Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you are keeping well and enjoyed the mid-term break last week. Our news is as follows

• Food Dudes is taking place this week in St. Tolas. Each day the pupils receive a sample of a fruit and a vegetable to try. If they do not want to eat it in school they can bring it home. Well done to all the pupils who have sampled the fruit and vegetable. Hopefully over the course of the week the pupils may discover that a fruit or a vegetable they had not tried actually tastes nice. 
• A First Communion preparation Mass takes place this Sunday 26^th February in Mary Immaculate Church at 11a.m. for pupils in 2^nd class who are making their First Communion. It is parish policy that pupils wear their uniform for this Mass.
• Pupils from 2^nd-6^th classes went to Mary Immaculate Church yesterday to celebrate Ash Wednesday. They joined members of the Shannon parish community in receiving ashes to mark the start of Lent.
• Some of our boys from 3^rd and 4^th classes took part in an Indoor hurling competition in Shannon Leisure Centre against pupils from St. Senans, St. Conaires and St. Aidans. The boys played really well and demonstrated great sporting attitude.  Thank you to Ms Hehir and Ms. Clancy for training the boys and bringing them to the competition. Today we wish our girls team well as they take part in a competition against St. Senans, St. Conaires, St. Aidans and Clonmoney. Thank you to Ms Kelleher and Ms. Riordan for training the girls.
• Next Thursday 2^nd March is World Book Day. We will be marking the event in St Tola’s with D.E.A.R time.        (Drop Everything And Read) At 10a.m. we will all stop what we are doing and read for 10 minutes. We will also have a book review display in the hall.
• Our newly elected Student Council will have their first meeting tomorrow Friday 24^th February. Congratulations to Stefan and Bogdana (4^th class representatives), Ruby and Dylan (5^th class representatives) and Rocky and Riddhima (6^th class representatives). We wish the Student Council well for their term of office which will run until the end of the current school year. A huge thank you to all the pupils who put themselves forward for election. They prepared a speech and delivered it to their classmates as part of the election process. All of the class teachers were very impressed with the standard of the speeches and the mature way all the pupils in the senior classes approached the election process. Well done to you all. Thank you to Ms Riordan who organised the election and who will support the Student Council.

Kind regards, Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians,

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

• At the meeting of the Board of Management of St Tolas on Tuesday last the annual review of the Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment took place. This document is posted on the notice board beside the school office. It is also available to view on the school website. If you would like a copy please contact the school office and we will provide you with it.
• The Parents’ Association have organised a cake sale for tomorrow Friday 10^th February starting at 1p.m. The theme for this cake sale is Valentine’s Day. Donations of cakes and buns can be dropped into the school hall tomorrow morning.
• The election of pupil nominees to the Student Council will take place tomorrow Friday. Pupils from 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes will vote for two nominees from each of these classes. I commend all the pupils who have come forward to stand in the election. They have been delivering their speeches on why their classmates should vote for them during this week. Their class teachers have been very impressed with the level of thought and preparation the pupils have put into their speeches. I have no doubt that we will have a terrific Student Council at the end of the process.
•  The school photos are taking place today. We should receive the sample packs in the next few weeks and we will send them home when they arrive. It is only then that you place your order if you wish to proceed.
• The National Parents Council have launched two new guides for parents on parenting in a digital world. The first is #SameRulesApply and the other is Digital Parenting- Keeping your kids Safe Online Please find links here – Safe Online Link www.cybersafekids.ie/samerulesapply, Digital Parenting Link –  https://parentingbooklet.bss.design/
• St Tolas will close to pupils at 12p.m. on Wednesday 15^th February next to facilitate inservice training for staff. St Tolas is closed to staff and pupils on Thursday 16^th Feb and Friday 17^th Feb next week for mid-term. The school will re-open on Monday 20^th February at 9a.m. I hope everyone in the school community has a relaxing and enjoyable mid-term break.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope this newsletter finds you well as we start into the month of February. Our news this week is as follows

• Congratulations to our pupils from 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes who represented St Tola’s at the Peace Proms Concert in the University of Limerick on Saturday night last. It was a wonderful experience and a huge thank you to all staff involved in preparing the pupils and those who accompanied them on Saturday night. We were immensely proud of every pupil who did a fantastic job. One of the organisers of the concert came up to me afterwards to say how wonderful our pupils were. We were all so proud of how they conducted themselves.   I hope all our pupils will take away lovely memories of this experience.
• We hope to set up a Student Council here in St Tolas in the coming weeks. Representative pupils from 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes will be elected onto the council each year. Ms Riordan will facilitate the council meetings. Last week she spoke to the pupils about the election process and we hope to hold the elections shortly. We are looking forward to having an input from our new Student Council.
• 3^rd class have been making St Brigid’s day crosses from reeds this week to honour the feast of Brigid. This ancient Irish tradition dates back over 1500 years. It’s great to see this tradition still alive after so many years.
• To raise awareness of heart problems in babies and children tomorrow is wear red day. Pupils may wear a red item of clothing if they wish e.g tshirt, scarf, top etc. We are not asking for any donation but just for us all to be aware that heart problems can affect children and babies.  
• If you wish to get a school photo of your child/children please return the form to your child’s teacher by tomorrow Friday 3^rd February. The photos will be taken next week.
• Next week on Friday 10^th February the Parent’s Association are organising a cake sale starting at 1p.m. Donations of buns/cakes will be taken on Friday morning. The theme for this cake sale will be Valentine’s day.
• St. Tolas will be closed to pupils and staff next Monday 6^th February as it is a public holiday. St Tolas will close to pupils at 12p.m. on Wednesday 15^th February to facilitate inservice training for staff.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal