NOTICEBOARD

Our online noticeboard will be used throughout school closure for Covid 19 to help update families during this time .
Updates will also be sent by text and by email.

Aladdin Connect App for St. Dominic's

​Dear Parent/Guardian,
 
Our school is delighted to announce that we will shortly roll out the Aladdin Schools Connect to parents/guardians of children in our classes.  
 
The school uses the Aladdin Schools software service www.aladdin.ie for administrative purposes and Connect will give you secure access to messages from the school and to details of your child’s epyaments,  attendance, test results, reports cards etc  via secure login from your internet browser or Aladdin Connect App
 
Aladdin Connect is a fantastic way to enhance a school's communication with  parents. It enables parents to stay connected and informed about their child's education by:
- Can view and pay outstanding payments for your child
- Ensuring that the school has their most up to date contact information
- Allowing schools to gather permission(s) from parents
- Keeping parents apprised of their child's attendance
- Keeping parents up to date on school and classroom news via noticeboard messages
- Allowing parents view their child's approved report card
- Giving parents the option to opt in to share contact information with their child's classmates’ parents via the Parent Privacy option for the class list.


Along with strengthening our home/school partnership, we also envisage Aladdin Connect helping the school by:
- Helping to improve attendance by allowing parents to keep track of any school days their child may have currently missed, along with late arrival and early leaving information.
- Helping to reduce the amount of class/school notes being sent home
- Helping the school/ teachers communicate with parents when the need arises
- Reducing costs by eliminating the need to send school report cards by post
- Reducing costs by reducing the number of text messages that need to be sent
 
You can rest reassured that Aladdin Schools uses state-of-the-art security to safeguard information entered by the school and data is stored and processed in strict compliance with Irish and European data protection laws.
 
In the next few days, you will receive a text/email message containing your registration link.  There will be one link per parent which will allow the parent to access information for all their children in the school from one user account. Please do not forward this text/email or share this link as this is a unique registration code for each parent for your child/children in this school.

During registration you will choose a password that will be used in conjunction with your email address to securely access the Aladdin Connect going forward. If you choose you may share your own contact details with other parents of children in the same class as your children, but please be reassured that this information will not be shared unless you choose to share it. Once you are registered you will be sent an email with links to download the Aladdin Connect App for your mobile device. The main advantage of using the App is to receive immediate alerts for app messages sent by your school. Downloading the App is highly recommended to enhance both the parent and school's Connect experience. 

In preparation for this please let the school know if your email address or phone number has changed recently.
Please note: If there are any personal concerns, or legal provisions in place regarding giving access to Connect to any parent/guardian of your child please contact the school in confidence to discuss or restrict access as required.
 
We hope that you enjoy using Aladdin Connect. We welcome  any feedback or questions you may have.
 
Yours sincerely,
Miriam Dennigan
Principal

​​​St. Dominic’s  N.S.  Book Rental Scheme


09/6/2020

Dear Parents/Guardians,
The St Dominic’s NS book rental scheme has proved a great success with an almost 100% uptake across the school. The scheme provides parents with a significant saving and the committee endeavour to minimise costs to parents each year.
We have managed to keep the book rental fee for the 2020/2021 academic year at €65, the same as last year. If you wish to register your child for 2020/2021 then please follow the steps below.

  • You will receive a text message containing a payment access link to Aladdin
 
  • Click the link to make payment
 
  • You can pay the full 65.00 payment  or pay in instalments on or before 15 August 2020
 
  • A minimum of €10.00 deposit to join the scheme must be paid before 27th June.
 
Please ensure that your child’s current books are  checked and cleaned prior to returning to the scheme over the coming weeks.
 
 
If you have any queries regarding the book rental scheme then please contact
Saundra Galvin (086 1606144 ) or
Sinead Kelly (086 3473228)
 
 
 
Yours Sincerely,
St.  Dominic’s N.S. Book Rental Scheme Committee 

Introduction of ePayment Facility 


Dear Parent/Guardian,
Our school is delighted to announce that we are rolling out the Aladdin ePayment system to parents/guardians of children in our school.

Our school uses the Aladdin software service for administrative purposes and the ePayment system will give you access from an internet browser on your computer, phone or tablet to make secure payments to the school using your credit or debit card.  The purpose of the ePayment system is to facilitate the easier payment of school money collections for parent/guardians and to reduce the amount of cash and cheques being sent into our school in line with recent central bank directives.  

Aladdin uses state of the art security to safeguard information entered by you and the school and data is stored and processed in strict compliance with Irish data protection laws.

