26th August 2024
Dear Parents / Guardians,
Welcome back
We hope this finds you in good form after the summer break. As the new school year commences, we extend a warm welcome to both new and returning students.
As partners in your child’s journey here in St Oliver Post Primary, we would like to outline some expectations and guidelines for the coming year. We encourage each student to approach the new school year with a sense of responsibility, commitment, and positive mindset.
Subject Choices & Tutor Groups
It will take a couple of weeks for students to settle back into the routine, learning environment and peer groups. We acknowledge that students may have preferences for certain class/subject groups that they are familiar with but as part of a growth mindset and building resilience, we ask students to embrace new opportunities. Requests for changes cannot always be facilitated in our timetable but will be looked at in the coming weeks. We thank you in advance for your support.
School Uniform
Please ensure your child comes to school in the correct uniform.
The uniform consists of:
Boys
Maroon Jumper
Grey Pants
Grey Shirt
Plain black footwear with black soles
Girls
Maroon Jumper
Maroon Tartan skirt (worn below the knee) with black socks/black opaque tights
Dark grey (charcoal) trousers
Grey shirt/blouse
Plain black footwear with black soles
School Jacket
The school jacket is not compulsory, but if students intend wearing a jacket in class / throughout the day, it must be the school jacket.
Mobile Phones
As part of our endeavours to provide a distraction free learning environment, we remind you that mobile phones may only be used for educational purposes in classrooms, and ONLY upon direct instruction from the class teacher. At all other times phones must be powered OFF. Should your child need to contact you, the school office phone is available.
We are aware that many parents share our concerns that mobile phones can be a distraction and we appreciate your support in our efforts to discourage the growing levels of dependence on phones & social networking apps.
Attendance
As a school we encourage good punctuality and attendance among our students.
Please complete a note of explanation in the School journal if your child is absent.
The school is legally obliged to report all students with absences over 20 days.
Punctuality
Classes begin at 8.50am, students should be in school at least 10 minutes prior to class beginning in order to organise their books etc. If a student is late for school, it is the responsibility of the parent/ guardian to do one of the following:
Complete a note of explanation in the School journal and phone the school office with an explanation.
Lockers, Journals, Books & Timetables
Lockers, Journals, School Books & Timetables will all have been distributed to pupils at this stage.
Any queries should be directed towards the relevant staff member
School books – Ms O’Doherty ([email protected])
Lockers – Mr Harvey ([email protected])
Journals / Timetables / General queries – Your child’s tutor
Students should always lock their locker, and it goes without saying that valuables should not be kept in unlocked lockers. The school is not responsible for the loss of pupils’ belongings.
School Transport
Bus Éireann is responsible for all school bus matters. Go to https://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=256 for further information.
If possible, students should cycle or walk to school.
Due to significant traffic congestion issues, we ask that parents who are dropping their child to school, do not enter the school car park, kindly drop your child off 100-200 metres away from the school grounds.
Please remind your child to use the pedestrian crossing, pedestrian entrance and to be aware of their personal safety when crossing roads etc.
Website & TEAMs
Please consult the school website for latest news, school policies and a host of other information – https://www.stoliverpps.ie/
All pupils should be monitoring their school email and TEAMs pages on an ongoing basis.
COMPASS replaces Eportal
Eportal has been replaced by a new school management system called COMPASS. We will update pupils and parents when we are ready to launch. There will be no attendance text messages issuing this year, when COMPASS is up and running, attendance alerts will issue via COMPASS.
Onwards and upwards
We are confident that through our collective efforts, the upcoming school year will be one of growth, achievement and positive experiences for all.
Kind regards,
Mr Corcoran
Principal
