19 Sep 2013

16th September 2013                                                                                                                      Update no. 3

Dear Parents,

Planning and Organisation for the school year ahead continues so I wish to update you on some matters.

  1. P.A. AGM This will be held in the school hall on Wednesday October 2nd at 8pm. The agenda will be circulated closer to the night.
  2. The P.A. and I are currently devising a questionnaire with regard to our uniform supplier, Schools Direct, to assess their performance and the level of customer satisfaction. This will be finalised and circulated in the next few days.
  3. A reminder that school uniforms are worn on Monday to Wednesday for First Class up and school tracksuits Thursday and Friday (unless otherwise requested by the class teacher e.g. for Tag Rugby/PE etc.). Junior and Senior Infant Classes wear school uniforms on Monday and Tuesday and wear school tracksuits from Wednesday to Friday.
  4. We would appreciate your support through the annual voluntary family contribution of €50 which goes towards subsidising/paying in full for school activities for your children, acquiring extra resource materials which are used within the class, paying entry fees for various school competitions, etc. Mindful of the financial pressures that people are under, we are suggesting again that people may wish to pay this in installments. Furthermore, at the P.A. AGM I will be highlighting how this contribution was spent last year. Please remit in an envelope to the office with your child’s details and a receipt will be issued.
  5. A sincere Thank You to the P.A. for organising our Book Rental Scheme in such a superb and professional manner. There was a huge amount of work involved! This has eased the financial burden on families. Thank you to those who passed books back to other classes, also alleviating costs across the school.
  6. I‘d like to draw your attention to the back of this note which outlines an INTO initiative to inform parents of the Government’s plans to further cut funding to the primary education in this year’s Budget. A postcard campaign is underway to lobby your local TD. Each family should receive one today to forward on.
  7. After school classes commence this week. The Guitar Class is full. There are still places on the Art/Craft and Speech/Drama classes. Contact Susan at 086-3592941 for Art/Craft on Tuesdays and Olive at 087-2738358 for Speech/Drama on Wednesdays.
  8. The Nathan Kirwan Trust has asked us to thank everyone for your wonderful support on our Red/White Day. We collected €487. The owner of Shanbally Shop & Deli, Rafal Bajerski, also donated €150. Furthermore, there has been great support locally and within the school community for other fundraisers such as the recent BBQ and Ladies Mini Marathon.
  9. A fundraising event takes place in the Ferry Boat Inn on Friday September 20th at 8.30pm in aid of St. Mary’s Special School and Cystic Fibrosis. Live music on the night by Atom. There will also be a raffle with great spot prizes. Tickets are available from Janet O’Callaghan at 086-3117994.
  10. There will be a clothes recycling drive in association with Lenrec in October so hold on to any clothes you are planning to throw out.  They also take mobile phones, books etc.
  11. Over the years Shanbally NS has raised vital funds especially through the Terry Fox Run. This year, the CUH Children’s Ward have embarked on a major fundraising drive to raise €1.5million to refurbish their existing wards and improve their facilities for parents accompanying their children to hospital. We are holding a Charity Walk on Saturday October 12th at 2.30pm, along our traditional route, to support this great cause. CUH will send on further information and sponsorship cards over the next few days.

Thank you,

_____________________

David Nolan

Principal