Dear Parents/Guardians, Welcome back A warm welcome to all of our new junior infants and welcome back to all students, parents and staff. The school tempo is speeding up and there are already a lot of activities taking place. It’s going to be a momentous year! Collection Time Collection time is a very busy time, especially for our new junior infants. Parents can make this time safer and easier for teachers if they stand back from the student line and wait for the teacher to dismiss each child one by one. This way the class teacher knows that every child has been collected. On wet days teachers will dismiss children from the hall. We know that this can take time but we appreciate your patience and cooperation. Healthy Lunches/Allergies We encourage the children to have a healthy lunch every day. The children may drink water at all times during the day but please ensure that the bottle has a sports cap on it to avoid spillages. As we have a number of children in the school with nut allergies, we ask parents to avoid providing nuts for lunches. So that we are aware of what your child is eating in school, we encourage children to put all rubbish and uneaten food back into their lunchboxes. Please ensure that your children have lunchboxes that they are able to open and close without assistance. Meeting the class teacher Parent Meet and Greets will commence this Monday 21st September and run until the 9thof October. Every class teacher will hold a meet and greet before school dismissal and your child will be notified by letter in advance of the meeting. This will be a fantastic opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and find out about the teaching and learning methodologies which will be used for the coming academic year. There will also be a small presentation given by the Parents Association and the GAM team at each meeting. Pupil Information Database sheets will be available at all meetings for parents to fill out. It is vital that we have current and up to date records for each child to keep your child safe. We urge all parents to try to attend these important meetings. Dublin Team Support Day To celebrate Dublin’s participation in the All-Ireland Football Final on Sunday 20th September we are asking all the children to wear blue and navy to school on Friday 18th September. We would also ask that each child brings in €1 on Friday for this non uniform day. The money raised will be used to buy important resources for the school. GAA Larry Mc Dermott is back coaching GAA in the school. He will start with the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th classes every Tuesday this term. Our 5th and 6th class girls GAA team is being coached again this year by Ms. Brennan, Ms. Barrett and Ms. Reynolds. The team are participating in the Cumann na mBunscol league. The girls have already won their first game against St. Benedict’s of Ongar and have another two games to play. Training takes place every Monday at 2:40pm until 3:30pm and matches are every Wednesday after school. Our 5th and 6th class boys GAA team is being coached again this year by Mr. Lynch and Mr. Mc Keown. The boys team are participating in the Cumann na mBunscol and Dublin 15 leagues. Training takes place every Monday at 2:40pm until 3:30pm and matches are every Tuesday and Thursday after school. A big thank you to our team of GAA coaches/teachers. They give up so much time voluntarily and inject huge energy into the sporting life of the school. Please support them in their efforts. Parents Association The parents association organise a number of events for both children and parents throughout the school year. They give their time voluntarily and are of tremendous benefit to everyone in the school. They organise events at special occasions throughout the year for the children, such as Halloween and Christmas, and training courses for the parents. Please support the parents association by giving your time if you can spare some! We would really appreciate your help. Contact details can be obtained in the school office. Attendance We encourage good attendance at all times and we request that, if your child is absent from school, you send a note to the class teacher. If any child is absent for 20 days or more during the school year, we are obliged to report the details to the National Education Welfare Board. Late Arrival We are currently monitoring children who are arriving late for school on a regular basis. Students who arrive late will receive a late stamp in their journal. Please ensure your child gets to school on time every day. Signing Out If you need to collect your child before dismissal time we ask you to come to the office and sign them out. This ensures we have a record of children leaving school early. Lost Property In order to reduce the amount of items that get lost we ask that you clearly label your child’s jumper, coat, hat, scarf, gloves and any other items they may have with them. Cycle to School If your child is cycling to school please ensure that they bring their own lock so that they can lock the bicycle to the bicycle rail. Unlocked bicycles have been stolen recently and we want to prevent theft occurring again. Car Park Please accept direction from caretaking staff at the roundabout close to the school as safety is always our main priority. Emergency Contact Details If you have changed your telephone number or moved house please remember to let us know as it is vital that we have emergency contact details for all children. Also, if you are not receiving text messages, please contact Kate, our secretary, to rectify this. Dates for your diary Friday 18th September – A Day for the Dubs Monday 26th – Friday 30th October – Midterm break Kind regards Vivienne Bourke Principal |