Dear Parents/Guardians,

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

• Thank you to all the parents/guardians who have completed our survey in relation to your child and the online world. If you have not had a chance to complete the survey yet we would be very grateful if you could do so at your earliest convenience. A text message with a link was sent out again this week. We will be using the information in the survey to inform our guidance and school agreement on the use of internet enabled devices.
• We still have some spaces available in Junior Infants for September 2024. if you know of any parents whose child requires a place for September 2024 please ask them to contact the school office.
• Our 6^th class pupils will have the Ceremony of Light next Wednesday 24^th April at 7p.m. in Mary Immaculate Church. As per parish policy pupils wear their school uniform (their blue top and navy tracksuit pants are fine). Thank you to the pupils in 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th who are part of the school choir and school band who will also help out with the music. We wish our 6^th class pupils well on this step of their journey towards Confirmation.
• It is also a busy week for our 2^nd class pupils as they prepare for their First Communion on 27^th April at 11a.m. in Mary Immaculate Church. There is a lovely long standing tradition of having a small party for the 1^st Communion pupils and a cuppa for immediate family here in the school after the First Communion ceremony. Due to space restrictions we ask that only the First Communion child and the family in their household attend the school. If there are parents /guardians in 3^rd class or indeed in any class across the school who could spare a couple of hours to help the Parents Association with this please contact the school office and we will pass on your details.
• Well done to 5^th class and Senior Infants who are gone on a walk this morning in the locality to look at logainmneacha (placenames – as part of their Gaeilge).
• Thank you to 4^th class who visited Senior Infants earlier this week to carry out some shared reading. Both classes really enjoyed this activity and it was lovely that they got the chance to read to each other.  Keep up the great reading.
• Our pupils in 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes are doing great reading with our Accelerated Reader Programme. We have a number of pupils who are word millionaires – have read over a million words since September 23. Reading independently at this stage is fantastic to develop skills such as word vocabulary, comprehension skills and fluency. It impacts right across the curriculum and benefits the pupils in all subject areas.

Kind regards, Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal