Dear Parents/Guardians,

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

• For parents of pupils making First Communion next April a meeting will take place in John and Paul Church on Monday October 3^rd at 7p.m. Pupils do not attend. The first enrolment Mass for pupils making Communion will take place in Mary Immaculate Church on Sunday 9^th October at 11a.m. Pupils will attend this Mass.
• For parents of pupils making Confirmation next May a meeting will take place in John and Paul Church on Tuesday 4^th October at 7p.m. Pupils do not need to attend.
• We are delighted to have been one of the schools selected to participate in the Peace Proms programme this year. Due to numbers restrictions we can only involve pupils from 4^th– 6^th classes. All pupils in these classes will learn the song repertoire over the next few months as part of their music classes.  This will culminate in the pupils getting to perform with other schools from the Mid-West in the University of Limerick with the Cross Border Orchestra and a host of well known and talented musicians. The Peace Proms has not taken place over the past few years due to Covid so it is great that this opportunity is available to our pupils again.
• The Cross Country trials have been taking place this week for boys and girls from 1^st class up. Training is continuing at lunchtime for the pupils who have been selected for the team. The Cross Country interschools competition will take place in October in Lee’s Road.
• Can you please label all jumpers and coats. On warm days many pupils take off their jumpers and it can be impossible to find who owns which jumper or coat. You can just write your child’s name on the label with a ballpoint pen and that will be sufficient.
• Well done to our Junior Infants who have almost completed their first full week of long days. No doubt some have been tired in the evening! Ms Corry is delighted with the boys and girls who are working very hard this week on their fine motor skills getting ready for writing and their phonological awareness skills which they will need for decoding in reading.
• 1^st class have been working very hard too. They have started their reading groups and are working hard at improving their reading. In Art they have been learning about the colour wheel and mixing colours. That sounds like fun!

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians,

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

• Our new Junior Infants have their first full day at school today finishing at 1.40p.m. We are getting to know them and they are settling in very well. Well done Juniors! Check out the Clare Champion this week where there are lots of lovely photos of our new Juniors. The photographer visited the school on Monday last and got some gorgeous pictures.
• As you are all aware Covid is still among us. We are still continuing with hand hygiene measures, extra cleaning and good ventilation practises here in school. There is no requirement on mask wearing any longer but staff or pupils may choose to wear a mask if they wish. We will continue to inform you if there is a positive case in your child’s class but will not be identifying any individual. If your child has any symptoms of Covid please keep them at home and test them. We appreciate if you can let us know if they are positive so we can inform their class and staff working with them. We do have vulnerable individuals in the school and we want to make sure they are protected. Thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
• Unfortunately with back to school headlice have also returned! Can you make sure to check your child’s head regularly. We will send a text to a class if we are advised  there are headlice. It is important to check your child’s head and treat if necessary. The pharmacy can advise you of treatment options.
• Can we ask that parents parking beside the prefab, our Aoibhneas class for pupils with multiple disabilities keep the access free please.  Some of our Aoibhneas pupils travel by minibus and we need to make sure that the bus can get up to the door. Thank you for your understanding.
• Today is International Dot day.  The idea came from the story The Dot by Peter Reynolds. We are marking the day with all classes reading the lovely story and doing some art activities based on it.  It only takes two minutes to listen to it and you might like to read it with your child at this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6henYcm9wfo Thank you to 5^th class who have organised this idea for the school.
• Parents Plus are an organisation that offer free parenting programmes nationwide. They have now moved online. Please see information below that may be of benefit to you.
• Parenting Programmes Now Available Online Are you struggling with parenting? Do you want to learn new positive parenting skills to improve your family life? Are you looking for better ways to help your children with schoolwork, develop their coping skills and improve their relationships?  The Parents Plus charity is Ireland’s leading provider of high-quality parenting programmes.  They offer a suite of parenting programmes across various age ranges and categories: 

• Early Years (0-6), covers areas like daily routines, managing tantrums & learning. 
• Children’s Programme (6-11), covers areas like building self-esteem & supporting schoolwork. 
• Adolescent Programme, covers areas like rules & boundaries, & solving problems together.
• Parenting When Separated, includes areas like co-parenting & emotional support for children.
• Special Needs Programme (11-18) covers areas like supporting education & development. 
• For further information and to register, you can access our parenting programmes here.

