As we embark on a new school year, I would like to extend a warm welcome back to everybody– pupils, staff, parents and management. The first days back are always special and filled with the excitement of meeting friends old and new and looking forward to the adventures of the year ahead.
In particular, a very sincere welcome to our new pupils and their families, some of whom are joining our school community for the first time. We hope that your child’s time with us will be happy and rewarding We look forward to assisting with each child’s individual educational journey and aim to do our best every day to help him or her to achieve the enormous potential that lies within.
We are particularly delighted to welcome our new Junior Infants and the new pupils who have enrolled in various classes throughout the school.
In addition to welcoming new pupils and families we also extend a warm welcome to a number of new staff members to our school. Ms. Ciara Dunne joined our staff as an SNA during the last school year and Ms. Dympna O’Sullivan has joined our teaching staff as a member of our SEN team, we wish them both the very best of luck as they become members of our school community.
We are delighted that our Le Chéile students are now enjoying their new bespoke accommodation in our Le Chéile building. The main works on the new accommodation were completed over the summer break.
This school year children will be supervised in the school yard each morning from 8:50am to 9am.
Another fantastic addition to our school service is the ‘Borrisoleigh After School Club’, run by Phyliss Mockler and Juanita Ryan. We are very lucky to have these two very experienced ladies running the club which is proving to be a very useful service for our families. We wish them the very best of luck in their new venture. There is also the possibility of a ‘Breakfast Club’ if numbers were to prove viable. Please contact the school for further details.
Parents of our new pupils will have already received a School Information Booklet on enrolment. We encourage you to read this carefully as it contains important matters of procedure. The booklet is also available on our school website. However, due to changes in personnel over the summer holiday period we would like to draw your attention to the updated class arrangements for the coming year:
Junior Infants: Ms. Karen Ryan
Senior Infants: Ms. Elaine Scanlon
First Class: Ms. Martha O’ Brien
Second Class: Ms. Anne Marie Clohessy
Third and Fourth Class: Ms. Miriam Lanigan
Fifth Class: Mr. James McCarthy
Sixth Class: Ms. Therese Glendon
Le Chéile1: Ms. Ailish Murray.
Le Chéile 2: Ms. Adrienne Burke.
Special Education Team: Ms. Maeve Slattery, (Deputy Principal), Ms. Joan Quinlan and Ms. Dympna O’Sullivan.
Special Needs Assistants: Ms. Vera Hogan, Ms. Marian Ryan, Ms. Karen Kinane, Ms. Emma English, Ms. Kathleen O’ Meara, Ms. Anne Maher and Ms. Ciara Dunne.
School Secretary: Ms. Clare Ryan.
Bus Escorts: Ms. Teresa Kenny, Ms. Nicola McCarthy and another person TBC.
School Caretaker: Ms. Kathryn Harty.
In the interests of the smooth running of the school we find that it is useful to all to take this opportunity to highlight some important points which can help to avoid difficulties at the beginning of the school year.
- It is vital that children’s personal belongings, jumpers etc. are clearly labelled to avoid losses and potential mix-ups. On a fine day when children remove their jumpers/cardigans it can prove very difficult to keep track of items if they are not labelled. Please check that your child’s name is clearly visible on a regular basis as washing can sometimes cause them to fade.
- Our school has a Healthy-Eating Policy. (See school website). We would respectfully ask that parents bear this in mind when providing pupils’ lunches. As a general guideline we ask parents to confine sweets or other such treats to Fridays. School Milk is available at a subsidised rate to all who wish to avail of it.
- Parents who are not already registered for our Text-a-Parent service and who wish to avail of it are asked to provide a contact mobile-phone number, please. It is vital that any parent who has changed their contact details during the holidays let us know immediately please, so that our records can be updated. It is also important to bear this in mind if changing your contact details at any stage during the year. Also please be aware that text messages are sent through a computerised system and we are not responsible if this results in a text not being received.
- In line with our Green Schools Ethos we are increasingly moving towards electronic communication and text and website messages will be essential in ensuring that parents do not miss out on important organisational matters. Please check our website regularly as all school notes are posted on it.
Good communication between home and school is vital. Should you wish to meet with your child’s teacher, or with me, to discuss any matter relating to his/her progress or happiness at school you will be most welcome. In such a situation, in order to facilitate supervision of classes and ensure a productive meeting, it would be most helpful if you would contact the school in advance to make an appointment. The contact numbers for the school are (0504) 51473 and 086-0233023. The best time to contact the school is between 9am and 2:40pm.
If your child is absent for any reason please inform the school as quick as possible by phone, text, email, note or through our website, thank you.
We would also be glad to receive any outstanding book money as soon as possible, please. (Place money in an envelope with your child’s name and class marked clearly on the outside, thank you)
Finally, on behalf of the whole staff, I would like to express our thanks for the many ways in which you support us in our work. In particular I would like to acknowledge the wonderful contribution of our Parents Association and Board of Management, under the leadership of our Chairperson, Mr. Michael Ryan, N.T, to the life of our school. Parents, staff, management and pupils working together in a positive atmosphere is an important fundamental principle of our school.
Thanking you for your continued support and assistance,
Looking forward to a happy and productive school year,
Ní neart go cur le chéile,
Le gach dea-ghuí,
_____________________________________
Michael Small & Staff.