. Mary’s NS will be close on Friday, 25th October at the regular time of 2.30pm. The school will remain closed for the full week commencing Monday, 28th October. School will re-open on Monday, 4th November. 

Trick or Treat for Temple Street Dress Up Day: Our annual fundraiser whereby children are permitted to wear their Halloween costumes will take place on Friday, 25th October. €220 euro raised for Temple Street. Well done and thank you to all!

Formal Parent/Teacher meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, 22nd October, Wednesday, 23rd October. The school will close at 2:15p.m. on these days for 1^st-6^th Class. Parent/Teacher meetings will run from 2:30-5:30p.m. each day

As you may be aware the current term of the Board of Management will expire on 30/11/2019 and a new Board of Management takes up office on 01/12/2019. Special thanks to the outgoing Parent Nominees, Colette Brennan and Stephen Mulcahy, for their contribution to the Board of Management over the past four years.

Two parents of children enrolled in the school (one being a mother and the other a father) must be elected by the general body of parents of children enrolled in the school for the new Board of Management.

In order to obtain nominations, a letter was issued to each parent on Monday, 14th October to:

• establish their willingness to stand for nomination and election as parent, and
• obtain consent for the circulation of their name and the classes attended by their child(ren) to all other parents, if they are willing to stand for nomination and election.

If a parent is willing to stand for nomination and election as parent nominee to the Board of Management they should complete, sign and date the Consent Form issued and return it to the school no later than Friday, 18^th October so that the school may furnish your details (i.e. your name and classes attended by your children) to other parents.  Parents are asked not complete the consent form if they are not willing to be nominated. Thank you.

Exciting news! We have been invited to participate in a programme called Roots of Empathy. This programme teaches children about feelings, their own feelings and the feelings of others.

The focus of Roots of Empathy in the long term is to huild the capacity of the next generation for responsible citizenship and responsive parenting. The focus of the Roots of Empathy programme in the short term is raising levels of empathy, resulting in more respectful and caring relationships and reduced levels of negative behaviour and aggression.

At the heart of the programme are a neighbourhood infant and parent who visit the classroom nine times over the school year. As a trained Roots of Empathy Intructor, Ms. Hanley will coach Mrs. Lane’s 3rd Class pupils to observe the baby’s development and to label the baby’s feelings and intentions. In this experiential learning, the baby is the “teacher” and a lever that the instructor uses to help the children to identify and reflect on their own feelings and the feelings of others.

We’re very excited that we’ve been chosen to participate in Roots of Empathy and we thank baby Emily and her Mammy for kindly assisting us on our Roots of Empathy journey.

On Thursday, 10th October, we marked World Mental Health Day. A wonderful group of Wellbeing Warriors (Committee of Children and Teachers)  came up with some wonderful activities which classes engaged in. Homework was also adapted to include a wellbeing activitiy. This activity has been uploaded to a folder entitled ‘Wellbeing’ which is located under the news tab should you wish to view it in the furture. 

Our Sciath na Scol Football campaign has come to an end. The girls played well this week and gave it their all, however luck was not on our side for either match. Well done to our team and the entire panel who worked so hard, showed great commitment and determination. We are very proud of your efforts. Well done and thank you to Ms. McCarthy, Ms. Madine and Ms. Hanley who assisted on match days. A special word of thanks to our wonderful trainers Ms. Walsh, Ms. McElhinney and Fr. Kelleher. Our involvement in Sciath na Scol would not be possible but for your willingness to share both your talents and your time. 

Formal Parent/Teacher meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, 22nd October, Wednesday, 23rd October. The school will close at 2:15p.m. on these days for 1^st-6^th Class. Parent/Teacher meetings will run from 2:30-5:30p.m. each day. You will be informed of your child’s/children’s time(s) on Tuesday, 15th October. Please note that Parent Teacher meetings are for Parents/Guardians only. Verbal reports on children’s progress cannot be provided to siblings or grandparents. We look forward to meeting all parents.

The Parents’ Association contribute hugely to the school. All parents are automatically members of the Parents’ Association but there will be an election to select the committee for meetings throughout the year at the AGM on Monday 7th October. All parents are welcome to attend. 

The match scheduled for Thursday, 3rd October was postponed due to poor weather conditions. The details of the remaining two matches are as follows:

Tuesday, 8th October: Home match against Scoil Mhuire Ballincollig. Kick-off: 1.30pm

Wednesday, 9th October: Away match against Star of the Sea, Passage West. Kick-off: 1.00pm 

Best Attendance September 2019: Ms. Hallahan’s 1^st/2^nd Class with a percentage attendance of 99.05%. Attendance is highly prized in St. Mary’s N.S. We come to school every day and we stay for the whole day.

Information received from Cobh Library. 

Congratulations to our Cross-Country running team who traveled to Ballymacoda on Friday, 27th September to take part in the Primary Schools Cross Country Running Event. Competition was tough but an enjoyable day was had by all.  Thanks to Ms. O’Mahony for organising our attendance at this event again this year. 

Thank you to all who supported our annual school walk which was a lovely occasion on Sunday, 29th September. After the walk a raffle was held between all those who returned sponsorship cards. The winners of sports shop vouchers were Orla Moynihan, Shauna Mahony and Lily Mae Ryan. Congratulations girls- happy shopping!

Next PA meeting is scheduled for 7pm on Monday, 7th October. All Welcome.

The PA will hold an information evening on Mon 23^rd Sep at 7.00pm in the School Hall. There will be tea/coffee and a chance to find out what the Parent’s Association is all about.