Kind regards, Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians,

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

• If your child has a medical condition such as asthma and they are required to bring an inhaler to school please contact the school office by phone 061 362894 or email office@tolasns.com  in order for us to update your child’s details. Please be aware that pupils should not be sent to school with medication of any kind without prior agreement with the school. We thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
• 5^th and 6^th classes have started swimming lessons on Tuesday last. These lessons will run for eight weeks. I visited the pool on Tuesday to observe 5^th and 6^th classes and want to commend them on their excellent behaviour and how well they did. Keep this up 5^th and 6^th classes!!  Swimming will take place for 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th classes later in the school year.
• Unfortunately, the weather has become unsettled and wet this week. Please ensure your child has a coat coming to school and that you put their name on their coat. We will be going outside for break and lunch weather permitting.
•  Athletics training has started this week in order to prepare for the Schools Cross Country competition which will take place in Lee’s Road, Ennis in early October. Pupils from 1^st-6^th classes can take part and a lot of pupils have signed up for training. This will take place at lunchtimes (weather permitting) Thank you to Ms. O’ Neill and Ms Burke who are organising this.
• GAA football training for boys and girls has also returned.   This is open to pupils from 3^rd-6^th classes and a lot of pupils have registered for this activity also. Training will take place at lunchtimes too. Thank you to Ms. Vaughan and Ms. Hehir for organising this activity.
• If you have changed your contact details – address or mobile phone, please contact the office so we can update your details on our system.
• Please be aware that we are sending home with your child today a breakdown of the cost of books and other items required for the year ahead.  This is for your information and these items have been purchased for your child and are here in the school for them. Thank you to the families who have paid already and we would ask that any outstanding bills are settled as soon as possible. Please contact the office if you require any further information or help with this.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal

School reopens for all pupils on Thursday 1^st September 2022

MID TERM

School closed from Monday 31^st October to Friday 4^th November 2022

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

School finishes on Wednesday 21^st December & reopens on Thursday 5^th January 2023

ST BRIGID’S DAY BANK HOLIDAY

School will be closed on bank holiday Monday 6^th February 2023

MID TERM

School will be closed on Thursday 16^th and Friday 17^th February 2023

ST. PATRICK’S DAY BANK HOLIDAY

School will be closed on Friday 17th 2023

EASTER HOLIDAYS

School finishes on Friday 31^st March and reopens on Monday 17^th April 2023

MAY BANK HOLIDAY

School closed on Monday 1^st May 2023

JUNE MIDTERM BANK HOLIDAY

School closed on Monday 5^th June and Tuesday 6^th June 2023

SUMMER HOLIDAYS

School will finish on Tuesday 27^th June 2023

*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,

Welcome back to our new school year. We hope you had a lovely summer and are looking forward to a good school year ahead.

We extend a warm welcome to our new Junior infant pupils and any new pupils joining us in other classes. We are looking forward to getting to know you over the coming weeks and we hope that you enjoy learning lots of new things, make great friends and have happy memories of your time here.

 Our news this week is as follows

1. Our staff for the school year 2022/23 are:

Junior Infants – Ms Amanda Corry, Senior Infants – Ms Alanna Hansbury, Senior Infants – Ms. Maria Hehir

 1^st Class – Ms. Lorna O’ Neill, 2^nd Class – Ms Siobhan Kelleher, 3^rd Class – Ms; Maeve Clancy,

4^th Class – Ms Orla Coughlan, 5^th Class – Ms. Lisa Hackett, 6^th Class – Mr Alan Baker(covering for Mr Gary Tyrell) 

Solas Class – Ms Noreen Vaughan, Aoibhneas Class – Ms Fiona Burke

SET – Clare Fitzsimons, Edel Halliday, Ciara Cleary, Karen Riordan/Diana Fleming, Hannah Willis( covering for Lorraine Connolly) Kate Flynn

SNAs – Mary O’ Shaughnessy, Sinead Duff, Aoife Dunn, Vivienne Raftery, Michelle Cullinan, Sinead Lenihan, Sinead Hallissey O Grady, Siobhan Casey, Aileen Purcell

We welcome in particular our new staff and hope they are very happy in their time here in St Tolas.

All teachers are happy to meet with you at any stage during the school year if you have a concern or a query. Please ring the office at 061362894 or email office@tolasns.com  to make an appointment to ensure the teacher is free to speak with you.

2. The school will be open to pupils from 8.45a.m. in the morning. The entrances and exits for the classes are as follows

Juniors and 1^st Class – Back gate, Seniors – Side gate, 2^nd and 3^rd – side door, 4^th, 5^th and 6^th – entrances beside their classrooms

3. The car park is extremely busy at present. The Gardai have told us that parents/guardians can park on the road as long as they do not cause an obstruction. Please enter the car park slowly as there may be small children walking through and they can be hard to see. Thank you for your co-operation in this matter.

4. Please be mindful that St Tolas operates a healthy eating policy. Crisps, sweets, fizzy drinks are not permitted. Any foods containing nuts are not allowed as we have several members of our school community with severe nut allergies. 

5. Please ensure your child’s name is on their uniform jumpers, PE top & Jackets so that we can return these items to the pupil if it gets misplaced.

6. Please find attached our school calendar for this academic year.

Kind regards, Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal