Welcome Back Letter.
Dear Parent(s)
Tá fáilte romhaibh ar ais don bhliain nua agus ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh na daltai is na clainn nua!
Our school continues to grow which presents its challenges but is also a reflection of the wonderful reputation of St. Fiacc’s; a school that is diverse and strives for excellence for all.
July was tragic time for all the community of Graiguecullen with the passing of Sixth Class pupil Heather Cowan. Heather had bravely battled her illness for several months. She will always remain in our thoughts and prayers at St. Fiacc’s.
Our Secretarial position is being filled temporarily by Sharon O’ Byrne. We wish Sharon the very best over the coming months.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that St. Fiacc’s has been granted funding to build four extra classrooms. This will allow us to replace old prefabs with permanent buildings in addition to building extra classroom spaces. However this process can be quite slow and will require extra prefabs before works are completed. We hope to install two prefabs at the front of the school in mid-November therefore allowing us to move two classes from an older prefab and a prefab loaned to us by the Childcare Centre; for which we are extremely grateful.
There is a slight chance that if our numbers are over 603 by the end of September then we will be fast tracked an extra teacher. If that happens the present 5th classes will benefit with an extra class. You will be informed in advance.
There are still Book Rental Fees due in respect of many pupils. Please arrange to settle the fee by approaching myself or the school Secretary. It is only fair that everybody pays as the school will end up running a deficit otherwise. I’m sure it comes as no surprise to hear that all Primary schools struggle to make ends meet with cuts to Capitation Grants during the recession yet to be restored. For example, We have spent a lot of money this Summer deep cleaning the school and sealing and buffing the lino floors as we feel that our school should always look bright, clean and colourful.
Last year we received funding to provide every child in the school with a snack before the 11 o’ clock break. This consisted of a bottle of water/milk and a piece of fruit/pastry. The guidelines have changed with the result that pupils will not be receiving milk/water this year but a mixture of carb/vitamin. Our suppliers will suggest the item and classes will have more choice as the year progresses.
Every teacher has their own system for running their classroom and this can vary slightly from year to year. To this end I would like to invite parents of pupils from 3rd – 6th to the hall at 3.15 next Wed, Sept 5th for a brief hello from myself. You then make your way to your child’s classroom where their teacher will outline expectations for the year ahead. All meetings will conclude before 4pm. Infants – 2nd are invited for a similar arrangement on Thursday, Sept 6th.
I hope to develop both a school app and an online payments facility (see below) this year so keep an eye out for such developments.
Finally, I would like to congratulate Miss Kinsella on the birth of her daughter Anna. Her position will be filled by Mr McLoughlin. Miss Bolger is returning to Kilkenny and she will be replaced by Miss Whelan. I would also like to welcome Miss Ivory and I know that all new appointments receive a warm welcome at St. Fiacc’s NS.
Looking forward to your continued support and cooperation.
Beir bua,
Mr John Brennan.
Dates for your Diary
Sept 4th- Oct 9th: Swimming for Miss Ronan (6th) & Mr Sheil (2nd) (Tuesdays 2-3pm) – 6 weeks.
Sept 6th – Oct 11th:: Swimming for Mr Nolan (6th) & Miss Kavanagh (2nd) ) (Thursdays 11am-12pm) 6 weeks
Sept 7th – Oct 12th: Swimming for Miss Delaney (6th) & Miss Doheny (2nd) (Fridays 11am-12pm) – 6 weeks. Cost €4 per pupil. (Total €24)
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Our school is delighted to announce that we are rolling out the Aladdin ePayment system to parents/guardians of children in our school.
Our school uses the Aladdin software service for administrative purposes and the ePayment system will give you access from an internet browser on your computer, phone or tablet to make secure payments to the school using your credit or debit card. The purpose of the ePayment system is to facilitate the easier payment of school money collections for parent/guardians and to reduce the amount of cash and cheques being sent into our school in line with recent central bank directives.
Aladdin uses state of the art security to safeguard information entered by you and the school and data is stored and processed in strict compliance with Irish data protection laws.
Going forward, when money is due for any school activity that is relevant to your children, you will receive a text/email message containing your payment access link. Please do not forward this text/email or share this access link as this link is unique for your family only. The link will bring you to a parent payment page which will contain all payments requested for all siblings in a family. There is only one link per family ensuring you have the option to pay all amounts due for all your children in one transaction. Once you have completed your payment, you will be issued with a reference number. You will also receive an email receipt which will contain details of the transaction and reference number. Please quote this reference number in any queries you may have as regards this payment with the school.
Should it be the case that you do not wish your email address or phone number to be used to receive details relating to payment access links and new payment requests, please let us know.
We hope that you will find the Aladdin ePayments facility useful and that it is a very successful system for all. The secretary or myself will welcome any feedback or questions you may have.
Yours sincerely,
Mr John Brennan
