Monday 12th December 2011
Policy for Emergency School Closure
There have been occasions when schools have been unable
to operate due to circumstances beyond their control e.g.
flooding, heating breakdown, extreme weather conditions. It
is advisable for parents to again be aware of the measures to
be taken if we found ourselves in such a situation prior to
school opening for the day. Parents may find out more
general information about school closures at
www.nidirect.gov.uk/schoolclosures.
If notice is possible, we will send a text alert to each
designated family mobile number. (It is important, therefore,
that the school is informed of any changes to this mobile
number.) This text alert will come from “Antrim PS” to the
mobile phone. *Please note you cannot reply to this text
service.
We will also alert local radio (www.coolfm.co.uk) and
television stations (www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland) at the
earliest moment. Hopefully they would broadcast the
information, but this cannot be guaranteed. Notification of an
exceptional school closure will also appear on the front page
of the Antrim Primary School website (www.antrimps.org.uk).
Back-up to the above procedures :–
First thing (8.30 am), or earlier if possible, a notice will be
placed at the front gate to inform parents who transport their
children to school. Children who might arrive at school on
their own
or by bus will be supervised by staff until parents can be
contacted and the necessary arrangements made.
P1 - P3 Christmas Assemblies – Christmas Recipe
Thank you to parents and friends who supported P1 – P3
classes on Wednesday. Two ‘full houses’ enjoyed the
excellent performances. Again many congratulations to both
staff and pupils for a very special morning in the life of Antrim
PS. £483.63 was raised for ‘Save The Children’ – thank you.
PTA Christmas Fair with Santa
The generosity of our sponsors and the large attendance
ensured another very successful evening on Thursday. On
behalf of Dr Ian Erskine and the PTA Committee we thank
everyone for making it possible. The bonus is that over £1500
was raised for PTA funds – again many thanks.
Community Carol Service
Thirty-two of our P6 and P7 choir members took part in the
Community Carol Service at Antrim Forum on Saturday. A
lovely afternoon was enjoyed by all who attended. Our thanks
to Mrs Hughes and Mrs Reed. Congratulations to P7 pupil
Darren Ferguson – his painting won first prize in the Art
Competition.
School Carol Service – Tuesday 13th December 7.30pm
Our choir, orchestra and P4 singers will lead us in our
Christmas Carol Service. P4’s have already been ‘on tour’ at
the Castle Mall! All our families are very welcome to attend (if
you can squeeze in!).
Last Day of Term
School will close at 12 noon on Wednesday 21st December.
More details later.
Children In Need
Once again we thank and congratulate all our families for
supporting our Charity. The total raised now stands at
£4881.10.
School Texting Service
We are currently trialling a text messaging service whereby
we will have the facility to contact parents via SMS. This
would be useful for many reasons, particularly if we need to
contact parents at short notice, for example cancellation of
after school clubs, emergency school closures etc.
This service works by sending a standard text message to
the designated mobile phone number provided by you. Apart
from the contact telephone number and the pupil's name no
other personal data will be held by the texting company
(Online Solutions - a local firm). Data can only be accessed by
authorised persons and will not be passed on to or
accessible by any other third party.
If you are happy to be contacted in this way please supply
ONE main mobile phone number per family which should be
up-to-date and accessible during the school day. If you don't
have a mobile phone, you may enter the name/number of a
designated relative or friend to receive emergency
notifications for you.
Please be assured that we will not replace traditional
methods of communication. This is simply a means of
enhancing our current methods and hopefully making
communication easier and faster in certain situations.
We are grateful to the PTA for meeting the costs of this trial
service.
PTA Committee 2011 - 2012
Dr I Erskine (Chairman), Mrs S Porter (Vice-chairperson), Mrs
N Monahan(Secretary), Mrs R Henderson (Treasurer), Mrs R
Colhoun, Mrs Y Garrett, Mr S Hamilton, Mrs S Hogg, Mrs H
Murdock, Ms C Pullan, Ms H Vieussens, Mrs K Watt, Mrs S
Whann.
We wish the Committee the very best and thank them for their
school support.
Road Safety Competition (organised by Antrim District Road
Safety Committee)
Congratulations to prize winners Laura Bishop, Brooklyn
Herron, Emily Kane, Megan McCormick,
Leah McFarland, Olivia Martin and Sophie Williamson.
The Chairman, Councillor Brian Graham, presented the
children with their prizes in school.
Children in Need - School Charity 2011
There was great excitement in School when Pudsey made
two visits! Very best wishes to all our boys and girls as they
recite their poems/rhymes to raise funds for this very worthy
cause.
