Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you are enjoying the lovely weather as we enter the final month of the current school year! Our news is as follows

• Juniors and Seniors went on their school tour to Turoe Pet Farm on Tuesday last. They had a great time seeing all the animals and playing in the inflatable city. They loved the rabbits and the llamas! There was great excitement as the buses arrived at the school in the morning! The teachers were very proud of all the boys and girls and how well they did at the farm. I am sure there were lots of tired pupils on Tuesday evening after their busy day!
• If you have moved and changed your address can you please let the school office know by phoning between 9a.m. and 3p.m. or email office@tolasns.com.
• Our sensory room in our Aoibhneas class has been finally finished. We had to wait some time for all the equipment to be installed. We have a sensory den, lights, a projector and lots of sensory wall hangings for the pupils to use. Please see some pictures attached.  Thank you again for contributing to funding our sensory room through our Go Fund Me page. It is making a great difference to our pupils.
• Our annual Quizbrain competition is continuing. Rounds 2 and 3 took place this week with round 4 scheduled for next week. After the first four rounds the 20 pupils with the highest combined scores will go through to two semi-final rounds. We are very impressed with the general knowledge among the pupils and how well they have done so far!
• Please find attached information sent to the school by the HSE in relation to vaping and children. We have been asked to distribute this to parents for your information.
• Yesterday we had the mobile farm visit the school. Every class were scheduled to spend time with the animals throughout the day. We had goats, chickens, baby rabbits, kittens, a piglet, a donkey, ducks, geese, a cockerel and more! Some of the hens laid an egg. If they laid the egg on you, you got to keep it! The kid goat tried to go into 5^th class much to everyone’s amusement and he also tried to come and visit Tracey in the office!!! The pupils were so good with the animals and had lots of interesting questions for Ger, the farmer too! It was a great day!
• As it is quite warm at present it is a good idea to send extra drinks preferably water) with pupils to school. We thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
• St Tolas is closed to pupils and staff next Monday 5^th June and Tuesday 6^th June. St. Tolas will re-open on Wednesday next at 9a.m. We hope the fine weather stays with us for the long weekend and that you can get out to enjoy it with your family.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you are keeping well. Our news this week is as follows

• Well done to 4^th class who went on their school tour to UL last Friday. They participated in lots of activities such as the inflatable water slide, swimming in the Olympic sized swimming pool, challenges such as hula hoop challenge and last person standing. It was an action packed day and everyone did really well. 5^th class did the same tour yesterday and had a great day too. Both classes were complimented by the school tour operator in relation to how well they participated and how pleasant they were to work with. Well done 4^th and 5^th!
• Congratulations to Ilan in 1^st class who recently represented Ireland at the European School Chess Tournament.  He came 6^th overall which is a fantastic achievement. Well done Ilan!
• 1^st and 2^nd class are very excited about their tour to Turroe Pet Farm which takes place tomorrow. I hope the weather will stay fine and that the boys and girls have a great tour. Junior and Senior Infants are going to Turroe next Tuesday and I know they are looking forward to the trip.
• We are holding Round 1 of our annual Quizbrain competition today in St Tola’s. This is a quiz for pupils in 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes. There will be four rounds of 30 questions first for all pupils in 3^rd to 6^th.  The questions will be devised by the class teachers at these levels. The top 20 pupils with the highest score will go through to two semi -final rounds of 30 questions each organised by the principal. From this the top 5 pupils with the highest score will go through to a final to be held on Monday 26^th June. Good luck to all our Quizbrainers!
• Last Tuesday 5^th and 6^th classes had a visit from Bev who runs a hogsprickle (hedgehog hospital). She gave a great presentation on hedgehogs and biodiversity and what we can do to help nature and wildlife. She talked about her work rescuing injured hedgehogs and what she needs to do to help rehabilitate them. The pupils learned some amazing hedgehog facts also. Did you know that hedgehog quills can move independently of each other and that there are different types? She brought a hedgehog into the room to show the pupils. Everyone had to be really quiet so as not to upset the hedgehog. The pupils were fantastic and asked really good questions. Well done 5^th and 6^th!
• 4^th class are playing St. Senans 4th class tomorrow in a friendly challenge match. Thank you to 5^th class who played 4^th today in a warm up practise game. 
• Next Wednesday we will have a visit from the mobile farm. The farm will be here all day and every class will get an opportunity to interact and learn about the animals. Don’t be surprised to see some chickens, cows, sheep and more in the yard next Wednesday!
• 5^th class and Solas class went on a visit to the Biodiversity garden this morning. They got to see all the flowers and plants there. They got lovely weather for outdoor learning this morning.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal

