Dear Parents/Guardians,

• Welcome back to all our pupils, parents/guardians and staff members as we begin a new school year. This has been an extraordinary year but it is so lovely to have everyone back in St Tola’s again and we all hope that it will be a great year for all. I hope it is a year where you learn a lot, renew old friendships and make new ones and have fun doing all of this. Thank you to our wonderful staff who have worked so hard to ensure that everything was ready for the pupils last Monday and who have already ensured that the new routines and procedures are implemented in a child friendly way. Thank you to all our parents/guardians who have co-operated so well with us in making the changes in relation to dropping off and collecting. A huge thank you to our wonderful pupils who have embraced a lot of change (e.g. handwashing, different yards and breaktimes, staying in their pods while in the class etc.) over the past week and have done so with good humour and grace.
• The school doors/gate will be open from 8.45a.m. and we ask that pupils do not arrive before that time. The doors/gate will be closed at 9a.m. We understand that on occasion the morning might not go according to plan. If a pupil is late we ask that they come through the main door at Tracey’s office.
• I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new Junior Infants and their parents/guardians along with the new pupils who have joined St Tola’s in other classes. We hope that your time here in St Tola’s will be enjoyable and fulfilling and we all look forward to getting to know our new pupils and their families better over the coming months and years.
• I would like to thank a number of local companies who have generously supported the school in helping us to prepare for the return of the pupils.  Zimmer  Biomet have provided us with a large sign for outside and signs for every classroom that are written in a child friendly way and give guidance to the pupils on how to protect themselves from Covid-19. They also donated hand sanitiser, floor signs, floor tape and sent down some staff members to help us with putting up the signs. EI Electronics donated hand sanitiser, floor and wall signs and a screen for the secretary’s office.    They provided a staff member to install the screen also.  Collins Aerospace donated medical grade visors for all the staff. To all of these local companies we extend our thanks. In such a challenging time for business we are extremely grateful for this support.
• Thank you to all parents who have returned the updated contact forms. If you have not done so please send them in with your child or you can take a photo of the completed form and email it to office@tolasns.com

• Thank you to all parents/guardians who have paid for the books online.  If you have not already done so we would ask that you make the payment at your earliest convenience. If you need us to resent you the link ring the office or email and we will resend it out to you.
• I would like to welcome two new staff members to St. Tola’s. Aoife Killeen and Vivienne Raftery join us and will be working as Special Needs Assistants (SNAs). I wish them both well and hope that their time in St Tolas will be fulfilling and enjoyable.
• For this school year 20/21 the teachers are as follows
• Junior Infants – Ms Lisa Hackett, Senior Infants – Ms. Fiona Burke, 1^st Class – Ms Karen Riordan,
• 2^nd Class – Ms Lorna O’ Neill, 3^rd Class – Ms Lorraine Connolly, 3^rd Class – Ms Kelly Ann Brady
• 4^th – Ms Noreen Vaughan, 5^th – Ms Maria Hehir, 6^th – Ms Siobhan Kelleher
• Special Education teachers – Ms Clare Fitzsimons, Ms Edel Halliday, Ms Ciara Cleary, Mr. David Quinn and Ms Amanda Corry. 
• Special Needs Assistants – Ms Mary O’ Shaughnessy, Ms Sinead Duff, Ms Aoife Killeen and Ms Vivienne Raftery.

• I would like to extend heartiest congratulations to Mr David Quinn on his appointment as principal teacher in Ennis Educate Together N.S. Mr Quinn will be with us for one more week and will finish in St Tola’s next Fri 11^th September. He has given 17 years of dedicated and loyal service to the pupils of St Tolas and he will be missed by pupils, parents and staff alike. Mr Quinn has served as Deputy Principal here since 2010 and he has been a fantastic support to me in my role as principal. On both a personal and professional level I will miss him.  Ennis Educate Together are lucky to have a dynamic, committed and enthusiastic principal joining them but we know that David will always carry a little bit of St Tola’s with him . Go n-éiri an t-ádh leat Mr Quinn!

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, Principal