Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you are well as our weather takes an autumnal turn this week. Our news is as follows

•  From yesterday our new Junior Infants are now staying for the full infant day and finishing at 1.40p.m. The back gate automatically opens at 1.30p.m. for access to the infant yard for parents. We kindly request that parents either use the playschool entrance or the back gate as the school hall will be in use most afternoons.

• Congratulations to Mia Kusodova (Senior Infants), Masha Dmitrieva (4th class) and Emma Lynch (5th class) who were all prize winners at the recent art competition organised by Shannon Festival.

• There will be a meeting for the Parents of First Holy Communion boys and girls to register your child for First Holy Communion next Wednesday 20th September at 7.30pm in St. Aidans School.  This meeting is for parents only not pupils. It is important that at least one parent attend this meeting.
• Enrolment Mass for First Holy Communion boys and girls and their families will take place on Sunday 24th September at 11am Mass in Mary Immaculate Church.  Fr. Arnie will be in contact with parents.
• Our Mass to celebrate the opening of the school year will take place here in St. Tolas next Thursday 21st September at 11a.m.Parents and family members are welcome to attend.

• Can I remind parents to take due care and caution in the school car park both mornings and evenings. If you are parking up and accompanying your child into the school please do not cause an obstruction in the car park. If there are no spaces available the Gardai have informed us that you may park on the road as long as you do not cause an obstruction. Staff also use the car park and sometimes it is impossible for staff to get into the car park in the mornings as there are cars parked in the middle of the car park blocking empty spaces, please do not block these empty car parking spaces. Please drive very slowly in and out of the car park. Small children can be hard to see and all of us want to keep everyone safe.

• Our school policy regarding jewellery states that pupils are only permitted to wear stud earrings and a watch to school for health and safety reasons. Pupils in other schools have incurred terrible injuries while wearing rings, necklaces and hooped or long earrings so for this reason we do not permit pupils to wear these items to school. We thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
• A meeting for the parents of 5th class will take place next Wednesday 20th September at 7p.m.here in the school to give information on the Friends for Life programme that we intend to implement in 5th class this term. A letter and an information leaflet was sent home to all 5th class parents on Tuesday last in relation to this.
• The very best of luck to our pupils taking part in the Primary Schools Cross Country racing in Lees Road in Ennis today. Thank you to Ms. O’Neill and Ms. Burke for training the pupils for this event.

 Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, Principal