Dear Parent(s) and Guardian(s),

A sincere welcome to all families to the new school year. A special welcome to our families who have just joined our school community.  We wish everyone a happy, safe and very successful year.

Here are some important reminders as we begin the new school year.

SCHOOL CALENDAR 2022-2023 is available to view or download here. A small number of Department of Education teacher training half days are likely to be added. We will give you plenty of notice.

SCHOOL TIMES & ROAD SAFETY

  • Doors open @ 9.05am. Plan to arrive no earlier than05am and no later than 9.15am. No responsibility is accepted for pupils arriving before that time.
  • Classes end for Junior and Senior Infants @ 00pm and 3.00pm for all other classes.

PLEASE NOTE: Junior Infants will continue to go home at 12.00 pm up to and including Wednesday Sept 14th.

  • Children must be collected on time as the school cannot accept responsibility for looking after the children when the school day is finished.
  • In the case of children travelling by bus, the school cannot accept responsibility for

escorting them from the bus to the school or from the school to the bus.

Our supervision policy is here.

IMPORTANT

If driving your child to school, DROP and GO for cars is in operation. There is no parking in front of the school. BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO PARK, THINK SAFETY FOR YOUR CHILD AND ALL OUR PUPILS. Your cooperation is expected with this safety request.  The school will seek help from the Gardaí / Police if required.

GENERAL SAFETY

  • The school operates robust Child Safeguarding procedures. Immediately report any concerns to the school.
  • If your child will be leaving school early on a day for some reason, please let the teacher know via Aladdin Connect or phone the School Office. When collecting your child early from school, you must complete the Sign Out Book at the School Office. Only adults will be allowed to collect a child i.e. over 18 years old.
  • Mobile phones are not allowed at school. Let us know of any children who may be breaking this rule as it has serious child safeguarding implications. Our School Office phone can be used by older children to contact parents or guardians.

COMMUNICATION

  • School updates to parents: Check the Aladdin Connect app on your phone. Need help to get it up and running on your phone? Contact Orla at 086 793 0566.
  • Teacher contact with parents: Check Aladdin Connect or the homework diary / folder.
  • Parent contact with teacher: Use Aladdin Connect or email
  • Formal Parent / Teacher Meetings will be held before the October mid-term break. At times, the teacher or parent may arrange to meet each other about a matter.

IMPORTANT

Changed your phone number or home address recently? The school will collect this information from you shortly. Watch out for a text message with a link to an online form.

ATTENDANCE

  • Every school day counts – Please make sure your child attends school every day.
  • If your child is sick, let the teacher know via Aladdin Connect. We will contact you if we do not know why your child is absent
  • If your child has Covid-19, remain at home for 5 school days. If symptoms persist after 5 days, remain at home until they clear. Our updated Covid-19 Plan is here.
  • If your child is absent for 20 days or more, the school will inform Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.

HOME SCHOOL COMMUNITY LIAISON (HSCL)

Órla Higgins is our Home School Community Liaison Co-ordinator (HSCL).  Órla provides support to families. She may arrange to visit you at home or invite you to a school meeting or event. Contact Orla at 086 793 0566.

SCHOOL STAFF LIST

The updated staff list is here.

BOOK RENTAL

Please pay for your child’s rental books by Aladdin e-payments. Contact the school office if you cannot open the e-payments link sent to you or if you have not received a link yet. Thank you to everyone who has already paid the book rental cost.

LUNCHES

  • Free school lunches are provided to every child.
  • You may send an extra drink with your child from home (water only)
  • If your child does not want a free school lunch, contact your class teacher to cancel it. Instead, you can send in a lunch from home with your child every day.
  • The school has a healthy lunch policy. Chewing gum, crisps and glass bottles are not allowed.

UNIFORMS

  • The regular school uniform must be worn every day. The school P.E uniform is for PE days only. Your child’s teacher will let you know the P.E day. This rule will be strictly enforced.
  • Children who are unable to tie shoe laces should wear Velcro shoes or Velcro runners for P.E.
  • Clearly label all items belonging to your child.

PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION (PA): The PA Annual General Meeting will take place in early October. The date and time will be shared with you closer to the event. All parents and guardians are invited to attend. We look forward to working closely with our PA throughout the year.

CHILDREN’S BIRTHDAYS

  • Birthday Invitations: To avoid potential upset to some children, invitations should be given out privately outside the school grounds.
  • Celebrating your child’s birthday in school: ‘Happy birthday’ is sung by the class. A homework pass for that day is given to the birthday boy or girl by the class teacher.

SCHOOL POLICIES

Visit our school website to read all our policies and procedures.

Our revised Code of Behaviour and Anti-bullying Policy are included. The teacher will help your child get familiar with these policies in an age-appropriate way throughout the year.

You can help by reminding your child of our slogan – ‘We are a telling school’. Encourage your child to tell the class teacher or yard supervising teacher if anything is happening that makes them feel unsafe or uncomfortable. Contact your child’s teacher.

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

The school organises a range of sport and music activities for all classes at different times throughout the year. These include tin whistle lessons, marching band practice, football / soccer/ tennis and dance coaching. Watch out for regular updates via Aladdin Connect.

 Thank you for your continuing support to the school. We wish you and your child a happy and productive year at St. Attracta’s.

Kind regards,

Noel Loftus

Principal

6th September 2022