Our annual Sponsored Family Fun Walk will take place on Sun 29th Sep at 11.00am. (Due to bad weather we had to postpone it from the original planned date of June 19th) The walk will take place in full at the Tech Field this year. The Jnr & Snr Infants will do 3 laps of the track & the 1^st to 6^th Class girls will do 6 laps. All families should gather at the tech field at 11.00am.

Looking forward to a fun occasion for all.

Congratulations to our Sciath na Scol team who were victorious on Thusrday, 19th September against Gaelscoil Mhachan. It was a close match but St. Mary’s came out on top in the end. Our next match is an away game against Scoil Maria Assumpta in Ballyphehane. This game is scheduled to take place on Thursday, 26th September at 1pm. The team and coaches will travel by bus. Each team member is asked to bring €5 to cover the cost of the bus. St. Mary’s abú!

Photographer: On Thursday, 19^th September a photographer will come to the school to take individual photos of Junior Infant children, Junior Infant children with siblings and class photos of Junior Infants to be taken. Children should wear full school uniform for this occasion.

Sciath na Scol Football Campaign 2019: Best wishes to our Sciath na Scol football team who will play their first match of the season on Thursday, 19^th September in Cobh GAA grounds. Our opponents will be Gaelscoil Mhachan. Kick-off is scheduled for 1.00pm. St. Mary’s abú!

Please see below information received from Cobh Family Resource Centre. Please contact Louise on 086-1727135 for more information.

On Thursday, 5^th September, 4^th Class travelled by bus to Castlemartyr National School to attend a Road Safety Workshop entitled ‘StreetSmart’.

What is StreetSmart? StreetSmart is an exciting initiative set up by the Road Safety Authority which aims to bring issues of road safety to life for young school children.  StreetSmart involves a streetscape mat which invites children to carry out typical, everyday cycling or pedestrian tasks. The Road Safety Authority representatives were on hand to coordinate the activities. It was an action packed, fun filled day that enhanced the student’s knowledge of the rules of the road. Photos of the children engaging in practical activities are available to view under the NEWS Tab.

Camogie: We welcome Noel O’Brien to St. Mary’s NS. Noel will work with children from Ms. Hallahan’s 1st/2nd- Ms. Walsh’s 5th Class every Tuesday in September. Any girl wishing to bring her own gear is welcome to do so otherwise hurleys and helmets may be borrowed from the school.

Bun Friday: Bun Friday was a great success last year. What is Bun Friday? In essence this is a cake/bun sale. Buns will be sold at a cost of 50c each. The older children will sell the buns. All children will be given the opportunity to purchase buns. This term it is intended to hold a Bun Friday on the following dates. The rota of bakers is also outlined. Please support this effort. All monies raised will go towards classroom resources and educational activities for the children.

This year we welcome Ms. Emma Keating and Ms. Aoife Madine as new members of staff to our team. We hope they will enjoy their time in St. Mary’s

Afterschool Activity:

Flyers distributed. If interested in learning to play the keyboard please contact Krisha on

 Phone:01 4854536

Email:info@creativekeyboards.ie

Parents of Junior Infant children are invited to meet with class teachers on Monday, 9^th September at 7:00p.m. This will provide parents with  an opportunity to meet with Ms. McCarthy and Ms. Lynch. Meeting for Senior Infant Parents: Parents of Senior Infant children are invited to the school on Monday, 16th  September at 7:00p.m. This is an opportunity for these parents to meet with class teachers and explore the work that will be covered this year.

Photographs of or Students of The Week for 2019/2020 will be available to view under the NEWS Tab.

A Busy Summer in St. Mary’s: Much was achieved in the school during the summer months. The sink and storage units were replaced in all classrooms in the New Building. New blinds were fitted to all windows in the classrooms in the New Building. The Garden area to the rear of the school received an extensive overhaul. The carpet in Room 15 was replaced. New classroom furniture was purchased and installed in a number of classrooms. The entire school underwent a deep clean. A Resource Library was established for Teachers. Remedial works were completed including the repairing/replacement and painting of drains and guttering on the Eastern Elevation of the Old Building. Sealant was placed around all windows. And the work continues….

St. Mary’s reopened it’s doors on Thursday, 29th August after our summer break. St. Mary’s has already settled back into the routine of school life. These first few days and weeks are all about establishing routines and good habits again. As the saying goes “Tús maith, leath na hoibre”- a good start makes it easy.

As we begin our school year 2019-2020, I would like to welcome back our current pupils. I hope you all enjoyed a happy and restful summer break. I wish you all continued success in St. Mary’s. I would also like to welcome our new girls. Last Thursday we welcomed 34 Junior Infants and 7 girls transferring into other classes. I hope you will be very happy here in St. Mary’s

Tips for Parents: Developing Oral Language with your child

Junior Infants to 1^st Class

• Listen to what your child is saying/trying to say and respond to contributions
• Make and maintain eye contact while talking with your child
• Explain the meaning of words
• Talk through activities
• Talk through everyday experiences
• Involve your child in discussions/plans
• Ask/answer questions
• Teach your child nursery rhymes/songs/poems/raps
• Develop your child’s receptive language by asking him/her to follow simple instructions
• Assist your child to express ideas in an orderly fluent way
• Read to your child each night

2^nd Class to 4^th Class

• Set aside 10-15 minutes to discuss the day’s happenings
• Encourage your child to express and justify opinions
• Involve your child in adult conversation when appropriate
• Talk about your child’s favourite TV programme
• Play language games which focus on words i.e. Scrabble/Crosswords
• Encourage your child to talk about experiences with a wide range of people; peers/relations/other adults
• Listen carefully and clarify meaning ‘Do you mean/Is this what you mean?’
• Encourage your child to give reasons for decisions
• Encourage your child to listen courteously to the opinions of others
• Talk about school topics and assignments