Dear Parents,
We have made it to the end of the school year and I wish you all an enjoyable, restful summer – hopefully we will get some decent weather and be able to take advantage of our wonderful countryside.
This school year has been extremely busy and very eventful and we will all now have time to pause and recharge our batteries for the next school year. At the final assembly I always advise our pupils to give their brains a rest but to make sure they return with them ready to go in August.
It has been a short return for me and I would like to once again give my thanks to Mrs. Black and to Frau Byrne for doing such a wonderful job in the Primary and Kindergarten schools during my absence. Mrs. Black visited me most weeks to keep me up to date, despite being very busy, and I greatly appreciated the time she took. I was determined to be back before the end of the school year and I made it – determination and the miracle of modern medicine.
We will have a number of staff changes next year and you may be aware of some of them:
In the Kindergarten both Frau Byrne and Ms. McGing will take a career break for the academic year 2019/20 and will return in August 2020. We wish them well for the year and hope they will return refreshed and full of new ideas. Frau Browne will take Frau Byrne’s class for the coming year and we are in the process of recruiting for Ms. McGing.
In the Primary School Mr. Goldrick will be moving to our Secondary School and Ms. Downes has decided to see what opportunities are available to her in the state sector. Sadly, Frau Lins resigned recently as her husband has been offered a job in America.
Finally, last but not least, Frau Davitt has decided to retire after 34 years in the school, she will be greatly missed and will leave a gap in the school that will be difficult to fill in many ways. We had an emotional farewell assembly for her and are sad about her retirement but she says it is the right time for her and we respect that. I send good wishes to all staff who are leaving and wish them well on their next adventure in life.
Interviews are ongoing for some of these positions and I am happy to report that Frau Caton and Ms. James are remaining on staff and Frau Finnerty is returning after her break.
On a positive note the Board of Management have granted the Primary School funding for two SNAs and interviews are also ongoing. I will have more information in the new school year as to how we are going to make best use of the two positions.
A late initiative in the school year was the introduction of Restorative Practice Mentors, into the Primary School. The mentors help to resolve issues in the playground – my thanks to Ms. Bowen and Ms. Barry for all their work with this initiative. So far it has been very successful and the new mentors are taking their roles very seriously.
The office has asked me to alert you to a price increase in milk for the coming school year. Glanbia have informed us that from the start of school year 2019/20 the price of the pupils’ milk will increase due to the plastic straw being replaced by a paper straw. The form has been amended on the homepage of our website
As always, there will be summer works taking place in the school over the holidays and the building will be deep cleaned.
Finally, I would like to thank you for your continued support and for the time and effort many of you give to supporting the essential work of the school and staff. Vielen Dank!
A wonderful summer to all.
Best regards,
Sarah Finnegan
Head of Primary and Kindergarten
