Dear Parents,

With mid-September upon us, it is great to see how well our children have settled back into school for the new
school year. This is especially true of those children who have joined the school this year. As we move through
the term, please note the following:

Staff Meeting. The school will be closed to children on this Friday, September 20th to facilitate a staff Inservice day and
staff meeting.

Jewellery.
Please be advised that children should not wear drop or hoop earrings to school. This is due to health and safety
concerns. If the children do need to wear earrings please make sure that these are stud earrings.

Contact Details.
As most of our general communication with parents is via text or email, it is vitally important that contact details
are up to date. If you change phone number or have an alternative email address, please let us know.

Art, Photocopying Levy.
We are currently collecting a contribution of 25 Euro per pupil to help in offsetting the considerable expense
associated with photocopying and art. We have done everything to keep this cost down as we are more than aware
of the financial pressure associated with the annual return to school. Sincere thanks to those who have forwarded
the contribution.

School Meals.
Thanks to Mr Henry for his work in ensuring that the school meals scheme is progressing well. We have taken
parents requests on board with regard to the menu with the addition of several new items and also with improved
packaging and presentation. We welcome any parent feedback relative to the service and always pass this to the
suppliers. Please note that changes to your choice should be made before 5pm on Tuesday for the following week.

Football Boot/Uniform Collection.
As with last year, we ask that where families have unwanted or second hand football boots or school uniforms,
you might consider donating these to the school. These can be donated at any time during the school year and will
be used for children to get involved in sport with possible future benefits for local clubs.

School Photographs
The school photographer will attend the school on Thursday October 3rd.

Healthy Eating
As you are aware, we operate a healthy eating policy across the school. This is in line with DES requirements. As
such we ask that the children do not take sweets, chocolate or similar to school. This also applies to birthday
treats.

Mobile Phones.Mobile phones are not to be taken to school by the children under any circumstances. Where pupils need to
contact a parent, this is always facilitated by the school.

Device Time.
We have become aware of some of our pupils spending excessive unsupervised time on gaming devices. We have
received reports of children taking devices to bed at night and spending hours engaged in gaming or on social
media platforms. While we are not suggesting that children are banned from using devices, this should be done in
moderation and in a reasonable timeframe. We strongly advise that devices should not be used by the children
after bedtime as we are witnessing children being tired in school and becoming detached from schoolwork and
energetic play. There is also the increasing incidence of cyber bullying which has a devastating effect on children.
In the recent past we have been made aware of children sharing pornographic images via platforms such as
Snapchat which is very difficult to police. We ask that parents keep aware of how their children are using their
devices and if at all possible to limit daily device time.

Building Update.
The new classrooms are nearing completion and should be available to us in a few weeks. We thank parents,
teachers, and the children for their patience while we were waiting for the extra space.

With Thanks
KD