Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s), 

Please see attached information from Ballymote Family Resource Centre regarding their new Personal Growth workshop for individuals aged 15-20 years.

Kind regards,

M McDermott

Please see the FREE webinar Responding to School Avoidance – What a Parent can do!

Tara Kelly co-founder of "New Authority Parenting" and M Sc/ Doctoral Researcher will produce this short webinar and will look at some of the reasons why children and adolescents avoid school.

Strategies for supporting parents and the child, managing conflict about school and accessing support will be presented. There will be an opportunity for parents to bring questions to the session.

This webinar is hosted by Longford Westmeath CYPSC who announce the commencement of their Parenting Webinar Series, as part of the LW CYPSC Healthy Ireland ‘Family Wellness Initiative’.

Week One: 9th November 8pm – 9pm Responding to School Avoidance – What a Parent can do!

To register:

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/family-wellness-webinar-series-what-a-parent-can-do-tickets-443244535337?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch&fbclid=IwAR1t2KZpHwmEQjy3J5OLSERpKt0Ws382JBdqUv84JhcBfJ03AbI5AGYH-zE 

A reminder that as per calendar, school is closed this Thursday 10th November to faciliate Junior Cycle training for staff.

Welcome back all Transition year students!

Your year head this year is Ms. Cullinan and her base room is the Deputy Principal's office

Our Under 16 and Under 19 Boys were back on the court today away to Ballyhaunis Community School. Two really competitive games with the boys fighting tirelessly every second of the game with some unbelievable shots and layups taken. Under 16s Boys won 39-15 and the Under 19s won 32-22. Next week both teams are away to Ballinrobe!!!

School photos are in! Your child will receive a sample today and details of how to order online with Memory Lane. 

Should you proceed to order, you can opt for free delivery to the school if orders are made on or before 2nd November 2022.

As part of our RSE programme in Senior Cycle, we will be running Active Consent seminars in conjunction with the HSE, with TY, 5th and 6th year students.  You will be asked to opt-in/out for your son/daughter closer to the time.  

The HSE are running Parental programmes to complement what is covered in school.  You can register by clicking the links below:

• Monday, September 5th

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/active-consent-parents-guardian-carer-seminar-tickets-383363138467

• Monday, September 26th

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/active-consent-parents-guardian-carer-seminar-tickets-383364412277

Parents, Guardians & Carers are the most powerful and primary source of values and knowledge for their children. However, many of us struggle to equip our children to explore and develop their independence in a social context where they may encounter sexist banter, sexting, revenge porn, sexual bullying and a rising number of sexual assaults.

The Active*Consent programme, based in the School of Psychology in NUI Galway, has been working for over 14 years with young people aged between 15 and 24 years, educators, parents, guardians & carers to develop important resources to support our children. All these resources are based on Irish data and we work alongside young people to ensure that our workshops and other resources are engaging, relevant and effective in raising awareness, sharing knowledge and skills.

In March 2020, we piloted our workshop for secondary school students responding to demands from parents, young people and teachers for the reform of the RSE programme and the need to educate our children about sexual consent. We also work with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) on their expert development group on the reform and updating of the SHPE/RSE curriculum. Well-taught RSE gives essential tools for life; strengthening young people’s ability to make conscious, satisfying, healthy and respectful choices within their relationships and to stay safe both on and offline. Plus, when young people are healthy, happy, and feel safe and secure in school, they do better.

Talking about sex and relationships does not encourage young people to go out and have sex. On the contrary, consent skills are essential when it comes to intimate interactions where the consequences of getting it wrong is the difference between sharing a positive intimate experience and having an abusive experience. We need conversations about consent to become as ordinary as putting on a seat belt.

Our work is funded with the philanthropic backing of Lifes2 Good Foundation and RETHINK Ireland. Despite the impact of Covid-19 on the education system, we continue to adapt and deliver our programme. We work with schools across the country, who have helped us survey TY and 5th year students, piloted the workshop before lockdown and, teachers have been working with us to get trained to co-facilitate the workshop.

Teachers in your child’s school will be working with us to co-facilitate the Active* Consent school workshop. So, before the workshops roll out we would like to share with you why and what we are planning to deliver; then, if you wish, you could continue the conversation and discussion at home with your children.

Please check in school App for latest news and notifications!