To improve communication in our schools, each class has 2 parent class representatives who pass information via a WhatsApp group in relation to your child’s class to keep you up to date with what is happening within the school community. A class WhatsApp group is essential for play dates, parties and social evenings and communication from the school, Board of Management and/or the Parents Association.
1st Meeting – 8th October 2019 @ 8.15pm Boys School.
Invited: All existing and new Committee Members and Teacher Representatives
Item
Agenda
Time
Lead
1
Welcome and Introductions
8.15 – 8.20
All
2
Overview • Roles – Chair etc. (CH & DS) • Committee – Policies and Procedures • AGM follow up and Constitution (SR) • Sub –committees (CH) • ICT Support (JG)
Hello from the Johnstown Parents’ Association and welcome to our first newsletter for this school year. We hope all the boys and girls have settled back into school. It is going to be another fun and exciting year! JPA Meetings As a parent/guardian, you are an automatic member of our Parents’ Association. Your ideas and support will be crucial in helping to make the Parents’ Association a success.
The JPA Committee meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 8.15pm. All parents/ guardians are invited to attend. Our Annual General Meeting is Tuesday 24th September@7.30pm Class Representatives Every year we ask two parents from each Junior Infant class to volunteer as class representatives.
There are usually two class representatives for each class in the boys’ and girls’ schools. The role involves maintaining the class contact list and passing on information regarding JPA events. It has come to our attention that some classes do not have a representative. If you don’t have a class representative and wish to volunteer please contact the JPA on jpaconnect@gmail.com
JPA Family Subscription
The Parents’ Association aims to promote the school community by organising activities throughout the year. The subscription is €10 per family but whatever you can afford will be much appreciated. Please return your donation to the school where it will be collected or if
you prefer to pay electronically,
please use the following bank details:
BIC: ULSB IE 2D IBAN: IE59 ULSB 9859 5076 1833 69
JPA Calendar 2020 It is that time of year again where we plan for the JPA School Calendar. We are organising the dates with the schools for taking class photos. The themes for each class are the same as last year and are as follows:
Author of Weaving Wellbeing Fiona Forman announced for this years JPA AGM
Helping Children to Manage Stress and Strong Emotions
Johnstown Parents’ Association are delighted to inform you that we have organised for Fiona Forman author of ‘Weaving Well-being’ to speak to parents at our next Annual General Meeting.
Fiona is a regular media contributor on children’s well-being and has spoken on this subject at conferences at both national and international level. Fiona is passionate about the mental health and well-being of children and in helping them to achieve their true potential. Fiona has designed and implemented a well-being programme which has received immensely positive feedback. She has delivered talks to parents and teachers on Positive Psychology and its application to education. For further information: http://weavingwellbeing.com As this event is sponsored by the JPA and supported by the schools we hope it will be well attended by parents/guardians. To book your place, please e-mail jpaconnect@gmail.com. If you have any suggestions for future talks/ training programmes, please e-mail JPA connect jpaconnect@gmail.com or contact us through our website, http://www.jpaconnect.com.
As we come to the end of another school year, we would like to take this opportunity to extend a big thank you to all of our sponsors, parents and staff, who every year, support the Johnstown Parents Association (JPA). Without this support, we would not be able to run events that are such an important part of what we do each year.
Mrs Quinn and Mr Cadogan, teachers, special needs assistants, secretaries and caretakers, we hope you have a well-deserved break and thank you for assisting us through the year.
To the boys and girls who are moving on to secondary school, we wish you well in the future. To those children joining the schools in September, we look forward to meeting you and your parents in the new school year, and hopefully, some of the new parents will join us on the Johnstown Parents’ Association!
We will be having our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday 24th September and we have lined up an excellent guest speaker. So put the date into your diaries. We hope you all have a great summer and we look forward to seeing you all in September.
Young girl sitting at home on a settee and using a child’s tablet touch screen computer
School is officially out for summer in just a few days! Here’s hoping that long sunny days lie ahead. No matter what you can be sure that technology will play a part in everyone’s summer. So, here are some tips for what you can do to ensure that your child stays safe over the summer holidays, while they are spending some time online.
Here at Zeeko we regularly say that communication is key! There genuinely is no substitute for face to face open communication with your child when it comes to many elements of parenting but none more so than internet safety. It is a good idea to have a conversation as early as possible in the summer holidays with your child about you and your child’s expectations about the use of technology. Children can assume that now that they are finished school, that they can spend their increased free time online. This expectation will not always be matched by their parent! Negotiation will be central to what is agreed between you and your child about how the use of technology will be managed over the summer months. The following areas may be of help to you in supporting your child to stay safe online and achieving that all elusive balance.
Screentime: Remind your child of the importance of having a balance when it comes to the amount of time that they are spending online. At Zeeko we have pioneered the 5:1 Rule when it comes to screentime. This essentially means that for every hour that is spent on screens this should be balanced with 5 hours of ‘real world’ activities, preferably activities that involve some physical exercise. Also, it’s important that your child, switches off any screen at least an hour before bedtime. The blue light omitted by screens can affect the levels of melatonin in the brain which can affect things like concentration the following day. The temptation is always there, particularly during the holidays, to spend an increased amount of time on screens.
The Stop Block Tell Rule: It can be genuinely distressing for young children in particular, to encounter something age inappropriate or witness others being treated badly when they are online. Talk to your child about the importance of using the Stop, Block, Tell Rule if they do encounter something that upsets them. Stop what they are doing, block the person and/or conversation that has upset them, and finally tell a trusted adult what they have experienced. Talking about what has upset them will definitely make it less frightening. Let your child know that it is ok for them to talk about what they are experiencing when they are online. Having regular open conversations as a family about the internet is a great foundation for your child to learn that the digital world can be a great experience, but that they need to remember to stay safe.
Online Etiquette: Often the excitement of messaging, gaming, video and photo sharing can lead to children of a range of ages, not being as cautious as they would usually be when they are offline. Talk with your child about the importance of treating people the same when they are online as they would when they are not. Also remind them of the T-Shirt Rule, which is a great way of reinforcing the fact that what is shared online cannot be easily deleted or removed – don’t post anything that you wouldn’t be happy to wear on the front of a t-shirt! This certainly makes children and adults think twice about what they post online.
As we know from our work with primary and secondary schools throughout the year, the internet is a fantastic resource, but children do need support and guidance to learn how to safely navigate the online world, regardless of the time of year! Our team at Zeeko wish you all a fun filled and safe summer both on and offline!
