The School Council presented hampers to Mr Eugene Kelly, local President of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Each class collected and assembled Christmas hampers, to be distributed to local families in need of some assistance at this time of year. Many thanks for your support for this very worthwhile cause.

What a busy week at St. Colum's!  On Tuesday,  a joint Christmas Carol Service with Portstewart Primary.  On Wednesday, Primary 1 and 2 performed their wonderful nativity play, 'A Miracle in Town!', and that evening the school held its annual Christmas Carol Service in St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church, Portstewart. Amazing singing, music, readings and performances. Well done everyone!

Parent/Teacher E-Safety Advisory Group

The safety of children and young people when using the internet and electronic technology (e-safety) is a major concern for parents, guardians, carers, practitioners and broader society.  The Northern Ireland Executive recognises the concern and has funded the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland to develop an E-safety Strategy for Northern Ireland and an accompanying Action Plan which will endeavour to enable the safe use of digital and internet technology by children and young people in Northern Ireland. 

The National Children’s Bureau (NCB) are leading on this project and are currently contacting a range of schools in Northern Ireland to support us in carrying out this project.

We are asking schools to help us advertise the opportunity for Parents and Teachers to join an advisory group to:

ü  Support the development of this project by providing advice on key aspects of project design and delivery.

ü  Meet 3 times over the course of the project (the work is to be completed by February 2017.)

As an incentive to attend we will offer: Travel costs to and from meeting; Food and refreshments; and £20 gift voucher for each participant.

To express your interest in joining this group please contact Gill Hassard, NCB Senior Participation Officer: ghassard@ncb.org.uk or Tel: 02890 875006 by Wednesday 16^th December.

The first meeting will take place on Wednesday 13^th January 2016, 6.30-8pm at Belfast Central Mission, 5 Glengall St, Belfast, County Antrim BT12 5AD.

Terms of reference for the group, subsequent meeting dates and venues to be agreed by group members at the first meeting.

If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact Gill Hassard, NCB Senior Participation Officer: ghassard@ncb.org.uk  or Tel: 02890 875006 

Gill Hassard

Senior Participation Officer

NCB

The NICVA Building| 61 Duncairn Gardens|Belfast|BT15 2GB

Tel: 028 90875006

Text: 07836576832

Primary 3 are displaying their very special Christmas tree in the Christmas Tree Festival in New Row Presbyterian Church in Coleraine. This is the second year P3 have participated in this event. The festival is called "Joy to the World" and their theme was "The Good Shepherd". The display opens on Tuesday 1st December @7pm and continues Wednesday 2nd -Saturday 5th December10am - 8pm and Sunday 6th December 1.30 - 6.00pm. The P3 children are going to view all the trees on Thursday 3rd December. If you are in Coleraine pop in and enjoy the spectacle at the Christmas Tree Café. All proceeds in aid of local cancer charities and New

Row building fund.

COMMUNITY INFORMATION BULLETIN No.16

HALLOWEEN/FANCY DRESS CLOTHING

Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) has released this bulletin to raise awareness of the risks posed by some children's Halloween/fancy dress costumes should they become exposed to fire and to inform the public of the steps that they can take to minimise that risk.

Although Halloween/fancy dress costumes give the feel and appearance of being garments or clothing, they are by definition considered to be a 'toy' and as such are only required to meet the lower standard associated with toys (BS EN 71/2) in terms of their ability to withstand fire. The intention in The Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 was that a child should be able to quickly drop the toy if it were to ignite and minimise their contact time with the ignition source. However, Halloween/fancy dress costumes in their 'play' context are a form of clothing, albeit temporary and often worn over the top of existing clothing, and it is questionable whether a child would have the ability to quickly discard their clothing were it to catch fire.

Should your child be wearing a Halloween/fancy dress costume that has tassels, capes and other adornments that could trail, particular care must be taken to ensure that they are kept away from any naked flame, otherwise the results may be catastrophic.

Recent media coverage supported by the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) and NIFRS has called for children’s fancy dress clothing to meet the same fire safety standards as children’s nightclothes. Whilst some retailers have voluntarily moved to ensure that their Halloween/fancy dress costumes meet this higher standard (The Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985), not all retailers have done so. Halloween/fancy dress costumes that meet this higher standard are often labelled as having ‘low flammability’ to BS 5722 (or to the European BS EN 14878 standard).

Even where clothing meets the standards of The Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985 and has a label which reads 'LOW FLAMMABILITY', it does not indicate a completely flameproof garment. The clothing will still catch fire and burn but it will do so at a slightly slower rate. It is for this reason that all garments bear a label with the red letters ‘KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE’. It is also vitally important that where you have a low flammability garment that you follow the washing instructions carefully. Washing them at more than 500C will reduce the fire resistance of the clothing over time.

If your child is wearing a fancy dress costume this Halloween:

Avoid using a naked flame or candle in pumpkins; use a torch, glow stick or battery-operated candle.

Keep children away from any naked flames, including sparklers.

Be sure they know how to ‘Stop, Drop and Roll’ if their clothing catches fire.

Choose a costume and mask that doesn’t restrict a child’s visibility.

Wear woollen tights or 'heavy' trousers, eg, jeans, and a woollen jumper under the costume.

Ensure your children are supervised at all times.

Community Information Bulletin No. 3 gives additional safety guidance regarding Halloween and for further information, contact NIFRS Headquarters on 028 9266 4221 or visit www.nifrs.org.

http://tinyurl.com/n7lhm2z