Main menu:
Parents
Opening Times & Break Times
Junior & Senior Infants: 8.55 a.m. - 1.35p.m
1st - 6th Class 8.55 a.m. - 2.35 p.m
Break: 11.00 a.m. - 11.10 a.m
Break: 12.30 p.m. - 1.00 p.m.
Note: Junior Infants will finish school at 12.00 for the first two weeks of the school year.
Punctuality and Attendance:
The children are expected to be punctual and to attend school every day. Good school attendance is crucial to your child's progress.We ask that you are on time picking up your child daily. The Infant Teacher has other duties to perform and small children can get upset if they are left to wait when every other child has been collected.
Absence and sickness:
As we have already stated, regular attendance is crucial to your child's progress. However, children do, from time to time, get sick. In accordance with the Educational Welfare Act the school has a duty to report any child who has missed 20 days or more in one academic year. The Principal has no discretion in this. Parents / Guardians are obliged to provide a written explanation to the school explaining their child's absence. You may use the notes at the back of your child's homework journal for this purpose.
School Uniform
Green v-neck jumper or cardigan.
Grey trousers/skirt/pinafore.
Cream shirt and green tie
School tracksuit is available from Loughnane Sportsware,Shinrone. Ph.087 3438329. A representative from Loughnane's will come to the school on a date in June to fit children for tracksuits. You will be notified of this date in advance.Tracksuit is worn by all pupils on Mondays and on one other day specified by your child's class teacher. School uniform is to be worn on the other three days of the school week.
Please label your all your child's clothing. It is next to impossible for a teacher to identify the owner of a piece of clothing if there is no name on it.
Lunches
Choose a lunch box and a drinks bottle that can be easily opened. Please label both. As part of our Social, Personal and Health Education Programme we have a Healthy Eating Policy. We encourage children to bring a healthy lunch to school. Nourishing foods are encouraged. We ask you not to include crisps, sweets, fizzy drinks or any junk food in your child's lunchbox.
As we are a “Green School”, we ask that all children have a reusable lunchbox and that they bring drinks in a reusable bottle. Please do not bring drink cartons to school. Wrap food in kitchen roll rather than tinfoil or cling film. In order that you know what your child has eaten, each child brings home the remains of their lunch box.
Immunisation and Health Screening:
The HSE provides medical and dental screening for school going children. It also provides booster immunisations for childhood diseases to Junior Infant classes and senior classes. Parents will be notified of these services and consent forms are circulated prior to visits by the doctor / nurse / dentist.
Medication
It is the policy of the school not to administer any medication to children. Please do not send any medicines to school with your child. We will be happy to facilitate Parents / Guardians needing to give medication to their child.
Children Becoming Unwell in School
When the Principal / teacher feels that a child is not well enough for school either as a result of becoming sick or an accident, the parents / guardians will be contacted immediately. Please ensure that we have up to date contact information for each parent/guardian. We also ask that you provide us with the contact details of two other people that we can contact in the event of us being unable to reach you. Children are expected to go to the yard at break times, as it is a vital part of social interaction. For supervision purposes we are unable to leave any child unattended in a classroom during break times. If your child is feeling unwell they can wrap up warm and sit in the shelter in the yard. Exceptions to this will only be made in exceptional circumstances after consultation with the principal. In the event of a very serious illness / accident, an ambulance will be called and the child will be brought to hospital.
Parent and Teacher
At the early stages some parents meet the teacher almost daily when dropping and collecting their child. if there is something in particular that you would like to discuss, you can arrange to meet her at a time when you both can have a little more time. The school secretary can arrange this for you. We ask that parents not call teachers out of class as this means that children are left unattended in their classroom. If a teacher should wish to meet with a parent, she will ask the school secretary to contact you to make an appointment. Every year near the February Mid-term break, one day is taken over with parent-teacher meetings which provide an opportunity for discussing your child's progress. Written reports are sent out at the end of the summer term.
If there is an upset at home which you think may affect your child's progress / mood / behaviour in school please inform your child's teacher or the Principal. This is really helpful for us in understanding your child's individual needs. (This information will of course be treated confidentially).
Special Education Needs:
If a child has any physical or health problems, the Principal should be informed when the child is being enrolled. Should a problem develop at a later stage, the Principal should be told immediately.
Learning Support
Informal assessment will be continually made by your child's teacher. During your child's 5th term in school (Senior Infants) our Learning Support Teacher will oversee a specific standardised test after which support will be available if necessary.
Early identification of learning difficulties is crucial in their remediation. All children from Junior Infants to Sixth Class are regularly screened through the administration of standardised and observational tests. Parental consultation and support is a vital aspect of our learning support programme
Home- School Communication.
We operate a “Text a Parent” system in the school. This enables us to send text messages with information about school closures, activities etc. to your mobile phone. Please nominate one mobile phone number that you would like to have school messages sent to.
Longer messages will also be sent home in written form. Please keep an eye on your child's homework notebook and school bag as they will at times contain school notes.
School Books.
School textbooks are not purchased by parents. Parents make a payment to the school for the purchase of books and the school purchases all books needed by children. We operate a rental system for some books (English and Irish readers etc.).You will be advised by the class teacher as to which books are included in this rental scheme.
Children look after these books for the year and they return them to the school when they are finished with them. These books must be covered in clear plastic and kept in good condition. Books that are lost by children have to be replaced. Some books, particularly those used by children in junior classes may be written on. You will be advised as to the cost of school books towards the end of the school year. (This money will cover the cost of all books for the following school year.)
Children will need to have their own stationery and copy books. The class teacher will advise you of these requirements.
Any parent having difficulty in financing the cost of school books should contact the school principal. All information will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
Savings Scheme
The school takes part in a voluntary saving stamp scheme with Birr Credit Union. If you wish your child to save a little each week please send in some money with them on Thursday mornings (each stamp costs 25cent). Children can save a maximum of €5 each week. On starting to save each child will receive a savings book. The savings books are kept by their teacher and given to the children when they are full. A full book of stamps is worth 10 euro.
Brennan Insurance
This is a pupil's personal accident insurance scheme. It provides 24hour cover for children and covers the cost of any injuries sustained by children. The cost of this is made known to the pupils in September.
Tours
Annual school tour outings usually take place in May or June. The school is divided into the Junior and Senior groupings and age appropriate outings are organised and supervised by the teachers and staff. The cost of the tour is made known to the pupil well in advance and may be paid in instalments prior to the outing.
Board of Management
The Board of Management consists of eight people:
Two parents' representatives.
Two community representatives,
Two members of the teaching staff (one of whom is the Principal)
Two Diocesan nominees.
The Board of Management has a four-year term
The following are the members of the present Board:
Damien Finnerty (Chairperson)
Marie Donovan
Fr. Eamonn O Gorman
Brid Guinan
Margaret Gilligan (Parents Representative)
Richard Dolan (Parents Representative)
Kieran Kealey
Anna Duffy