Newsletter to Parents
May 17th 2023
Dear Parents,
As we move towards the conclusion of another successful school year, we prepare ourselves for what promises to be a very busy final few weeks. As such I would like to take this opportunity to thank our parents for the continued support received over the year. I would like to bring the following notices to your attention:
Standardised Testing.
All classes from First to Sixth Class are currently taking their standardised tests in English and Maths. This should be completed in the next week or so. The school is required to forward results of the standardised tests to the Department of Education for children in Second, Fourth and Sixth Classes. The results of the testing will also be forwarded to the Community School for pupils in Sixth Class.
June Bank Holiday Closure.
The school will be closed on Monday 5th June for the June Bank holiday. We will reopen on Tuesday June 6th as usual.
Calendar May June 2022
- Saturday May 20th : Confirmation ceremony, St Patrick’s Church @12p.m.
- Monday May 22nd: No school for all pupils in 5th & 6th Class.
- Monday June 5th: School closed for June Bank Holiday.
- Weds 7th – Weds 14th June : Active School Week to include Junior (June 7th) and Senior (June 9th) Sports Days.
- Thursday June 15th: 6th Class School Tour
- June 16th: 6th Class Graduation Ceremony and Mass. Final day for 6th class pupils
- Wednesday June 21st: Final Day of School Year. School closes @ 12 p.m.
School Books 2023-2024.
As you may be aware, the Minister for Education recently announced that from the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, all children will receive their school books free of charge. These will be issued to the children on return to school after the summer vacation and will include all copybooks. This means that instead of issuing a booklist to children, we will be issuing a list of stationery necessary to include pens, pencils, gluesticks, rulers etc as these are not covered in the free book scheme.
The new scheme means that there will no longer be a market for second hand books and retailers will no longer deal with second hand books. As such we are asking parents to consider donating any second hand books to the school to help us to ensure that we have a sufficient stock of books to cover the needs of all children. We would appreciate your help in this regard.
Enrolment.
All remaining enrolment forms for new pupils joining Scoil Íosa for the 2023-2024 school year should be forwarded to the school as soon as possible to allow for placement in appropriate classes as we are currently compiling class lists. If you do know of any newly arrived families or families scheduled to arrive in Ballyhaunis over the summer months, please let us know as a matter of urgency. There is huge demand for places at this school and unfortunately we cannot accommodate every applicant particularly where families arrive after classes have been populated.
Also we ask parents to please let us know as soon as possible where children are leaving the school because families are leaving the area to move elsewhere or to move back to their home country. This will allow us to offer the places to children currently on the school waiting list.
Please inform the school secretary if this is the case.
Congratulations.
We congratulate the children who recently received their First Communion. Looking forward we congratulate all of those pupils scheduled to receive their Confirmation on this Saturday. Please note that as is traditional all of the children in 5th & 6th class will have no school on Monday next, May 22nd.
School Reports.
School reports will be issued for all children at the end of the school year. We ask that parents forward a stamped addressed envelope to school at your earliest convenience.
Active School Week 2023
Following on from our recent very successful School Wellness Week, we will host an Active School Week from Wednesday 7th June to Wednesday 14th June. This week will incorporate our school sports days combined with a whole programme of activities for the children to engage everybody in a week of daily participation in physical activity. Thanks to Ms. Phillips, Ms Cunnane and Ms. Coyne who are currently working on finalising the programme for the week.
School Accommodation 2023-2024
As you are no doubt aware, the school has faced major issues over the last school year as a result of a severe shortage of classroom accommodation. This was entirely outside of our control and demanded some very creative planning in order to facilitate all of our pupils without in any way compromising their educational provision. Happily we have achieved this and for that I sincerely thank our parents and our fantastic group of teachers who have worked tirelessly for the children, sometimes in less than ideal circumstances. It is our intention that there will be no repeat of this situation going forward and that for the next school year all children will have a proper learning space. The DES has promised seven new classrooms and two new SET rooms to be completed for the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. The first phase of this is currently with the planning dept of Mayo County Council, with the second phase due to be lodged in the very near future. Parents can rest assured that the school board has worked extremely hard to overcome issues and to do all in their power to deliver these buildings as soon as possible. I will keep parents updated on progress over the next couple of weeks.
Finally, as we enter into the final few weeks of school, we ask parents to help us to ensure that there is no slippage in standards of behaviour, courtesy and general good manners. This is something that we all need to work on, as in the past we have seen some deterioration in standards at this time of year, especially while the children are travelling to and from school. Our school has an excellent reputation which has been fostered as a result of the help and cooperation of parents, teachers and children. We thank you for your ongoing support.
With Thanks
K. Dennedy