Dear Children and Parents,

We hope that you enjoyed adding numbers in Maths, using Gaeilge around the house and using the sounds sh and ch.
How many words can you say and write with the sh and ch sound?
Did you enjoy the story of the Gingerbread Man in English and Irish?
We would love to know what you have made out of your recycled materials.
 
Make sure that you are reading every day. We recommend the Oxford Owl website.
When reading it might be helpful if you:
Sound out difficult words.
Put your finger under each word that you are reading if needed.
Take a breath and count to one when you see a comma and count to two when you see a full stop.
Read the whole sentence.
Read with intonation (not like a robot!!)

 Please don’t feel under pressure to complete all the work. You know your child best so please do what works for you and your family.

This week some of the things you are going to learn about are how to:
 Add numbers in Maths
Talk about rooms in the house and jobs as Gaeilge
Say and write the th and wh sound correctly
Learn about electricity
Listen to the story of the Little Red Hen.
 
The th words which you will learn to read and write are thin, thumb, thorn, third, moth, teeth, them, then, this, that, the, there and they. We are sure that you know more!!
The wh words include wheel, whale, whiskers, whistle, who, where, why, when, what, which and whip. What other ones will you be able to think of?
What you can do is write the th and wh words on pieces of paper and put them into an envelope like what we normally do with your new words. Then choose a word from the envelope and say it. You can also do this with the words you have found in the books that you have been reading.

There is also an Active Home Week challenge which means that you have to find four different ways to stay active for sixty minutes each day from Monday 27th April until Sunday 3rd May. Please click on the link for more information https://activeschoolflag.ie/index.php/active-home-week-2020/#toggle-id-4 We have included some of the activities into the daily challenges.
 
Daily Challenge:
Monday: Limbo - See how low you can go
Tuesday: PE with Miss Linky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMj2ZgQqsNA
Wednesday: Potato and spoon race – race someone in your family
Thursday: Play hide and seek with a family member
Friday: Go for a family walk
 
Daily tasks:
Monday:  Make your bed
Tuesday: Make your bed
Wednesday: Set the table
Thursday: Set the table
Friday: Help make lunch

​Ms Keddy has been doing a challenge of her own. She is doing a jigsaw that has 1500 pieces! What animal does she have to finish?

​​We are so happy to see that you have been watching the Irish videos. We are looking forward to seeing your work on the ‘Our Work’ page on the website, well done to those of you who have already done this and it is great to see how helpful you have been to your loved ones.
​
We miss you a lot. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We are here to help.
 
Ms Darcy and Ms Keddy

We hope that you are doing well in these strange and unprecedented times. You are doing a great job and don’t stress if you can’t complete everything. The main thing is that your child is safe and happy.
Here are a few suggestions to help your child learn:

English:
Reading
Reading is so important, and we really love the Oxford Owls website. All you need to do is click on the link below to sign up. You can select a book by age (if it's too easy go up in age or too hard go down in age). You will have access to lots of books which your child can read alone, with a sibling or adult. 
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/user/sign_up.html 

Our News
We can’t wait to read your child’s news when they come back to school. By writing the news each day, your child has practised most skills including cursive handwriting and phonics.

Maths: 
At home your child has many opportunities to use Maths. Not only can they practise counting when tidying up, but also look at and talk about different containers and shapes in the house. Here’s another useful website
https://ie.ixl.com/math/sr-infants

Gaeilge:
There are many cartoons which your child can watch on TG4. Seidean si  is a website which can be used on your phone or tablet to practise Gaeilge  www.seideansi.ie/naionain-mhora.php
We use Bua na Cainte in the school, to access this on your computer for free, please follow these steps (this takes up a lot of space): 
Go to www.edco.ie/bua
1. Select the file which suits your computer PC or MAC
2. Select Senior infants, and then click on it to start a download of the file.
3. Once the download has completed, click on the file to install and follow the on-screen instructions. A Bua na Cainte icon will appear on your desktop.
4. Once you select this icon a log in page will open where you will need to enter the details included below. 
Login: trial Password: trial

​They have covered the topics of An Aimsir, Bia, Mé Féin, An Scoil, Éadaí and Sa Bhaile so they can revise those topics. We will be sending your child Irish videos after Easter which will help with their listening and speaking skills in Irish so don’t worry if you can’t download Bua na Cainte.

Easter:
For Easter, you could hard boil an egg and let your child decorate it.  Your child could also make bunting by cutting pieces of coloured paper in a triangular shape and attaching them to string to add some Easter cheer to your house.

Don’t hesitate to contact either of us by email
Ms Darcy: [email protected]
Ms Keddy: [email protected]

​Again, don’t stress as these are just extra activities to keep your child busy!
 
Looking forward to seeing and teaching your child soon,
 
Beannachtaí na Cásca oraibh!
 
Ms Darcy & Ms Keddy

Dear Senior Infants,
I hope you are keeping well and staying safe during our school closure. I know it is a strange and confusing time. I also know it is very hard for you to stay at home all the time and to be away from your friends. I am finding it hard not seeing my friends too. I just wanted to check in with you and let you know that I am thinking about you and hoping that you are ‘being the best you can be’ at home.

Keep up your reading and your words and do lots of jobs around the house to be helpful and kind. Get as much exercise as you can (at home) and don’t spend too much time on your tablets or phones! You could practise some of the Irish poems, songs or games we did in school, if you can remember them!

I will be sending home some school work for you to do at home after Easter. If you are finding it hard, let someone know. They can contact me and I will try my very best to help you. I hope to see some of your lovely work on the ‘Our Work’ page of our school website. I also look forward to reading your news and stories in the ‘Newsletter’ page on the website.

We don’t know yet when we will be back to school, but I can’t wait to listen to your stories and to see all your happy faces again!

In the meantime, let’s all do our bit to stay safe and healthy – Wash your hands, stay at home and remember the rules of social distancing.

Keep smiling!   😊

Best Wishes,

Ms Keddy_

​Dear Senior Infants,
I hope you are keeping well and staying safe during our school closure. I know it is a strange and confusing time. I also know it is very hard for you to stay at home all the time and to be away from your friends. I am staying at home with my parents in Tipperary. I'm not meeting with any of my friends either, so I know how it feels. I just wanted to check in with you and let you know that I am thinking about you and hoping that you are ‘being the best you can be’ at home.

Keep up your reading and do lots of jobs around the house to be helpful. Get as much exercise as you can (at home) and don’t spend too much time on your tablets or phones! I like to get my school work done in the morning and then I spend the afternoon helping my mother to clean the house and after that I go for a walk. Before I go to bed, I either watch a little bit of T.V or read a book. 

I will be sending some school work for you to do at home after Easter. If you are finding it hard, let someone know. They can contact me and I will try my very best to help you. I hope to see some of your lovely work on the ‘Our Work’ page of our school website. I also look forward to reading your news and stories in the ‘Newsletter’ page on the website. Copycat is missing you all, could you write a letter to him, telling him what you have been up to? 

We don’t know yet when we will be back to school, but I can’t wait to see you all again. Even though Copycat and I were only with you for two weeks, we really enjoyed getting to know you and teaching the best class In Ireland.

In the meantime, let’s all do our bit to stay safe and healthy – Wash your hands, stay at home and remember the rules of social distancing.

Best wishes,

​​Ms Darcy