May Newsletter, 2021

Dear parents / guardians,

School “tour” on site for Junior Infants to 5th Class

Traditional school tours are not encouraged this year so, bearing in mind children missed out on their tour last year too, we have booked in Flow Productions to do their Primary School Activity Roadshow on the 24th and 25th June.  This is basically a school tour but on our own grounds.  There will be different zones with various activities in them.  There will be a Sports Zone, Inflatable zone, Novelty Game Zone, Fit Zone as well as a Dance Zone for the older children who wish to do that.  There will also be a Pet Farm visiting the school and the ice-cream van will round off the day.  The cost per child from Junior Infants to 2nd class is €20 and €25 for children from 3rd to 5th.  A payment request will follow on Aladdin and this can be paid in installments if you wish.  We would encourage you to pay online if at all possible.  

School start time

We are currently reviewing our school start time and would like parents’ feedback.  We have consulted with Bus Éireann and the earliest option for our school is to start at 9.10am.  The other options are to start at 9.20am or to leave the school day as it currently is, with a 9.30am start.  It is worth noting that in non-Covid times, morning supervision begins 15 minutes before the start of the school day. Any change would take effect at the start of next school year e.g. August / September.  Please give your input by clicking here. 

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Class

An ASD class will open in St. Mary’s in September 2022.  This class will have a maximum of six pupils in it.  The children in the class will be integrated into their age appropriate mainstream classes for as much of the day as possible.  This is an exciting development for our school.  If you would like to discuss this with me please call the school number.

Covid

We received a letter today from Dr. Abigail Collins, HSE, updating us on Public Health issues.  The letter finishes with the following sentence: “We are still frequently seeing cases [children] who attended facilities [schools] symptomatic, sometimes for several days, and we ask that anyone with symptoms which could be consistent with Covid-19 are managed as per Department guidance, excluded from school and recommended to discuss their symptoms with their GP.” 

As ever, we ask parents to err on the side of caution and keep their child home if they have any of the common or less common symptoms of Covid.  I am attaching the guidance for parents and would like to remind you to complete the “Return to school after an absence” form each time your child misses a day. 

June Bank Holiday weekend

Reminder: school is closed on Friday 4th and Tuesday 8th of June.  

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of our staff to thank parents and guardians for their continued support over this school year.    

Yours sincerely,

Pádhraic Moran