Newsletter to Parents
15th November 2023
Dear Parents,
As we settle back to a very busy time in school after the mid term break, I ask you to please note the following:
Parent/Teacher Meetings
The parent/teacher meetings will take place on Thursday November 30th and Friday December 1st commencing at 1 p.m. on each day. Please note that the children will finish at 12:30p.m. on each of these days. Teachers are currently finalising the appointment times and should have this completed early next week. If the appointment time received does not suit, please feel free to contact the teacher directly to arrange an alternative mutually suitable time.
Board of Management Elections.
Please return the nomination forms for parent nominee to the Board of Management by Wednesday next, November 22ndat the very latest. Elections to the Board will take place once the lists have been finalised. The term of office of the current board of management ends on December 2nd with a new board taking over from December 3rd. The Board is constituted as follows:
-
- 2 Nominees from the school Patron.
- The School Principal
- 1 Nominee from the teaching staff
- 2 Parent nominees (1 Male & 1 Female)
- 2 Community based nominees.
The Board is governed by corporate law and each nominee is part of a collective. Please note that a nominee from a sector is not a representative and cannot be a voice for a particular sector. Issues are only discussed through inclusion on the meeting agenda. In short the Board is not a complaints tribunal, rather a representative body given the responsibility for the corporate governance of the school.
On behalf of everybody at Scoil Iosa, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the current board for their exceptional governance of the school.
Photographs.
Please note that this Tuesday November 21st is the final day for ordering the school photographs. Please return your orders by Tuesday as any received later than Tuesday cannot be guaranteed to be returned in time for Christmas.
After School Activities
Our after-school activities Autumn programme has commenced. We have tried to accommodate all the children in their chosen activity but unfortunately this has not been possible in all cases. There has been particularly high demand for cookery and for Lego and despite putting on extra courses in these areas, we could not find a place for all of the children who put these down as their first choice. We will try to accommodate the children who lost out in the next set of activities taking place in February/March 2024. In the meantime, we hope the children enjoy the course. Please note that the children may only attend one allocated after school class per week due to the level of demand for the classes.
School Meals
You may be aware that intervention from the Department of Social Protection caused a number of changes in the school hot lunch menu. Some of the food which was popular with the children has been withdrawn including sausages, fish fingers and potato cubes. The menu has been modified to include alternatives some of which are not proving to be popular with the children. We ask that you revisit the food website and that you discuss the choices with your children so that they pick food which they like. This will also cut down on the amount of waste being generated. For those who are not aware of the fact, we are now providing a morning snack for the children which is proving to be very popular.
School Attendance.
Thanks to parents for their assistance with ensuring that the children always attend school unless there is a compelling reason for absence. Obviously where children are unwell they should be kept at home. In all cases of absence, please inform the school via Aladdin or via a phone call or note to the teacher. This allows the absence to be recorded as explained. Where there is a cumulative unexplained absence totaling 20 days, the school has a legal obligation to inform TUSLA. Parents now receive a text message where their son/daughter is absent.
Swimming and Athletics
The children in Fifth class are currently attending weekly swimming classes in Claremorris Swimming Pool. This will continue for a total of seven weeks.
Pupils in first and second class are attending athletics coaching on a weekly basis in Claremorris Athletics club facility. Both activities fulfill the requirements of the PE curriculum and are financed by the DEIS programme.
Finally, on behalf of the staff and pupils of Scoil Iosa, I wish our Deputy Principal, Kevin Henry the best of luck as he represents Connacht in the All-Ireland final of the GAA Scor competition. Mr. Henry competes in the recitation/story telling competition having won the corresponding competitions in Mayo and subsequently in Connacht. The event will be televised on TG$ in the next couple of weeks.
With Thanks,
K. Dennedy