Newsletters Archived

December Newsletter 2018

Christmas Holidays

The school closes on Friday 21 December, at 11.30am for the Christmas Holidays.

For Health & Safety reasons, it is necessary to stagger the exit times. Children from the ground floor will exit the building first. The remaining children will follow.

The school will reopen on Monday 07 January 2018 at 08.30am.

Punctuality
As part our Statement of Strategy for School Attendance, we promote punctuality and ask for your support. The 20 minutes between 08.30am and 08.50am is a very important time in the school day. This is when the younger children have activity time or structured play. It is a time when the teacher corrects homework, hears children’s reading or shares school news with children.

Head Bumps

It is school policy to inform parents by text if your child has a head bump during the school day. If your child complains of feeling sick or dizzy, you will receive a telephone call from the office asking you to arrange collection of your child.

Dropping in lunches, bags, homework etc.

It is essential that all your child’s belongings e.g. lunches, bags, homework, etc., are CLEARLY MARKED WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME AND THE NAME OF THE CLASS TEACHER, especially if you are dropping in items during the school day.

Cards/Presents

We celebrate festivals such as Halloween, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter as part of the overall school curriculum. However, we discourage the practice of exchanging cards and/or gifts in school and Secret Santa. Those who do not receive cards/presents and those who may not celebrate some of the festivals can feel upset and isolated.

No Presents Please

The staff at St Patrick’s do not expect presents at Christmas time. You may wish to make a donation to St Vincent de Paul or St Francis Dublin 15 Hospice instead.

Junior Infant Christmas Plays

Friday 14 December 11.00am SHARP - Ms Dowling

Monday 17 December 11.00am SHARP - Ms Galvin

Tuesday 18 December 11.00am SHARP- Mr O’Neill

Wednesday 19 December 11.00am SHARP - Ms Thomas

More information to follow closer to dates.

Christmas Carols

Choir will sing people home on last day of school, in the Senior Yard area. If it is raining, they will be under the canopy at the main entrance.

Returning of Forms/Permission Slips, Order Forms, etc., etc.

Throughout the school year, various Permission, Consent and Order forms are sent home with the children.

As there are currently 536 families and over 800 students in St Patrick’s N.S., it is now even more important that all forms are fully completed and returned to your child’s class teacher by the requested date. FROM JANUARY 2019, DEADLINE DATES WILL BE STRICTLY ADHERED TO.

Upcoming Events

14 December 11.00am SHARP - Ms Dowling Christmas Play

17 December 11.00am SHARP - Ms Galvin Christmas Play

18 December 11.00am SHARP - Mr O’Neill Christmas Play

19 December 11.00am SHARP - Ms Thomas Christmas Play

24 December to 04 January inclusive - Christmas Break

15 February – In-Service Language Curriculum Training for Teachers (School Closed)

18-22 February inclusive – Mid Term Break

18 March – St Patrick’s Day

15 – 26 April inclusive – Easter Break

06 May – May Bank Holiday

03 June – June Bank Holiday

28 June – School Closes for Summer Break

Upcoming Sporting Events & News

Fingal Primary School Athletics League

12^th March 2019 (Porterstown Pk., D15) Race Day Registration: 10.30am (1st Race 11am)

FINALS DAY (ALL SCHOOLS)

9th April 2019 (Morton Stadium) Race Day Registration: 10am (1st Race 10.30am)

Reminders

Homework Club

Any queries re Homework Club should be emailed to homeworkclub@stpatricksns.ie

Letters of Attendance

We would ask that if you require Letters of Attendance for Child Benefit/Travel/Visa purposes for your child/children, that you give the office as much advance notice as possible. Please email your request to info@stpatricksns.ie stating the purpose of the letter. If it is for travel/visa request purposes, please advise date of travel so that the letter can be dated within a week of travel.

Contagious Illness

Whilst there is no need to telephone the school if your child is sick, we would greatly appreciate if you would

the school who are at increased risk of contracting these illnesses. Parents should acknowledge their child’s absence from school due to minor illnesses on their return, in writing, in the child’s School Journal.

Contact Details

It is essential that we have the correct address and contact details (e.g. home telephone, parents’ mobile numbers and email addresses) for your child on our database. If any of your details have changed over the summer, please complete a Change of Address/Contact Details Form as soon as possible.

Healthy Lunch Policy

We operate a Healthy Lunch Policy in the school. Fizzy drinks, crisps, popcorn or sweets are not permitted. Please help us maintain the health of our children by following the guidelines which are available to view at www.stpatricksns.ie.

Breaktimes

For your information and to ensure forgotten lunches arrive in time, the following are the breaktimes for the children:

Junior & Senior Infants

10.20-10.30am Small portable snack taken to yard for eating under supervision

10.30-10.50am Eating time in the classroom

12.00-12.30pm Any remaining food can be taken to yard to be finished under supervision.

First Class upwards

10.20-10.30am Small portable snack taken to yard for eating under supervision

11.45-12.00noon Foods not suitable for outdoor eating can be eaten in the classroom

12.00-12.30pm Any remaining food can be taken to yard to be finished under supervision.

Hand Towels

New foam soap dispensers have been fitted in all WCs. Please ensure that every child brings a small hand towel/facecloth to dry his/her hands after using the WC. This should be kept in a school bag pocket and changed regularly.

Reminder re dismounting bicycles, etc

In the interest of everyone’s safety, all cyclists (pupils, staff, parents & siblings) should dismount from their bicycles at the main gates of the school. For safety reasons, we would also ask that you do not allow your children to use scooters or rollerblades on school grounds. Please also ensure that your bicycle/scooter/flicker is securely locked.

Infant Children (Junior & Senior Infants)

Infant children (Junior & Senior Infants) should not be left unsupervised in the yard in the morning. Parents/Guardians are asked to remain with their child/children until they are handed over to the care of their teacher at 8.30am. Under no circumstances should Infant children be dropped at the school gate to enter school grounds alone.

Health & Safety

We would ask that you discourage children from walking along the low wall outside the main school entrance. Also, children should NEVER enter the school via the staff car park entrance.

Extra Curricular Activities

ALL QUERIES RELATING TO EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE ACTIVITY ORGANISER.

Please see email/notification sent to all parents on 07 September for contact details of all activity organisers. Contact details are also available on the school website.