8th September 2022
Dear Parents and Guardians
We’ve completed a full week of the new school year and the P/R2-7 pupils are all back and settling into their new surroundings. By the end of next week all the Nursery and P/R1 children will have started their educational journey. We acknowledge the privilege it is that you have chosen our school, the St. Francis Primary, Nursery and Bunscoil settings, as their place of learning.
Uniform
We return to “nearly normal” with regards to school uniform. Unless your child is participating in PE or an afterschool sporting activity, full uniform should be worn. These PE days will increase as we get into the swing of the new term. For those children that do not have the new PE kit, dark track bottoms with a yellow polo shirt should be worn. GAA tops and PE gear of choice will only be permitted on non-uniform days. We will be arranging with McKeever for a “mop-up” order for any family that needs or wishes to order for the year ahead, but please do not feel under pressure. Navy/dark plain track bottoms or blue shorts with a yellow polo shirt is also still recognized PE kit.
Entering the School Grounds – Remember: No Dogs allowed on the school grounds for health and safety reasons
We advise that children in Primary 4/Rang 4 through to Primary 7/Rang 7 come onto the school site without an adult and proceed directly to their classroom. The school doors open at 8:45 am and classes start at 9am.
We will continue to provide the Drop Off – Turning Circle for the morning run within the front playground but there will be strictly no parking in this area.
As per Department of Education (DE) advice, those arriving by car will be encouraged to park further away from the school and then walk with their children (‘park and stride’) to avoid congestion. (Fr Wright has kindly given parents’ permission to park in St Paul’s car park which is a 3-minute walk to the school gate). This is particularly relevant to all our Nursery parents as those children have to be “delivered and collected” by a trusted adult.
Drop-off Zone
As a general rule parents will NOT be able to park cars on the school grounds. Exceptions are made for children with disabilities and additional needs and arrangements are made directly with the principal or vice-principal.
We have been inundated with requests from parents/grandparents requesting access to the drop off zone but we cannot safely facilitate the additional requests. Therefore, all families needing access to the drop off zone please fill in the form with the details and if access can be afforded to you safely the school will text out the new barrier code over the weekend for Monday morning access.
Link: Request to access Drop-off Zone
https://forms.office.com/r/eQjQwvEzNA
Lunch & Dinners
Those children bringing a lunch to school must bring it in a lunch box and a water bottle. Please ensure that everything in the lunch box is accessible to your child without assistance. Dinners should be ordered, as usual, on the school money app. If your free school meal allocation has not been ratified by the Education Authority, you will need to provide a lunch or pay for school meals until it is cleared by EA.
Medications and Epi-Pens
Please return epi-pens and inhalers and agreed Medicine/Management plans.
We will need all medications in as soon as possible.
Going Forward
I want to thank you for working brilliantly with us in the last academic year and look forward to another year of fun and learning together under more “normal circumstances.” We are committed to ensuring that the school return is a safe and positive experience for all the children. Please, never allow a worry or concern to fester. Make a call to Miss O’Dowd or to Miss Rice if you have a worry of if there are circumstances where you think we can help.
Here’s to great school year!
Orla O’Dowd
Principal