Going forward, when money is due for any school activity that is relevant to your children, you will receive a text/email message containing your payment access link.  Please do not forward this text/email or share this access link as this link is unique for your family only. The link will bring you to a parent payment page which will contain all payments requested for all siblings in a family.  There is only one link per family ensuring you have the option to pay all amounts due for all your children in one transaction. Once you have completed your payment, you will be issued with a reference number. You will also receive an email receipt which will contain details of the transaction and reference number. Please quote this reference number in any queries you may have as regards this payment with the school.

Should it be the case that you do not wish your email address or phone number to be used to receive details relating to payment access links and new payment requests, please let us know.
We hope that you will find the Aladdin ePayments facility useful and that it is a very successful system for all. 

Yours sincerely,
Miriam Dennigan
Principal
​

Collection of Student Materials on Monday May 18th

Dear Parents,

You can visit the school grounds  on Monday May 18th from 10am-12pm to allow you to collect your children’s materials. 

We understand this is a difficult time for everyone and we appreciate that this experience is not exactly how we would like to be able to do things. Unfortunately, we have to reduce the risk of physical contact and follow the guidelines below. 

Whether you are travelling to school on foot, by car or otherwise, it is important to ensure you follow these directions in order to reduce risk and comply with government regulations. 

  1. Please bring a bag with you to make the collection of the books quicker and easier. 
  2. Where possible, please come to the school alone. 
  3. Please queue at a cone on the pathway into the school,please make sure that you uphold social distancing rules. 
  4. ‘Collection points’ will be through two ‘hatches’ i.e. front windows of the school ( Ms. Mullooly’s and Ms. Lennon’ s classrooms) .
  5. When you reach the  collection point, your child(ren)’s books (s) will be handed through the ‘hatch’. 
  6. To ensure your safety, we are operating a one-way system so everyone will have to leave through the gate in the  yard.  Please ensure that you do not try and leave the same way you came in. 
  7. Please drive out of the carpark the same way you usually do at the end of the school day.

We are relying on your cooperation for this so please ensure that you help us out by following directions.

Please email naomhdominicns@gmail.com if you need alternative arrangements or have any questions or queries. 


As always, I thank you for all your support at this time. I will keep you updated as things develop.

Is mise le meas,
Miriam Dennigan 
Principal

​

Principal's Letter 11/5/20

Dear Parents,

We hope that you and your families are well.

We are sure you are all aware at this stage that we will not return to school this term due to the continued restrictions around Covid-19 pandemic. We will complete the term using 'remote learning'- a challenge none of us expected to face this school year! 

Books/Resources 
We are aware that some books and resources of the pupils are currently in ‘lockdown’ in the school. We will be in contact again later this week to make arrangements for delivery or collection of the same from 18th May onward. 

Surveys
We are very pleased with the huge levels of engagement with our remote learning platform, Seesaw . Our recent surveys really gave us insight into how we can further develop our activities in the coming weeks. Many thanks for taking part. 

Class Blogs
This week we open our class blogs on Seesaw. These blogs are a social platform for pupils where they can leave messages, videos or show off their wonderful work to one another . It is a safe, secure method of communication and every post will be pre-approved by the teachers. 

Thank you! 
We would like to say a massive thanks to all you , we understand the pressure on every household at this time. Teachers are sending a ‘menu’ of work each week, we remind you to do what  suits your child and your circumstances.Please do not hesitate to contact the school on naomhdominicns@gmail.com with any questions or queries.

With every good wish,

Ms. Dennigan and Staff
St.Dominic’s N.S. 

​

We are.. project! 

Week 1: We are ….. Photographers!
We are already published authors this year in our We are Writers book. Each week we will have a new whole school themed project. This week We are Photographers.  Take a picture of something or someone and tell us about more details about the picture. Give the picture a name.  Don't forget to put it on Seesaw! We hope to put the photos together and have one whole school picture project for our hallways in September!


St. Dominic's N.S. Wellbeing Pack 

Links to Websites for School Closure

Notice from Principal

                                                                                                                                                          03/04/2020

​Dear Parents,
We are hoping all our families are safe and well at this time. Our remote learning platform is working well with great interaction among pupils and teachers over the past few weeks.

It appears we will not be returning to school as scheduled after Easter. We will now take a break from St. Dominic's remote learning and continue after Easter from Monday April 20th.

Please find guides for parents about talking to children about Covid-19 on our noticeboard below. Please contact naomhdominicns@gmail.com for any requirements. Wishing you all a safe and happy Easter.

Wishing you all the best until then,
Ms.Dennigan and staff of St. Dominic's N.S.

Guides for Parents 

Message from Creative Schools Committee

CREATIVE COOKING IDEAS

We would love you to continue to contribute to our Creative Schools Programme from your home.
We know that a lot of pupils are busy helping in the kitchen during this time, doing some baking and cooking. 

We would love if you could take pictures of your creative kitchen creations.
You could share the picture on Seesaw  with your class teacher , email it to naomhdominicns@gmail.com or share it with us when we return to school.

Here's some useful links: 


Devoked Cakes are doing live bake alongs every Monday at 11am on their Facebook page.

Funny Food Art 
This link here has some pictures on funny food art that you could use as ideas in your home. http://www.funnyfoodart.com/prints-for-sale


Looking forward to seeing your pictures,
St. Dominic's Creative Schools Team 



Principal’s Letter 20/3/2020


                                                                                                                                                                20/03/2020
Dear Families,
I hope that all families are keeping safe and well during this challenging time. This is an unprecedented situation worldwide and we are learning to adapt to a new normal for now.
How can teacher/pupil interaction take place during this time?
We use Seesaw App/Website in the fifth and sixth class in your school. Some pupils have used it this week as a distance learning tool, with great success. Pupils uploaded pictures of their work so the teachers could assess/comment on it etc. Teachers also put up some supplementary activities pupils could do. It is a safe, efficient platform for communication between teacher and pupil.
We are now going to make Seesaw available to all pupils in our school.
Do pupils have to use this app/website?
We understand the challenges of time, slow internet connection, lack of devices and the strain on the family unit at this time. We also understand that pupils in the junior end may not have the digital skills needed and would rely heavily on parents/siblings. Hence, Seesaw is merely an option in which we feel we could help families. It is your choice whether you want your child to upload work onto it and interact with the teacher, but from our experience it is beneficial for the pupils.
Will my child receive the same work if they are not on Seesaw?
All pupils received scheduled work last Thursday when school closed. Any follow-on work will be communicated through Seesaw AND school email so all pupils will have access to the same work schedule.
How will log ins/ access work?
Each family will receive a home learning code via text for each individual child. You will receive your text  by  Monday 23rd March.
How do you sign into Seesaw?
  1. 1..Go to https://web.seesaw.me on a computer. Or install the Seesaw Class iOS or Android app.
2. Tap “I’m a Student”.
3. Type in your Home Learning code.
4. Post to your journal, respond to activities, and view class announcements.
5. Remember, this code is like a password. Keep it safe!
Remember..
  • All pupils have access logins to Manga High website which they can use for Maths activities assigned by our teachers.
  • There are links below to lots of activities and ideas for pupils to stay active during this time.
Any questions?
Please contact the school email – naomhdominicns@gmail.com or leave
a message on the school phone 043-3322456.

We hope that this of help to families and that everyone stays safe during this time.
With every good wish,
Ms. Dennigan and staff of St. Dominic’s.

Recommended Websites for School Closure


 
                                                                                                                                                                
Dear Parents,
Please find below a number of online resources we often use in our school. These websites are freely available over the next number of weeks to use to supplement the works assigned by our teachers.
 
www.mangahigh.com
Our previous access still works so children’s previous passwords and logins should still be active.
 
www.scoilnet.ie
This is another website with a wealth of worksheets and topics for researching.
 
www.nessy.com/free-trial/signup
Nessy is offering 8 weeks of free reading and spelling, structured literacy instruction to children. Parents  may use this link to sign up .
 
www.twinkl.ie
Twinkl are offering a free month to parents. This website is incredible. It is full of printable worksheets for pre-schoolers upwards.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all classes!!!
 
www.getepic.com
Instant access 35,000 books. Learning videos, quizzes and more.
Free access for 30 days!

Principal's Letter 12/03/2020


                                                                                                                                                                12/03/2020

Dear Parents,

An announcement was made this morning by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD of the closure of schools, for a period until 29 March 2020 , to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid- 19. This will take effect from 6pm this evening, Thursday 12 March.

All pupils in our school have received a schedule of work for home over the next two weeks, along with supplementary workpacks and online activities.


This is a challenging time for all families and we hope that this preventative measure is pro-active in helping contain the threat of Covid- 19.

Le meas,

Miriam Dennigan
Principal






St. Dominic's N.S. Roll Number:  15154L                                                 naomhdominicns@eircom.net                                                                                    043-3322456                  

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