Welcome back

Welcome back letter for Secondary School - August 2018

Dear Students and Parents, I hope you enjoyed the summer break, especially the unusually fine summer weather. I am sure our students are suitably rested and are ready to take on the challenges of the new school year. The schedule for the start of the school year is available from the school calendar on the website. The first official school day is the 27th August and Wednesday the 29th August is the first full day for all pupils. Students are expected to be in class at 8.25 am. Punctuality and attendance will be a particular focus for us and I would ask all pupils to ensure that you arrive punctually to school each morning and thereafter, that you arrive punctually to each class.  I would also like to remind all pupils of the mobile device policy and its strict implementation. The traffic management plan put in place last year continues and we are encouraging all secondary school students to cycle or walk to school. For those who are driven I would ask parents to use suitable drop off locations outside the school to encourage the older students to walk at least some of the way. Your cooperation with this initiative does make a difference and is very much appreciated. As was the case last year the school will be closed on Friday December 7th 2018 due to the fact that we start back on the 27th August. Please consult the school calendar. There will be further whole school training days for secondary school in connection with the continued roll out of the new Junior Cycle curriculum. One of these days has already been confirmed for the 7th of February 2019 and the closure of the secondary school is indicated in the school calendar. The second day has not yet been confirmed, however, as soon as we are notified we will inform parents. We welcome three new teachers to the German Department and the Sek-1 programme. Frau Reitermayer will replace Frau Adelberger as Coordinator of the Sek-1 programme and with overall responsibility for the Sprachdiplom exams. Herr Magnus has taken over responsibility for the German Department and is Head of German. Frau Vlatschil is replacing Frau Koßmann in the primary school. There is also a change in personnel in the Administration office. Unfortunately, we said goodbye to Martina Schwab this summer and as I write we are interviewing for an Administration Manager. Once again we have had an unprecedented level of interest in school places. Numbers in primary and secondary school continue to be very strong. At this stage you are probably aware that we had outstanding Leaving Certificate results. The average points score was 468. I would like to wish all of the students in the class of 2018 the very best of luck on their new journey and we congratulate you on your excellent results. A summary analysis of the results is available through the parent login on the website and I would like to take this opportunity to invite parents to please register here to access this portal (new registration is necessary for all parents). I look forward to welcoming you all back to school and in particular new students to our community. St. Kilian’s is a rich and varied environment in which we learn, we forge friendships, we grow and mature and we aspire to do the best we can and achieve our potential. With best wishes Alice Lynch Principal