Welcome to our Parents' Page  
 

PTA 2009

St. Joseph's Parents' Council 2009/10

St.Joseph's C.B.S. (Secondary)  Parents Council Members

The officers of this year's Parents' Council are John Dunphy (Chairperson); Josephine Kerr (Secretary) and Patricia Casey (Treasurer)
Other members of the Council above include Oliver Rice, an Marie Murray, John McEneaney, Oisin O'Maolain, Peter Dunrin and Olive Campbell.

 

Parental Involvement in our School

Since 1983, a very dedicated and committed Parents' Council has existed in our school. Parents have always played a very active part in the life of St. Joseph's. In recent years they have been involved in fundraising for school equipment and many other worthwhile projects. Last year our Parents' Council sponsored the minting of our special Edmund Rice Medal to celebrate the 150 Anniversary of the Christian Brothers coming to Drogheda.

The Parents' Council meet once a month on the second monday and all parents are welcome. Two parents also represent the Parent Body on The Board of Management.

Without the hard work, support and commitment of all the members of our
Parents' Council , our school would not be able to provide an educational experience of such high quality to our students.

 

Useful Websites

If you are a parent of a son in our school or indeed if your son has just come into our school an invaluable reference is the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland's information on the secondary school system. This can be accessed on the the ASTI site or at http://www.asti.ie/pr_paren.htm#1

QualifaX is Ireland’s National Learners’ Database. It is the “one stop shop” for learners and provides the most comprehensive information on further and higher education and training courses. www.qualifax.ie

Our Parents' Council is affiliated to the The Congress of Catholic Schools Parent Associations, formed in 1975 to promote the interests of parents and their children in the Catholic Voluntary Secondary School. Contact them at www.cspa.ie

The National Parents Council has worked for the involvement of parents in the education of their own child/children and to give parents a partnership in the broader education system. The website address is http://www.npcpp.ie/

Parents phone Parentline with all sorts of problems. There is no typical call. Calls come from parents of all age groups including teenagers They can be found at www.parentline.ie

The Teaching Council is the professional body for teaching in Ireland. The Teaching Council was established on a statutory basis in March 2006 to promote teaching as a profession at primary and post-primary levels, to promote the professional development of teachers and to regulate standards in the profession. It can be found at www.teachingcouncil.ie 

If you need to download Adobe Reader to access any PDF files you can download the program by clicking the Adobe Reader icon


A Warning for Parents on  “Legal Highs”

There has been great interest shown by the media recently in what are referred to as “Legal Highs” or “Herbal Highs” which are described as drugs, which are on sale in Ireland through Headshops or Hempshops and the Internet.

As a parent there are a number of steps you can take to protect your son or daughter:

  1. Know the Facts: This means that you have to think outside the box of “Legal/Illegal”. Share the information you have on legal highs with your son or daughter so they can start to make decisions based on criteria other than whether a drug is legal or illegal.
  2. Encourage Risk Assessment: Young people do risk assessment all the time – wearing a cycling helmet or not, going home on my own at night or not. . We have to encourage young people to think about the risks or consequences of all they actions and to make appropriate decisions based on this. This helps them to build decision-making skills for life.
  3. Discuss Legal Highs with young people covering the following questions;
    1. Does “legal” equal “safe”
    2. Do I know what substances and what additives are in any package?
    3. Do I know what this drug might do to my brain and me?
    4. If it goes wrong, what are the possible consequences? Could it be serious?
    5. If it goes right and I like it, could I get to like it too much for my own good?
    6. What kind of people are around me – are they going to look after me if I become distressed?
    7. Would I know what to do if one of the others had a bad trip?
    8. Do my friends/family know where I am?
    9. Do I have other ways of enjoying myself?
    10. What is important to me?
    11. Does taking this drug fit in with my own set of values?

Take positive Action as a Parent:

  • One of the ways to take positive action is to set up a family meeting with the young person and try to use this time to talk to them calmly
  • Establish the facts: Find out information on the common Legal Highs on www.drugs.ie Find out what harm these drugs can have on people. When a person uses a drug there is often a honeymoon period during which the drug causes little or no visible harm. It is often easier to intervene when there is a visible harm to focus on.
  • Let the young person know that you are concerned and why. If you have discovered that they are using drugs let them know that you know
  • Stick to the facts: Focus on the visible facts such as poor reports from school or weight loss and other effects.
  • Hold the person responsible for their own choices.  Remind them that you cannot rescue them if they bring harm upon themselves whether it is cause by drugs or not. Clearly state what you want of them e.g. they remain drug free and that they continue with their normal activities such as school or work and stick to family rules.
  • Offer support and put sanctions in place: Offer the young person as much support as they need, especially if they are making an effort to change their behaviour for the better. Decide on what sanctions are appropriate if any. If the young person changes behaviour, acknowledge this a give credit where it is due. However it is important to recognise that they may choose not to change in which case you must choose what to do next.
  • Talk to other parents: Other parents can be a very useful source of information and support and sometimes parents are reluctant to share their concerns and suspicions with each other but this information can be really helpful
  • See professional help:  sometimes you need help and support from professionals who are trained in this area. Visit www.drugs.ie for information on and contact details for support agencies near you. You can also call our school at 041-9837232 and seek an appointment with one of our counsellors.

School Calendar Apr - June 2010

As the school year progresses our calendar may be subject to change, which will be posted as soon as possible and will also be shown on our monthly newsletter

This may be subject to change


Easter Holidays - Fri, March 26th  2010
School re-opens - Mon, April 12th 2010
School closed - Fri. April 30th
School closed -  Mon, May 3rd 2010
Summer Holidays - Fri, June 4th 2010 at 12.35
State Examinations - Commencing Wed,  June 9th 2010

 

 

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Internet Safety

Are you worried about what your child gets up to on the internet. Well you are not alone. There is a lot of material available to parents about this. At a starter Webwise has produced a ten point advice sheet which you can dowload by clicking here >>>>>

One of the major concerns for parents is the social network sites like Bebo and Youtube. One of the many articles for parents about these sites is found here>>>>

There is also a very good movie presentation by Ian Dempsey which you can access. You can play it on Windows Media Player. Just click here >>>
Dealing with Bullying

Research carried out in 2008 by the Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre, Trinity College, Dublin, found that 30.2% of students (30.3% girls, 30.1% boys) reported that they had been bullied in the previous couple of months.  In addition, 24.9% of students (11.5% girls and 30.9% boys) reported that they had taken part in the bullying of others at school. (Anti-Bullying Centre, 2008)
Some suggestions for parents can be found here >>>>

 

If you have any issues which you will like to be included on our Parents Page please contact the one of the Parents' Council members or you can e-mail the school at cbsoff@eircom.net