School reopens for all pupils on Wednesday 30^th August 2023

MID TERM

School closed from Monday 30^th October to Friday 3^rd November 2023

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

School finishes on Friday 22^nd December & reopens on Monday 8^th January 2024

ST BRIGID’S DAY BANK HOLIDAY

School will be closed on Monday 5^th February 2024

MID TERM

School will be closed on Thursday 15^th and Friday 16^th February 2024

ST. PATRICK’S DAY BANK HOLIDAY

School will be closed on Monday 18^th March 2024

EASTER HOLIDAYS

School finishes on Friday 22^nd March and reopens on Monday 8^th April 2024

MAY BANK HOLIDAY

School closed on Monday 6^th May 2024

JUNE BANK HOLIDAY

School closed on Monday 3^rd June 2024

SUMMER HOLIDAYS

School will finish on Friday 21^st June 2024

*Please note May is the month designated for compulsory testing in schools for 1^st to 6^th classes.  It is advisable for students, failing illness, to be at school during this time.

**Also please note that once a student misses in excess of 20 days, regardless of reason, we are obliged to report same to TUSLA, the Child & Family Agency.  It is therefore essential that all absences are explained by a written note or phone call thank you.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you are keeping well. Our news this week is as follows

• Congratulations to the boys and girls of 6^th class who made Confirmation last Friday. We were so proud of each of the pupils and the way they carried out all their duties on the day. We hope the pupils and their families had a lovely day celebrating this occasion. It was so lovely to see extended family able to attend this year.
• Today we have Leaving Certificate Applied students from St. Patrick’s Comprehensive doing part of their Athletic Leisure Studies assessment. They each have to carry out a short training session in either basketball or soccer and are being assessed on this. The pupils from 4^th class (in groups of 6) are getting the opportunity to do the training sessions. We wish these students all the best.
• Tomorrow 4^th class are going on their school tour to the University of Limerick Adventure World where they will be participating in water activities. We hope they have an enjoyable time and that the weather stays fine for them.
• As the weather has been good this week and hopefully will remain so pupils are taking off their jumpers at breaktimes. Can you please ensure that pupils have their name on their jumpers so we can match the correct jumper to the correct pupil!! Can you also ensure your child has an extra drink (preferably water) in the hot weather. We thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
• Please find attached the school calendar for the school year 23.24. Please note that the school will re-open to pupils on Wednesday 30^th August at 9a.m.
• St Tolas will be closed to pupils next Monday 22^nd May to facilitate staff in-service training. The school will re-open at 9a.m. on Tuesday 23^rd May.

Kind regards, Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you are keeping well this week. Our news is as follows

• We wish all our pupils in 6^th class making Confirmation every good wish for the ceremony tomorrow. The pupils have put in a huge effort to prepare and we know they will be fantastic. Thank you also to the pupils in 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th who are in the choir. They too have put in a lot of work to enhance the Confirmation ceremony. Confirmation takes place in Mary Immaculate church at 2p.m. for St Tolas pupils and Bishop Fintan Monahan will celebrate the Confirmation ceremony this year.
• We have been informed of an outbreak of headlice in the school. It is important to check your child’s head on a regular basis. We ask that all parents check this weekend and treat if necessary. Your local pharmacist can give advice re treatment options. If everyone checks and treats if required this weekend we can eliminate headlice very easily from the school. We thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
• Last Monday St Tolas celebrated Europe Day. Each class completed  a project on a European country and then presented it to pupils from all the other classes. The pupils did a great job and it was lovely to see the positive interactions between the different class levels. I enjoyed finding out about Italian food from Juniors. I loved listening to a Spanish song in Seniors. 1^st Class made me hungry telling me about Belgian chocolate! 2^nd class sang a Lithuanian song. 3^rd class had a fantastic display about Poland. 4^th class presented so many facts on Lithuania. 5^th class constructed models of Bratislava Castle from Slovakia and finally 6^th class sang a German song. Well done everyone! We were awarded   a European flag which Kevin ( our caretaker) hoisted on the school flagpole.
• St Tolas will close to pupils on Monday 22^nd May to facilitate inservice training for school staff. St. Tolas will re-open again on Tuesday 23^rd May for pupils.
• Pupils in 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes are continuing to use accelerated reading and are powering through the books! This week the joint word count for the four classes passed 40 million words! Over 3076 books have been read since the start of the current school year too by the four classes. Keep up the great work!
• On behalf of all in the school community we would like to extend our condolences to Tracey Moran and her family following the death of her mother’s husband John Quinn. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilís.

Kind regards, Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal