Thursday Note 8th Dec 2022

December 8th, 2022

Dear Parents/Guardians,

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

  • Our Christmas Plays/performances are really coming together as all pupils are putting a great effort in . We are delighted to be able to invite you to attend your child’s performance this year. Due to limited space in the hall we ask that you only attend your own child’s performance. The date is Tuesday 20th December and the times for classes is as follows
Choir performance – 4th Class parents 9.30a.m.Junior Infant performance 10a.m.Senior Infant performance 10.30a.m.1st class performance 10.50a.m.
Choir performance – 5th class parents 11.15a.m.2nd class performance 11.45a.m.  3rd class performance 12.30p.m.Choir performance 6th class parents 1.15p.m.
  • Please find attached to this news letter a memo from the HSE with guidance for parents and staff in relation to Strep A and other illnesses circulating at present. The advice is if your child is unwell, has a fever, cough or sore throat keep them at home until they have recovered. We thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
  • St Tolas received a donation of two refurbished  laptops from Regeneron this week for the school. We are delighted to receive this donation and we have added them into our laptop trolley. They will be used at computer time across the school.
  • Our enrolment process for incoming Junior Infants for September 2023 is now open. If you have a child due to start school next year or you know someone who wishes to enrol their child please contact the school office to request an enrolment form.
  • We are in full on Christmas mode at present. 3rd class have been busy making salt dough decorations. I am looking forward to seeing the finished decorations.  5th class, 6th class and Senior Infants  have been making Christmas cards for the Senior Citizens groups here in Shannon. 5th class have made lovely Christmas wreaths. 1st class have made singing Reindeer and lots more going on in every class!
  • 6th class are gone to General Motors Limerick on a school trip today organised and paid for by Junior Achievement. They will get a tour of the plant, have a STEM workshop, hear about career paths in this industry and get to visit the canteen for some snacks! We hope they have an enjoyable day and we thank Junior Achievement for organising this trip.

Kind regards, Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal


Social Media: Challenges for Parents

November 17th, 2022

Dr. Maureen Griffin, forensic psychologist and Director of MGMS Training Ltd will deliver a presentation ‘Social Media: Challenges for Parents’

This presentation will cover what is currently popular; what the potential dangers are and offer practical advice on how to protect ourselves and our children online.

Issues such as social networking sites & chatting apps; Live streaming; gaming; grooming; sexting; screen-time & sleep; and cyber-bullying will be addressed.

Date: Monday 21st November 2022

Time: 7.30pm

Location: Online Webinar via Zoom (link will be sent to parents on Monday 21st November)

Enquires to: office@tolasns.com or phone 061 362894


St Tolas Thursday Note 20th Oct 2022

October 20th, 2022

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you are well as we move through October. Our news this week is as follows

Our fundraising Witches Walk will take place next week. We will decide what day on Monday after looking at the weather forecast. Pupils may dress up in their Halloween costumes if they wish. We will do a walk around Shannon. Donations can be made on this link  https://gofund.me/ce5b7936  for our gofundme page. Thank you to the many families and individuals who made a donation already. All funds raised will go towards equipping our sensory room in our Aoibhneas class.

  • This week we are celebrating Maths week with every class learning maths games and having a focus on mental maths. Tomorrow we have a maths games demonstration day. All classes will send representatives to the hall throughout the day to man their maths game station. Every pupil will get an opportunitity to present their class game at some point in the day. Each class has an allocated time to come to the hall to see the games from all other classes and to get a chance to play them. It promises to be a fun day and we are all looking forward to it!
  • Our parent/teacher meetings will take place towards the end of January with the date to be confirmed closer to the time. Teachers are happy to meet with parents/guardians before then or at any time if you have a worry or a concern. Please make an appointment through the school office so that the teacher is available to meet with you.
  • For pupils in 6th class making their Confirmation there is a preparation Mass this Sunday at 11a.m. in Mary Immaculate Church. The parish policy is that pupils wear their school uniform to these Masses.
  • On Tuesday last our boys’ football team took part in the Cumann na MBunscoil competition in Ruan. They played very well but were up against some stiff competition and did not go through this time. However, on Tuesday evening two teams represented St Tola’s in the Paddy Carrig memorial competition and one of our teams won the cup! Both teams played brilliantly and we are so proud of them. Thank you to Ms Hehir who organised this competition.
  • 4th and 5th classes visited the library yesterday to take part in a workshop with Niall De Búrca – traditional storyteller. He told a great story called Fiddle Dee Dee and the pupils really enjoyed it.
  • The Parents’ Association would like to invite any interested parents to join their committee. A few parents contacted the office last week to join and we thank them for that.  The invitation is still open to other parents. If you would like to get involved contact the school office by phone or email office@tolasns.com and Tracey will pass on your details to the committee. The meetings are informal and there are not a lot throughout the year.
  • St. Tolas will close next Friday 28th Oct at the usual time 1.40p.m. for Infants and 2.40p.m. for all other classes. We will be closed for mid term break all week starting 31st October. St. Tolas will re-open at 9a.m. for all pupils on Monday 7th November.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal


Thursday Note 13th October 2022

October 13th, 2022

Dear Parents/Guardians,

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

  • Our Parents’ Association would like to invite any interested parents to join. The Parents’ Association are a brilliant resource in the school. They help organise many events, help out with fundraising and are consulted in relation to certain school policies also. This is a great way to capture the parent voice. There are only a few meetings during the year and they are quite informal. It is a lovely way to get to know other parents in the school.  If you would like to join or are interested in finding out more please email the office at office@tolasns.com or phone and your details will be passed along to the committee.
  • Well done to the boys and girls who took part in the Paddy Carrig Memorial football competition in Wolfe Tones GAA club last Tuesday. Four teams from St Tolas represented the school so well. They played teams from the other primary schools in Shannon and gave a great account of themselves. Thank you to our staff who trained and accompanied the pupils to the competition.
  • We wish our Girls’ Football team all the best today as they are taking part in the Cumann na mBunscoil competition in Wolfe Tones GAA club today. We hope they have a very enjoyable day and have good fun.
  • We will be organising a fundraising Witches Walk to take place the week of 24th October. The date will be confirmed closer to the time taking the weather forecast into account. Pupils can dress up in their Halloween costumes and we will go for a walk around Shannon. Instead of sponsor cards we will send out a gofundme link shortly and we ask that you share this with family and friends. All funds raised will go towards kitting out our sensory room.
  • Please see information leaflet attached about a coding event taking place on Saturday 22nd October that your child may be interested in attending virtually.
  • We are busy in every class with Maths week activities taking place this week and next week. 5th class have set up a game called noggle in the hall and were playing it with me yesterday.6th class are going to play it today.  I understand we will also have a game called Algeboggle. There is maths related art taking place, maths games and even maths related spellings! Today 5th class are taking part in a live zoom event where they will use our IZAK9 maths resource. Next week our maths activities will culminate with every class demonstrating a maths game/activity for other classes in the hall. It promises to be a fun day and we are all looking forward to it.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal


6th Class Graduation 2022

June 19th, 2022