29th June - email to all families: End-of-year details

Dear parents and guardians,
As it comes to the end of the school year, I have a few notices for you:
School Opening and Closing

• School closes this Thursday, 30th June. You can collect your child any time from 10am. The Family Fun Day will be running from 10am until 1pm. 
• The school office closes today at 2pm. The school will be very busy tomorrow and we would appreciate if all business could be concluded today so that Siobhan can focus on the children tomorrow.

• School reopens at 8.30am on Wednesday 31st August. Children should line up in the same place as they did this year, apart from children moving into 1st class, who should ALL collect in the school yard, from where they will be collected by their new class teacher. On the first day of school, children will learn where their new class line will be and should use that line from then on.
• The first day of school is a full day of school. This will be new for parents of children moving into Senior Infants and 1st class so please remember that Senior Infants will be in school from 8.30am to 1.10pm that day and 1st Class will be in school from 8.30am to 2.10pm that day.

• The school will be closed on Monday 26th September for in-service training for all teachers in relation to supporting children with ASD. This is once-off training provided for schools that have recently opened a Special Class for children with ASD. 
• There will be further closures for training in relation to the new language curriculum during the 2016/17 school year and we will let you know as soon as we have dates for that.

Family Fun Day

• We are using the staff car park for activities on our Family Fun Day. This part of the car park will be cordoned off once the school bus leaves in the morning. Please park along the front of the building or in the car park inside the entrance gate. Once you drive past the Drop Off zone, the only option will be to exit the car park.
• Our 3rd class children have been working very hard on stalls and activities for everyone to try tomorrow. They are raising money to buy Science resources for our school. Please support all of the activities on the day.
• Many of our after-school providers will be demonstrating their class. This is a rare opportunity for parents to see what happens at each after-school class. Please pop in and take a look - it might help you to decide which class or classes to sign your child up for in the next school year.
• Don't worry, if the weather is poor tomorrow, we have a Plan B and Family Fun Day will go ahead!

Kidorama

• Kidorama will be providing an after-school service and a free pre-school service in our school in the new school year. Contact details are available on the home page of our website, www.citywestetns.ie.

Drop-Off Service for September

• A small group of parents have put massive work into providing this great service to parents this year. In order to continue providing this service, we need new parents to help with this service. Please reply to this email to let us know if you can help out in any way. Whether there is one month in the year when you can help, one day a week all year, various random dates you can help or you can help at any time, the organisers would be delighted to hear from you.

Car park reminder:

• A number of parents have gotten in touch to express concern over car park behaviour. While most parents continue to follow guidelines, there are some who insist on parking in the Drop Off zone and across from the Drop Off zone or in the Staff car park. Parking is not permitted in these areas. Parking in the Staff car park is for school bus, creches, school staff and parents with school parking permits only. Driving into that car park puts your child at risk. Park BEFORE the Drop Off zone only, at ANY time of day. Thank you.

Leaving the school?

• We currently have waiting lists for places in most classes in the school. The number of teachers we are granted by the Department of Education depends on the number of children in the school in September. The unexpected loss of one child from the school could mean the immediate loss of a teacher for us. If we know a child is leaving or might be leaving, we can fill that school place and keep all of our teachers. Please make sure to let us know if you are leaving the school or might be leaving. If you discover over the summer break that your child won't be returning to us, please email us immediately to let us know.

• If your child will be returning to us for the next school year but won't be at school on 31st August, please let us know in advance so that we don't give that school place to a child on the waiting list when your child does not arrive back at school on 31st August!

End-of-year reports

• End-of-year reports for each child were posted last week. If you have not already received one for your child, please let us know ASAP.

Attendance notifications

• Our Attendance Officer, Orla, will be emailing parents and guardians of children who have significant absence records this week.

A date for your diary

• On the afternoon of Wednesday 7th September, you will be invited to the school approx 40 minutes before the end of the day (12.30pm for children who will be in Senior Infants and 1.30pm for children who will be in 1st to 4th classes), when there will be a chance to have a cuppa with other parents and then an opportunity to visit your child's new classroom. Unfortunately, we can't invite you in to the new classrooms on the first morning of school as we need to clear the car park so that our friends in Citywest and Saggart CNS (previously called Scoil Niamh CNS) can get to school too. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

I wish you all a most wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing you all on 31st August for another great school year!
Kind regards,
Caitriona Hand,
Principal.
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