First Penance
The children of 2nd Class will make their “First Confession” tonight (Tuesday). It’s a gentle, quiet ceremony; one of the nicer ones. Thanks to their teachers and all who helped them to prepare. Thanks also to the Parents Association for organising refreshments afterwards. Choir members please remember that you are needed tonight to carry on the tradition of supporting others!
Mid Term
School will be closed on Thursday and Friday of next week (15th & 16th) for the mid term break. Normal closing times (2 pm and 3 pm) on Wednesday 14th.
Homework Club
Continues as usual though please note the following: No homework club this Wednesday (7th February). Next week: Monday and Tuesday only.
Tin Whistle
As normal this week, no tin whistle next week.
Quiz Season
Well done to the team that represented us in the Athy/Portlaoise/Abbeyleix Credit Union Quiz recently: Amy Fitzgerald, Aisling Brennan, Eoin Dunne and Alan Behan. They came 5th which was a fine performance in a large quiz. More quizzes to come!
Enrolment 2018/19
Parents who have already given their child’s name to the school should have received an enrolment form. Please return the form promptly as it will help us to prepare for next year.
Grandparents Mass
Thanks to everyone involved in our Grandparents Mass last week. We would prefer to have had it in the school but there are now so many of us that we thought the church might be a better option and it seems to have worked out well!
Cycle Safety
4th Class have almost completed their course for this year; they have learned lots of ways to help them to be safer cyclists!
Community News
Arts & Crafts in Ballylinan Hall on Saturdays from 2-4 pm. Contact Gertie Lynch 087 – 130 0165. Cost €10 per child.
Safer Internet Day (Today, Tuesday 6th February)
Note that users must be at least 13 to register for an account with most social networks and messaging apps.
Ask your child about what social networking services they use.
Start on a positive footing by asking them to describe the things they like about it. Ask if you can see the profile. But don’t be surprised if your child is reluctant to show you – children can see social networking as a parent-free zone where they communicate with friends.
In order to open up the channels of communication with your child over their social networking use, don’t be too critical of their online experience or habits to date. It’s not always their fault if there is something inappropriate on their profile.
Sometimes a teenager won’t tell a parent about a bad experience they have had online because they fear that you might solve the problem by keeping them off their favourite social networking services. However, if they feel they can talk about their online habits with you, without judgement, or the threat of being disconnected it will lead to more honesty in the long run.
Ask your child what privacy settings they have set up on their profiles.
Encourage them if they are public, to amend the setting to private so that only friends can see what they post. But also let them know that even with the tightest privacy controls, content posted online can be easily copied and shared with audiences they can’t control.
It’s a good idea too to talk about your child’s friends list.
“Friends” is the catch all term for any contacts on social networking sites. Sometimes, in their desire for popularity, teenagers become too relaxed about who they’ll accept as ‘friends’. Teenagers should review their list of online ‘friends’ regularly, so they are sharing their information only with people they trust.
Be sure to put emphasis on the fact that they should NOT reply to any unwanted or unsolicited messages.
Although it may seem obvious, often scam artists or predators use message which draw responses from young people. So it’s good to make sure your child knows how important it is to ignore them.
Further advice and more details on www.webwise.ie .