Are You Top of the Class?

When you start to get organised for your child’s school year, you do not want to trawl through shop after shop while ticking off your check list. That is why Dunnes Stores is the perfect one stop shop for all your schoolwear needs. Now Ireland’s favourite retailer have put their entire schoolwear range together in an amazing on-line catalogue on their website- www.dunnesstores.com

The catalogue certainly demonstrates how Dunnes Stores provides amazing value without compromising on quality or comfort. With trousers, skirts and pinafores now both stain resistant and water repellent, uniforms are ready for all the grime that an average school day throws at kids. All of the Dunnes trousers and skirts have adjustable waistbands leaving room to grow and saving you money as the uniforms last longer.

Easy care is one of the most important factors that parents have in mind when choosing uniforms which is why Dunnes Stores make sure that all of their skirts, pinafores and trousers are machine washable, tumble dry safe and non-Iron.

Check out their unisex easy care 2 pack pique polos from only €3.50 which are 100% cotton, machine washable and tumble dry safe! This remarkable offer is available in white, blue, grey, yellow and red.

As a one-stop-shop Dunnes will not disappoint. Socks, underwear, tights and vests are all available in colours that will coordinate with any school uniform. With a huge selection of kids’ footwear starting from €3.50, you will find everything for school and P.E.

The stationery pages of the catalogue show how extensive the school accessories range has become with branded Hello Kitty, Man United and Liverpool sets and a colourful array of pens, markers, rulers and notebooks for all ages.

All of this and more can been seen in the “Top of the class” schoolwear catalogue at www.dunnesstores.com

Here comes the summer and with it comes summer camps for kids.   MyStuff is reminding parents to label all your children’s belongings with MyStuff Personalised Children’s Labels.  With Value Packs starting from as little as €14.95 it doesn’t cost much to make sure all clothing and belongings come home with your child at the end of each day. 

It’s also a good time to get ‘Back to School’ preparation out of the way and ordering a MyStuff MEGA Value pack now is a great idea – containing 100 bright pencil labels, 50 standard stick on labels, 50 iron on labels and 12 sets of shoe window labels.  It has everything you need in large pack for the same price as last year €33.95 (Value €41.95).  Our labels are available in 12 groovy colours as well as all of the county colours and our pencil labels are now available in multi colour packs for boys and girls. 

MyStuff donates €2 from every MEGA Value pack sold to the Seachange Foundation – an Irish based non profit organisation that helps some of the world’s poorest people lift themselves out of poverty.  All MyStuff products are produced to order from Kilkenny with free delivery within 3-5 business days so be sure to ‘Label your stuff with MyStuff’.  To order call (056) 7793231 or visit www.mystuff.ie

Participating Bookshops will cover your school books and give you Free Name stickers!

Eliminate the scissors, glue, wallpaper and brown paper and look out for the posters advertising the Colibri book covering service at your local book shop. Many reputable book stores now use the Colibri book covering system to apply a custom fit protective jacket to any size or shape of book. What’s more, participating stores will be offering a free “Cool kids” name sticker with every book covered when you choose the Colibri brand of book cover (the only child safe and eco-friendly covering system on the market). No glues or adhesives are used, ensuring that your original book is not altered or damaged in any way. Thereafter, it is easy to replace old and worn covers with a new one, giving books that are passed from one pupil to another a new lease of life, year after year. So save time and money and avail of this service at participating book shops nationwide. www.colibri.ie

What can you do to help prepare your child for school? Taking the big step to primary school can be daunting – for parents and children, even if they have attended a preschool. You want to give your child the best possible advantage for their first day at school. The book on CD 'Going to School' makes the transition easier for children - especially useful for those who are dependent on their home environment and routines. It introduces special needs assistants. www.hometrain.ie

Ten things you can encourage your child to do before they start school:

1.                   Take care of and be familiar with own belongings.

2.                   Open and close lunch box, school bag and pencil case.

3.                   Name items in their pencil case.

4.                   Recognise their own name on their school books.

5.                   Understand their teachers can help them.

6.                   Put on, take off and fasten their own coat.

7.                   Adjust clothes if too hot/cold.

8.                   Take off and put on shoes.

9.                   Take turns.

10.               Use the toilet unattended.

ENTER ONLINE AT WWW.PRIMARYTIMES.IE TO WIN A COPY OF ‘GOING TO SCHOOL’

Don’t forget everything during the holidays!
Like other parents, Carol Vorderman is all too familiar with the long summer break leaving children starved of learning development. Carol says: “The loss of maths learning for children over the summer break is a huge problem for children and teachers. Children will practise their English skills over the holidays without even realising it, simply by reading a book. However, with Maths there is far less opportunity to practice. So by September, many children will have reverted to the attainment they had back at Easter, instead of progressing forward.”

The Maths Made Easy books are packed with notes and tips to make learning about Maths easy and fun. Follow the exercises with your child, and then reward them with gold stars for their efforts. Each title contains a progress chart so your child can keep track of all the exercises they have completed and a handy Answer Section with notes for parents. The best selling home-study series goes up to ages 10-11 following the UK and Irish Maths curriculum and is published by Dorling Kindersley www.dk.com

Carol Vorderman’s Summer Schools online start from ages 5-6 years, with 15 minutes of fun practice a day, including interactive games and video lessons tailored to each child. Arithmetic and Times Tables packages will boost children’s confidence and ability, leaving them ready to cope with a new school year without the worry. www.themathsfactor.com