Dangan NS Parent Newsletter

• Friday 7th February - Grandparents Visit (Mrs Prendergast, Ms Byrne and Ms Payne's Class)
• Sunday 9th February - Communion & Confirmation preparation Mass at Dangan Church at 11:30am
• Wednesday 12th February - Ceremony of Light (6th Class) at Dangan Church 6pm
• Monday - Wednesday 17th, 18th & 19th February - Parent Teacher Meetings J.Infants & 1st Class
• Thursday and Friday 20th/21st February - February Mid Term (School closed)
• Thursday 27th February - Confirmation at 3pm in Dangan Church
• Tuesday 4th March - Pancake Tuesday at Dangan
• Wednesday 5th March - Staff Meeting 12pm closure (infants and siblings go home at 11:45am)
• Sunday 9th March - Communion Preparation Mass at Dangan Church at 11:30am
• Tuesday 11th March - First Confession at 6pm in Dangan Church
• Monday 17th March - St Patrick's Day Bank Holiday School Closed
• Friday March 21st - Music Bingo at the Community Centre 6:30pm
• Sunday 6th April - Communion Preparation Mass at Dangan Church at 11:30am
• Friday 11th April - School closes at 12pm for Easter Holidays (infants and siblings go home at 11:45am)

Well Done to the Dangan Pupils for their amazing performance at Dublin Peace Proms Concert which took place on Saturday.

Ms Ryan, Ms Mollison, Ms O' Loughlin and Mr Kelly were so thrilled to be apart of such a magical event and couldn't be happier with our Dangan Pupil's Performance!! Well Done:)

A big thank you to Ms Mollison, Ms O' Loughlin and Mr Kelly for attending the show and helping prepare the choir. More photos of this spectacular day can be found on the school website here.

Please be mindful of where you are parking when dropping and collecting your child, please do not park up on our neighbours grass or in front of their entrance gates.

In the interest of being able to maximise the amount of collection points at the school for drop off and collection, we would kindly ask that you minimise large gaps when parking in front of or behind other cars as we have limited space available for collection and drop off.

Best wishes to the 5th and 6th class children pictured below who will be participating in the Credit Union Quiz next Monday 10th February. We wish them all the very best of luck and we know they will do very well!

I’m excited to announce a new After-School Chess Club starting in Dangan NS! This is a

great opportunity for students to learn and enjoy the game of chess.

The club is open to students from 3 rd – 6 th class, whether they are total beginners or

experienced players. Everyone is welcome! Chess helps develop problem-solving skills,

patience, and strategic thinking—all while having fun.

If your child is interested in joining, please fill out the link below and I will give them a

permission slip to be signed. The club will run for 8 weeks between now and Easter and there

is a total cost of €40 per student.

Monday 17th February

Monday 24th February

Monday 3rd March

Monday 10th March

Tuesday 18th March

Monday 24th March

Monday 31st March

Monday 7th April

Please fill in the form below if you would like your child to register for Chess Club

We expect to have confirmation soon on the start date for Irish Dancing Classes after school on Tuesdays at Dangan, and we will share the details with you as soon as they are available.

School attendance and punctuality is correlated with better learning outcomes and a stronger sense of community and happiness for children in school. There will always be situations where a child has to stay home, due to illness and other unavoidable situations. It's important to note that where a child has been vomiting or has diarrhea, they must be kept home until 48 hours after the last episode. Outside of this, wherever possible pupils should be in school each day.

School starts at 9am each day. Attendance is recorded daily by the class teacher on our online roll books via Aladdin. If the child arrives later than 9:10am, the time of arrival is also recorded here (this is calculated by Aladdin into learning time missed at the end of the year).

The Legal Requirements

There are two mandated reporting mechanisms for attendance where attendance is reported to TUSLA, the child and family agency.

School Attendance Reports

There are two reporting periods in the year, September to December and January to June. We submit the school attendance returns in January for September to December and again in June.

On this form we are required to list any pupils, over the age of 6, who have missed 20 school days for any reason. You will be informed if your child has missed 20 days. These figures are used for statistical purposes only.

The reports are not something to be concerned about in themselves,. While attendance is hugely important there are also very valid reasons for children to miss school and this is understood. Where the school has concerns about your child's attendance, we will be in touch to discuss with you separate to this. Please be mindful that missed days do add up quickly, and 20 days in a year is a month of learning time the child has lost, so it is important to minimise absences that are within a families control.

Discretionary Referrals

Discretionary referrals are made where a school is worried about the attendance of a pupil. This might be due to a lot of unexplained absences, a pattern of absence, significant ongoing issues with punctuality leading to a lot of missed learning time etc. A school will refer a child to the Education Welfare Officer where they have these concerns. The role of the Education Welfare Officer is primarily to offer support to families to improve attendance.

The school will always contact parents before referring to the Education Welfare Officer and support where possible.

Key things to note

• The aim of attendance and punctuality procedures are to ensure the child gets the best experience of education and maximises learning time. We are available to support as needed.
• There is no need for concern if you get a letter saying your child has been included on the attendance report. Explained absences are recorded as such.
• Be sure to enter your absence reason on Aladdin each time your child is absent, to keep that on record.
• Aim to have your child in school for 9am each day. We understand this isn't always possible, and understanding is always there for extenuating circumstances. Chat to Ms Ryan if it's an ongoing challenge and a note can be made of it.

The Tusla Education Support Service have more information for parents/guardians on their page here.

We are kindly requesting volunteers to help organise this years Community Games. The first meeting will be held this Monday 10th February at 7pm in Summerhill Community Centre. Please come along to the meeting to find more, all are welcome.

In January and February, our primary focus has been on the core value of "Feeling Safe." Each class has actively engaged in discussions during morning circle activities, encouraging children to reflect on how we contribute to a sense of safety in school and what behaviours might compromise that feeling for others. On February 11th the children will participate in Safer Internet Day which promotes safety for children online.