Dear Parents,

Power Hour has been a very successful reading initiative in the school. In Senior Infants, your child will have the opportunity to benefit from this. They will work in small groups with their class teacher and three other support teachers from Monday to Thursday, reading books, working on words and phonics, writing and developing their comprehension skills.

This year, we are also placing a particular focus on developing oral language as a prerequisite to reading with some of the groups during Power Hour. As a result, your child may not bring home a book to read initially as we work on developing their language skills. Later in the term however, your child will get a new book each night. When the book goes home, it is extremely important that you listen to your child’s reading and sign the sheet in the folder once you have done so. It is best if the child reads their book 2 – 3 times.

Where possible try to provide your child with the opportunity of reading the book to different audiences (sibling, visitor, grandparent etc.) It is also very important that the book and the folder are returned to school each day.

The school has invested a lot of money in launching this initiative. As the books were very expensive, they need to be looked after carefully. Due to the high price of the packs of books, have to impose a charge of €15 for lost or damaged books.

We thank for your continued support as it is crucial in this partnership and our evidence shows that children really benefit the mixture of small group work, extra teachers in class and support from you at home.

Yours Sincerely,

Dolores Kelly
Principal