Information for Parents

Strong home/school partnerships;

A strong partnership exists between school and home, which is vital for good learning outcomes. Parent-Teacher meetings take place in October each year . Regular meetings take place in the case of pupils receiving School Support and School Support Plus. We have a Welcome Evening for the parents of incoming Junior Infants in May. We communicate with parents/guardians via the our school website and Facebook page.

We are very appreciative of the support which parents/guardians give to the school and to the school’s various activities.

Check homework every night.

Return forms promptly.

Come to the class teacher/Principal if you have any concerns regarding school.

Do not discuss concerns/school matters with the teacher in the presence of your child. Be positive in your attitude to school.

Download the Information for New Parents Booklet here.

Junior and Senior Infants

All Junior and Senior Infants go home at 1:40pm. If there are any special collection arrangements please let us know by email or phone.

First 2 Weeks: To ease the children gently into school life, the Junior Infant children will go home at 12pm for the first two weeks in September.


Absences

All pupil absences must be explained by email or phone. This information may be required by the Child and Family Agency, TUSLA. Please note that the school is legally obliged to inform TUSLA if any child is absent in excess of 20 days.


Sick Children

Do not send your child to school if he/ she is sick as they will not be allowed to stay in during break periods due to supervision regulations. Also it is unfair on other children as the risk of contagion is high in a crowded classroom.

Collection and Drop-Off

At 1:40pm and 2:40pm the children will be escorted from the premises. Make sure that your child always knows who is collecting him/her at all times. If it is necessary to allow children home during school hours a parent/ guardian must provide a written note and the person collecting them must do so by personally signing the child out of class.

As soon as possible in September, try to leave your child at the gate in the morning in order to promote independence. Children will line up in their class groups in the yard before the bell rings.


Parking

When dropping off and collecting children, do not park outside the school gate or on the bus lane. Exercise extreme caution and vigilance when dropping off and picking up children at the school. There is very limited parking space and we strongly encourage you to walk or cycle your child to school, or safely park further away and walk the remainder of the way to school. Not only does this have environmental and health benefits, but it reduces the serious congestion outside the school.

In the interest of safety and security, access to the classrooms is restricted during the school day. Once the children are in school in the morning, parents/guardians are reminded to call/email the office instead of going to the classroom.

Lunches

We are a health promoting school. We make a consistent effort to promote our well-being through fostering healthy lunches, part-taking in physical education and physical activities throughout the school day.

We have children in our school with severe nut allergies so please be mindful of this when making your child's lunch.

Health and Safety

As part of health and safety in the school, we encourage regular washing of hands, particularly around eating time and after toilet use. We are not however always able to oversee this so please remind your child of its importance. Unfortunately germs and viruses spread very quickly in a classroom environment so it is vital that the children are encouraged to use a tissue when blowing their nose and to cover their mouth and turn away when coughing.

If your child develops any contagious illness such as chickenpox, please keep him/her away from school until the period of contagion is over and inform the teacher immediately. We recommend that you check your child regularly for head lice which is highly contagious, treat immediately if they occur and inform the teacher so that notification of possible risk may be sent out to other parents.

All information regarding your child’s health is treated in the strictest confidence.

Occasionally your permission will be required for dental, eye or other health examinations.