- We welcomed 45 new junior infants to our school who have settled in well. We have had some children join our school in other classes also and all are settling in well.
- Our new St Stephen's "Young Interpreters" group is up and running. This is a wonderful way to support new students and is proving to be a huge success for all involved.
- All the boys are really looking forward to Active Week this week and the World Cup soccer tournament which was such a huge success last year is making a comeback! Hopefully the weather will be kind to us!
- We are delighted that our Choir has resumed with plenty of new members. Preparations are already underway for our many events in the church that the boys will sing at.
- The Active Flag committee, Green School Committee and the Diversity Committee are all up and running.
- Elections for our Student Council were held last week and we look forward to working with the boys and hearing their opinions. This was a great success last year. The student voice is very important to us.
- Our yard walls were painted in June and they have really brightened up playtime. We are hoping to add games and an area for sitting to the yard during the year. We are also hoping to create an outdoor classroom in the secret garden. The Parents' Association have agreed to help us fund this project through their various fundraising events.
- Extra-Curricular Activities:
- We are extremely proud to be able to provide a range of extra-curricular activities for our boys. These activities are teacher led on a voluntary basis and we are very grateful to the teachers involved for giving their time.
- Tuesday: 2nd/3rd class Football in the yard finishes this Tuesday 22nd October
- Tuesday: 5th class Football in the yard starts Tuesday November 5th.
- Tuesday: Lego Club (4th-6th Classes) 2.30 – 3.15 (to commence after Mid-term).
- Tuesday: Radio Club (to commence after Mid-term).
- Wednesday: 1st/2nd Class Hurling in the yard (to start Wednesday 23rd October 2:30-3:15).
- Wednesday: Baking Club (to commence after Mid-term).
- Wednesday: U11 Indoor Hurling in De la Salle College 3:00-3:45, starting November 6th.
- Wednesday: Gardening Club (to commence after Mid-term).
- Wednesday: Chess Club (to commence after Mid-term).
- U13 Football finals to be held next week and training will finish then until 2025.
- Coming Soon:
- Theatre/Drama club.
- Basketball Training.
- On the back of our huge success over the years with FÍS, we will have a Film Club starting soon.
- We are extremely proud to be able to provide a range of extra-curricular activities for our boys. These activities are teacher led on a voluntary basis and we are very grateful to the teachers involved for giving their time.
- Mid-Term Break: School will finish at 12:00pm on Friday October 25th. We return to school on Monday November 4th.
St. Stephen's will reopen tomorrow, Tuesday, January 7th, at 8.50am. Gates will open at 8.45am.
All entrances have been de-iced and will be further gritted in the morning but care must continue to be taken.
Although the school will be open, there is of course no necessity to bring your child to school if your local circumstances aren't safe.
In the likely event that the yard will be frozen and/or due to low temperatures, the boys will go straight to class at 8.45am.
Please note that the Stephen Street entrance will not open as we expect the yard to be icy. All boys can use either the Patrick Street entrance or Bachelors Walk entrance.
A low temperature warning is in place for the week so please make sure your son has a warm coat and hat.
It is hard to believe that we are nearly at mid-term already! Time is flying by and we are all very busy here in St Stephen's and as usual, the school is a hive of activity! As we have settled back into the school year, I’d like to draw your attention to some activities that are going on in school for the past few weeks - and also on what’s to come after Halloween.
The school calendar for the 2024/2025 school year is now live! You can keep up to date with the half days and school closures between September 2024 and June 2025 by visiting our online calendar HERE! (*Please note that this calendar may be subject to change due to staff training). You can also download a printable PDF version of our calendar by clicking or tapping HERE.
