Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you had an enjoyable Christmas break and a Happy New Year to you and your family. Our news this week is as follows

• We all know there is a lot of illness circulating in the community at present. Your child should be kept at home if they have a high temperature or have a sore throat and a cough until these symptoms have eased. Hopefully many of the viral illnesses circulating at present will diminish in the coming weeks. We thank you for your co-operation in this matter. If your child is absent due to illness please fill in this reason on the absence notification form on Aladdin.
• Congratulations to Ms Amanda Corry and her husband David on the safe arrival of their new baby boy called Paddy recently. We send every good wish to Ms Corry and her family and no doubt baby Paddy will keep them busy over the next few weeks.
• 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes will be busy over the coming weeks getting the songs and moves ready for their Peace Proms Concert which will take place on Saturday 28^th January in the Sports Arena in the University of Limerick. Our pupils will join with school choirs from all over the mid-west and will be accompanied by the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland. It promises to be a fantastic experience for our pupils.
• Parent/teacher meetings will take place on 18^th and 19^th January this year. We are giving parents/guardians the option of a face to face meeting or a phonecall from your child’s teacher.  A letter is going out today to the eldest/only child in each family so you can indicate which option you would like. Please return to your child’s teacher as soon as possible and we will organise dates and times for you then.
• Second Class have a busy January ahead as their First Confession will take place on Tuesday 24^th January in Mary Immaculate Church at 7p.m. We wish all the pupils making their First Confession well as they prepare for this sacrament over the coming weeks.
• Thank you to all our pupils, parents and guardians who supported our Christmas draws before the holidays A total of €922 was raised. Thank you to the Parents’ Association for organising this.
• As we begin a new term we ask that all parents/guardians using the car park to please exercise due caution and care when entering and exiting. If there is no place to pull in the gardai have told us you can park on the road as long as you do not cause an obstruction. Please drive very slowly through the car park as many of our pupils may be walking to cars and they can be difficult to see. We thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
• As it is January we ask that you send a coat to school with your child. We will be going outside for break and lunch when the weather allows. It is a good idea to label your child’s coat and jumper/cardigan so if misplaced they can be returned to the rightful owner. For health and safety reasons the only jewellery allowed in school are stud earrings and a watch. Pupils do not need to bring a mobile phone to school. If you need to contact them or pass on a message please contact the school office. If you feel older pupils need a mobile phone for after school it must remain in their bag and be powered off. We thank you for your co-operation in these matters.

Kind regards, Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, School Principal