Dear Parent / Colleague / Board Member,

 

Catholic Schools’ Week.

On Wednesday, we celebrated Grandparents’ Day in School. Fr Toomey offered mass for grandparents and many returned for refreshments to school afterwards. The inclement weather couldn’t dampen the spirit or atmosphere as we celebrated the special bond between children and their parent’s parents. Thanks to all who participated including Fr Toomey, our readers, choir and server, Mrs Byrne and Miss Duggan, our staff, Rose, Michelle, and PA members Noreen, Claire and Niamh who helped with the food including baking. Johnny, Julian and Lee, who helped transport the children to and from FMW Church. Our Banna Ceoil / Choir who entertained those in attendance with a few tunes and songs after refreshments. A lovely morning was had by all bringing another Catholic Schools’ Week to a close. Some photos can be seen on our social media page.

 

Sacraments

Rang 2 are asked to participate in FMW mass this Sunday morning at 9 am. Please follow instructions as given by Ms O’Keeffe and Mrs Coffey.

 

Brideview Drama

This night next week, we will co-host Brideview Players in their production of ‘Da’ in the Community Centre. The performance is now sold out, so thank you very much to all who supported it. We will operate a waiting list system in the possibility of tickets becoming available. The proceeds will be shared between Ballymacarbry Tidy Towns, our local Community Centre Committee, and our school. Following last year’s staging of The Weir, it came as no surprise that Brideview Players received national recognition for their work. Ballymacarbry audiences saw it first, exactly one year ago. We look forward to another entertaining night of drama in our local community.

 

Attendance.

Regular school attendance plays an important role in children’s learning and wellbeing, and we appreciate the continued support of families in this area. As part of our normal responsibilities, all primary schools in Ireland share attendance information with Tusla twice each year. The first reporting period covers September to December and has just been completed this week, with the second taking place in July at the end of the school year. When a child reaches 20 days absent, this is included in the report. We understand that there are many valid and unavoidable reasons why children may need to be absent from school. To help us keep accurate records, we kindly ask parents/guardians to record the reason for each absence using Aladdin Connect or notify the teacher / school. Thank you for working with us to support your child’s attendance and overall wellbeing.

 

PTM Survey Feedback

Thank you to all families who participated in the survey over the past two weeks. We received responses from 33% of families. Overall feedback was very positive.
• 94% of respondents were happy with the new online booking system.
• The average rating was 4.4 out of 5 (88%).
• 85% gave a 4- or 5-star rating, 9% selected a mid-range rating, and 6% gave a 1- or 2-star rating.
• 80% agreed that the allocated time slot was sufficient.
• 91% indicated they would like the new system to continue in the future.

In addition, 12% of respondents offered constructive suggestions to inform the future organisation of Parent–Teacher Meetings at our school.

 

Reminder

The school will be closed on Monday 2^nd February for St Brigid’s Bank Holiday (Monday week)

 

Is mise,

Michael J. O’Ryan – Principal.