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
