Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you are enjoying the fine weather and hopefully it will continue! Our news this week is as follows

• We wish our Junior and Senior Infants all the best as they go off on their school tour this morning. They are off to Moher Hill farm today and we hope they learn lots about the animals and have a great day. Let’s hope the sun keeps shining for them!
• We have organised a parent information evening next Wednesday 22^nd May at 7p.m. We respectfully ask that at least one parent/guardian from each family attends this important meeting in relation to supporting our pupils develop good habits and are safe in their online interactions. We would like to share the findings of our pupil, staff and parents survey and ask for your input into our draft Agree to Agree document. The meeting will not last more than an hour. We look forward to seeing you then.
• Earlier this year we applied to a school scheme to install solar panels here in the school building. I am delighted to report that the application was successful and the solar panels will be installed next week. We hope that this will help with some of the electricity running costs of the school. As you can appreciate the bills to run the school have greatly increased over the past few years but the capitation grant we receive does not cover these increases.
• The free book scheme will continue for the school year 24/25. You may have heard in the news that the amount allocated to schools has been cut by 17% from €96 Euro to €80 per child. When you consider that some of the textbooks can cost over €20 each this amount will be tight for the school. This will mean we can cover the cost of books, workbooks, digital subscriptions (e.g. Accelerated Reader) and copies only this year.
• 3^rd class had a visit yesterday from two members of the Fire Service who spoke to the pupils about fire safety in the home. No doubt many of our 3^rd class pupils checked at home in relation to smoke alarms and the importance of fire safety. We thank our Fire Service for visiting us and raising awareness on this important topic.
• Just a reminder again in relation to our Hot Lunches. A parent can pause the hot lunches at any time if you know that your child will be absent. You need to go into the app and select the dates. You must give a minimum of 36 hours notice but if you know your child will be absent well in advance you can do it at any stage before 36 hours. Don’t forget to turn the service back on when your child returns and similarly you need to give a minimum of 36 hours notice. If you have any suggestions for alternative meals or any queries in relation to the hot lunches you can email the company at info@thelunchbag.ie

Kind regards, Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal