NEWSLETTER

 

The Curragh Montessori School

September 2026

 

 

Hello Everyone

• A very warm welcome from The Montessori Staff to all our new as well as returning children and their families…  It’s hard to believe we are moving towards the end of September already but happy to report that everyone has settled in nicely. 

 

• A Special Welcome to our new children and their families – Molly, Nina, August, Ash, Zoya, Daithí, Conall, Flynn, Arthur, Arthur, Donnacha, Jimmy, Ethan, Eabha, Sally, Anne and Charlie

• This month we are focusing on getting to know each other, learning each other’s names, and all about our school families.

• We have been doing lots of self-care activities such as washing our hands, blowing our noses. We have also been learning how to put on our coats and indoor/outdoor shoes etc. These activities help promote gross and fine motor movement as well as spatial awareness, they help to develop the children’s concentration and independence.

• For the remainder of this month we will be continuing to settle in and reassure the children, supporting them to become familiar with their classroom and routine.

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September Curriculum

As part of our September Curriculum we have also been working on the theme – All about Me. The children have been enjoying making self-portraits, we have been discussing what Special features each of us have, and what makes us different and unique. This work links into Aistear’s theme of Identity and Belonging which emphasizes children developing a positive sense of who they are and feeling that they are valued and respected as part of a family and community.

 

For the remainder of September we will continue working on this theme by talking about our families, bringing in photos to make a family display on the wall / making family trees, and encouraging the children to talk about their family and tell their peers about the different members of their families. We will be philosophising about what makes our families so special and also naming the people who love us – verbalising these things aloud can help reinforce the children’s feelings of security and reassure them of all the love surrounding them – a lovely thing to do at any age! Finally, we will be making birthday display charts and start to practice our mindfulness by sitting quietly for a minute listening to the sounds we can hear around us.

 

 ** If you haven’t done so already PLEASE SEND IN a couple of PHOTOs OF YOUR CHILD BY THEMSELVES AND 1 or more OF YOUR CHILD WITH THEIR FAMILY  

 

School Hours 

ECCE 2 - dropped at 8:45am and collected at 11:45am

ECCE 1 - dropped at 9:00am and collected at 12:00 noon. 

 

**Parents - please inform childminders, or persons collecting about the correct collection time for your child**

 

                              

September Birthdays

Happy Birthday to Louie who turned 4 and to Arthur Q who turned 3 in September.

 

Car Park

Thank you everyone for adhering to the carpark rules. Can I just also remind everyone not to park on the road immediately at the entrance to the school as this obstructs the view of other parents trying to leave the carpark. Please pass this message on to childminders, grand parents and anyone else who may be collecting your child.

 

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Labeling of Personal Belongings

All Lunch boxes, drink bottles, school bags, coats, wet gear, boots should be clearly labelled with your child’s name.

 

SNACK TIME:

 

• The children have SNACK time at school between 10.45 and 11am. As it is early the children only require a little food at this time as they should then have their lunch at lunch time at home. A small healthy snack and drink is sufficient for snack time, (as per school protocol - Biscuits, treats etc. are only allowed at snack time on a Friday). As our time is limited, please don’t send in apples or oranges that need peeling (peel them at home and send them in in a box).

 

• Also, as we are trying to promote independence make sure your child has a lunch box and drinks bottle that s/he can open themselves. There are some lovely boxes/bottles on the market, but some of them are extremely difficult to open – even for the teachers.  Sit your child down with their box and drink at home and check to see if they can open it themselves.

 

Please also be aware of the following issues in regards to your child’s snack

 

• TUSLA regulations are -  If your child’s snack contains meat or dairy products it must go into a fridge. As we do not possess fridges large enough to hold 30 school bags we ask you NOT to send in yogurts, frubes etc that would need to be refrigerated – keep these for when your child returns home from school.

 

• Grapes    In accordance with health and safety rules laid out by the HSC grapes must be cut in half or quartered for children as they are a proven choking hazard.

 

• Pop Corn     Please do NOT give your child popcorn for their snack as it can be a choking hazard for young children (and also forbidden in HSC regulations for preschool children).

 

• NUTS         We have a child in school this year with a severe NUT Allergy therefore we have a strict NO NUTS POLICY – this includes any foods containing nuts such as Peanut butter, Nutella etc. If you are putting chocolate spread on your child’s bread please check that it does not contain nuts.

HAPPY HAPPY FRIDAY  - children are allowed to bring in a little treat on a Friday -  if you wish them to have one  

 

 

LINC Coordinator

Our school is a participant of the LINC (The Leadership for INClusion in the Early Years) programme. LINC, is designed to support the inclusion of children with any kind of additional needs, in the early years. Fiona is the qualified LINC Coordinator within our school, Debbie this year, has also attained the LINC certification.

 

Parental Input

At The Curragh Montessori we welcome parental input. In the past we have welcomed many different local people – parents, Grandparents and friends in to share different hobbies, interests, occupations with the children. This year we would hope to resume these little visits again so if anyone has an interesting career, hobby, talent etc. please let us know and we could plan to organize a little visit in the school.

Infections and Illness

I think at this stage everyone is very aware of contagious infections, but I will ask again if your child appears unwell, please keep them at home and monitor them for at least 24 hours before sending back to school in order not to spread infections, tummy bugs etc. around.

October

Next Month - Continuing on with our theme of families, we will be looking at where we live (Athgarvan?, Kildare, Ireland etc.). We will study where we are on our globe and on our map of the world. We will look at the map also to see where children may have relations such as grandparents who live in another country.

The children will also be learning about Autumn, we will be discussing how the weather is getting colder with the nights are getting longer and days shorter.

We will be planting some Autumn bulbs in the garden and tidying up the flower beds. We will make a scarecrow and learn some new Autumn songs.

We will also be turning the school a little ‘spooky’ for Halloween, and making some cool Halloween art pictures to bring home.

 

PHOTOS

 

Photos for each month are posted at the end of the month. I will send you a Whatup message when they are up. The photos are on our web page in the “Parents only” section. They are only accessed by Password. When I give you the passwords (one per class) please write them down and keep them accessible for yourselves as you will require them for the next 10 months. I will let you know the new passwords for this year when I have set them.

 

 

Finally, If you have any concerns or would like to talk to any of the staff, just mention it to a staff member and we will accommodate you as soon as possible.