Please see below for the entrance and exit points to St. Stephen's for the 2024/2025 school year:
Entry/Exit Bachelor’s Walk (Side entrance)
1st Class Miss Daniels
2nd Class Mr. Lyons
4th Class Miss Brennan
5th Class Mr. Russell
Entry/Exit Patrick Street (main entrance)
The Hub Miss Coleman
Junior Infants Mr. Coppinger
Junior Infants Miss Whelan
Junior Infants Miss Palmer
Senior Infants Mrs Breen
Senior Infants Miss Butler
3rd Class Mr. Cantwell
3rd Class Miss Flavin
6th Class Mr. Coghlan
6th Class Mr. Morris
Entry/Exit Stephen Street (middle of yard)
1st Class Miss Drohan
1st Class Mr. Barrett
2nd Class Miss Byrne
2nd Class Miss Power
5th Class Miss Doyle
Hello everybody,
I hope everyone is well and enjoyed the summer break! The weather hasn’t been kind to us this year but I’m sure everyone has enjoyed the break from school and routine! All good things must come to an end however and school will reopen for all on Monday September 2nd at 8.50am.
Just a few items for your attention as we all get ready for back to school!
Uniform: All children from 1st to 6th class are expected to wear their full school uniform to school each day. The school tracksuit should only be worn on PE days only as per our code of behaviour. Your son’s teacher will inform you what day PE is on when we return. Boys in Junior and senior infants can wear the full school tracksuit to school every day. Football jerseys and other non uniform clothing are strictly forbidden. Also, please note that the boys are not allowed to wear earrings. If your son arrives to school with an earring it will have to be covered and he will not be allowed play in the yard or participate in PE for health and safety reasons.
As we prepare to return to school I would ask that all parents take the time to look at our Code Of Behaviour. This code clearly outlines the rules and the behaviour we expect and accept in St Stephen's.
The full list of teachers for 2024/2025 is HERE on our website. The entrance/exit gates for each class will also be posted shortly.
We have worked hard to stretch the funding as far as we can as we always want to do the best we can for our pupils and parents. I am delighted to tell you that despite the department cut to funding, the school will provide books, copies and stationary for all pupils.
The September Contribution fee for this year will be €110 per pupil from 1st-6th class and €55 for Junior and Senior Infants classes. The breakdown of these costs was sent on Aladdin. This amount is all inclusive and we won’t be asking for further contributions towards running costs of the school for this school year. We ask that if possible this money could be paid in full by the end of September.
There will be fundraising events during the school year organised by the Parents' Association and the school. We hope you will support these. This year we are hoping to add some games to the yard so as to increase the activities for the boys at break time. We are also hoping to establish an outdoor classroom in the garden.
We will be implementing the new Primary Maths Curriculum this year and it’s a very exciting time. The new Maths Curriculum requires huge resources and unfortunately the Department is not allocating funding to purchase these resources. We are hoping that our Parents' Association will help us towards funding these resources.
No wheelie school bags please as they are a hindrance on the stairs and the boys find them difficult to manage.
A big welcome to our 45 new Junior Infants! We hope your years in St Stephen's will be happy ones. For the first 2 weeks the Junior Infants only will finish at 12 o'clock.
Lunches: There is a new hot lunch menu which has been posted on Aladdin. If you wish to cancel lunch for your son, please email the office on the address sent on Aladdin. Reminder that all lunch orders must be done online before 5:00pm each Thursday for the following week.
Please make sure to label all belongings, especially school jumpers. We have a huge amount of 2nd hand tracksuits and other uniform items which you are welcome to take if you need them. Again just email me and we can arrange a time for you to call in.
As previously mentioned, if for some reason your son is NOT returning to St Stephen's please let me know as soon as possible as we have a lengthy waiting list in place for all classes.
We have been busy over the summer giving the school some TLC! Roof needed repairing, walls needed painting and the gardens needed attention. We are very grateful to our caretaker John who has worked hard all summer. We can’t wait to have everyone back and to kick off a new year in St Stephen's.
See you all on Monday, September 2nd!
Miss Lowe, Principal
It's time! St. Stephen's is ready for BACK TO SCHOOL! Our school reopens on Monday, September 2nd, 2024, at 8:50am! We're all looking forward to seeing everyone again and welcoming our new boys into our Pre-School and Junior Infants. It's going to be another fantastic year in St. Stephen's in 2024/2025. We'll see you all soon!