Information for Parents Booklets (2011/2012) Foundation
Stage (P1 and P2)
Key Stage 1 (P3 and P4)
Key Stage 2 (P5, P6 and P7)
These booklets are available to read on our website. If any
parent would like a hard copy, please contact our office.
Primary One - September 2012
We are now in the process of planning for the P1 intake next
September. If you have a child of school age for September
2012, please complete the slip below and return it to the
office. If you have already completed a school admission
form this is not necessary. A School Open Afternoon for new
families will be held in January.
Contact/Health Information
In order to ensure we have the most up to date information re
contacts etc. for each child we would ask you please to
complete the attached slip and return it to the class teacher
as soon as possible. It is vital that we have contact numbers
and up to date health information. Please inform us
immediately of any changes during the School Year.
Child Protection Procedures
Our prospectus and information letters to parents give details
re many aspects of our school's approaches to child
protection. Detailed policies are in place for Child Protection,
Positive Behaviour, The Internet, Anti-Bullying, Pastoral Care,
Health Education etc. and are available to parents on request.
Some Policies can also be found on our website.
If a parent should have a concern about the safety of any
child this can be brought to the attention of the Class Teacher
and to the Principal, Mr Patterson, who is the designated
teacher for Child Protection. Alternatively an approach may
be made to the deputy designated teacher, Mrs McGlaughlin.
If parents are still concerned they can talk/write to the
Chairman of the Board of Governors, Ven. Dr S McBride. At
any time parents can talk to Social Services or the Police.
Should we in school have any concerns about a child we
have an obligation by law to speak with Social Services.
Photographs of Pupils (still and video)
From time to time our pupils have photographs taken for local
newspapers and/or our web site e.g. concerts, fairs,
achievements, sports. We respect the right of parents for
children not to be photographed. If this is your wish please
write this at the bottom of the attached information sheet.
Please note that we cannot be responsible for photographs
taken by other parents at special school events e.g. sports
days, concerts etc.
Attendance at school (Morning awareness)
Many parents ring school or call at the Office to inform us of
children's absences. Please continue to alert us on the first
day of absence. Our phone is 'manned' from 8.30 am each
morning (94428226). Class teachers will be informed
accordingly.
School Attendance
The attendance target set for schools by NEELB is 96%.
Please continue to ensure your child attends school unless
when ill or in exceptional circumstances.
This School year we will again issue certificates to all pupils
whose attendance is on or above 96% at the end of June.
This will credit pupils who have had full attendance and also
those who have missed only short periods. In line with new
DENI Guidelines we will be recording unauthorised family
holidays, lateness in mornings and afternoon absences. If
families take holidays during term time, not only do pupils
miss important learning time but these unauthorised
absences also reduce our overall attendance percentage.
Please help by taking holidays during school closures and
ensuring pupils arrive in school promptly in the mornings. We
have to record attendance for both morning and afternoon as
separate sessions.
Road Safety
We again remind drivers and pedestrians of the need for
extreme caution at the front of the school and in the
playground at home times. Please drive very slowly and
cross with care. Please use our Patrolman at all times.
Vehicle Entrance Gates
In the interests of staff and pupil safety and security the two
vehicle entrance gates will be controlled from our office and
school kitchen. The 'top' entrance at the kitchen area will be
closed to all non-essential vehicles throughout the day.
Please continue to use the bottom entrance for child
collection at 2.00 pm and 3.00 pm.
PE Kit/Musical Instruments
This year Office staff will only be phoning home in
exceptional circumstances when children have forgotten PE
kit, instruments etc. Many children arrive at the office with this
request, so we ask that you help your child to remember the
days when these items are required - thank you.
Parking Outside School
The PSNI has asked me to remind parents that parking on the
zigzag lines outside school is strictly prohibited as it causes
a great danger to pedestrians at school arrival/departure
times. Officers inform me that they intend to monitor parking
on a regular basis and will issue fixed penalty tickets for
parking on the zigzag lines or parking on the double yellow
lines on the Tesco side of Station Road. Please assist our
Crossing Patrolman by avoiding these areas. Thank you.
INFORMATION FOR ALL PARENTS
There have been several serious accidents in Northern
Ireland caused by jewellery catching on items of clothing etc
during play or PE and we have been advised that all items of
jewellery must be removed prior to PE lessons.
Advice to parents - where necessary ear piercing should take
place in the summer holidays to permit removal from
September.
It would, of course, be much safer for your child if all jewellery
was left at home during the school day. Earrings, if worn in
class, should be of the stud type only.
Please also note that pupils should not wear loose items of
clothing which would cause injury if caught on apparatus.
For PE lessons we feel that from P3 upwards a white polo
shirt with shorts (any colour) and gym shoes would be most
appropriate.
L Patterson
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