Month: May 2020

Download the information leaflet for incoming junior infant parents below here

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We would like to welcome you and your child to junior infants 2020/21 at St Brigid’s Infant School. We are really looking forward to meeting you and your child and welcoming them into our school! St Brigid’s is a Roman Catholic, mixed, infant school comprising of Early Start, junior infants, senior infants and first class. This year we will have 4 junior infant classes in our school. Here is some basic information you might need to know for your child’s first few days:

What does my child need to bring to school?

Books

We will let you know when you can begin to purchase your child’s new school books from our office and the cost of these. This will begin in September this year; your child will not need any books for their first couple of weeks.

Stationery

The school will provide your child with all the stationery they need whilst in school (pencils/crayons/glue etc). You will need basic pencil and crayons at home to help your child with their homework.

School Bag

When choosing a school bag for your child, please ensure it is large enough to easily fit an A4-page sized folder inside (for homework), their lunch, lunchbox and a drinks bottle. They will carry these things daily so they need to be able to put them into and take them out of their bags with ease.

Uniform

Our uniform is a navy-blue jumper/cardigan, trousers, white shirt and tie. The tracksuit, cardigan and trousers can be bought in any shop (e.g. Tesco, Dunnes, Marks and Spencers, Penneys etc.). The girls blue-checked pinafore dress can be purchased from McAloons in Finglas village. The school crest and ties are available from our school office to add to school jumpers/cardigans. Children will be asked to wear a navy-blue tracksuit and runners for their PE day. Teachers will inform you of this day during your child’s first few weeks at school.

Please help your child’s teacher by sending your child to school in shoes without laces. Please label all belongings – coats, jumpers, bags, water bottles.

Lunches

At St Brigid’s, all pupils are provided with lunch free of charge. The lunches are funded by the Department of Social Protection and Employment Affairs. The lunches are prepared by Glanmore Foods under strict hygiene and Healthy Ireland nutrition guidelines. There are many options which cater for different tastes and dietary requirements. In September parents will be given a lunch form to fill out for their child. The menu can be changed as often as you want. Each child’s lunch is prepared and served in a sealed bag every day. Children are also offered milk and fruit every day. Please send in a full bottle or beaker of water every day. Water and milk are the only drinks allowed in our school. As part of our healthy eating policy, we ask that parents do not send in any additional food/snacks.

Your child will need to bring an empty lunch box each day in their bags. This is because they will bring home any uneaten food so you can see what they are eating at school. We also ask children to bring home their own rubbish for disposal at home. Please check/clean the lunch box daily.

The staff at St Brigid’s Infant School are really excited to welcome your child to our school and junior infants in September!!

We will be in touch with all families in the coming weeks and we will provide further information about opening times, the settling-in timetable, payment for workbooks and materials, and of course their new teachers and classrooms.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us in the meantime if you have any other questions.

School phone: 01-8348770 HSCL phone: 086-3705773 School email: info@stbrigidsinfantschool.ie

If you missed it you can download the May Newsletter here

Welcome to our new school website! We are very proud of the new website and we will keep it updated with school news, useful information, policies and forms, and lots of photos of our pupils learning at home and at school.

Continuing school closures

As the school closures and national restrictions continue, we hope that all families are well and safe.

We know that every family has been affected. Many parents have lost jobs. Older siblings have had months of uncertainty about the State exams. Some parents are working long exhausting hours helping to keep the country going. Others are trying to juggle working from home and family life. Sadly, some families are coping with a bereavement without the consoling presence of neighbours and friends. All children sense the uncertainty and may be acting out or holding in the anxiety. Everyone is just doing their best to get through this!

Keeping in touch

You can continue to keep in touch with us during the school closure through, the teachers’ email, the school email (info@stbrigidsinfantschool.ie) and the Home School Liaison phone (call/text/Whatsapp on 086-3705773).

Keep sending in photos of children at work or play and we will add them to the website over the next few weeks. We need the correct details to keep in touch with families during the closure so please be sure that we have your correct phone numbers, emergency contact numbers, postal address and email address. You can update any information by calling, texting or emailing us.

Learning from home

Even though the schools are closed, learning continues. Schools all over Ireland have put arrangements in place to ensure that children keep on learning. We would like to thank all families who are doing their best to help their children with the learning activities we are sending out through email, phone call, text or post. We have also gathered and distributed a list of helpful websites and resources which we have recommended to parents.

Thank you for taking part in our school survey which has helped us to plan for the rest of the term. In a recent phone meeting, our school inspector asked us to reaffirm to all parents that time spent talking, playing and enjoying activities with children is valuable and educational. With this in mind, for the month of June, we will focus on fun learning activities which we hope you will enjoy with your child, indoors and outdoors.

The school reports will be posted to your home towards the end of June.

Planning for the new school year

We will be in touch by phone and post with parents of incoming Junior Infants, incoming Early Start children, and First Classes transferring to St. Fergal’s and St. Brigid’s Senior School.

Pupil wellbeing is our priority in every decision we make for next year. We will let you know about your child’s teacher and classroom for next year before the end of June.

In the new school year, we will be adhering strictly to the government guidelines for health, safety and wellbeing of pupils, staff, parents and visitors. We know we can depend on your support and cooperation. We will take the upcoming changes in our stride and do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe, happy and busy.

We will have further updates before the end of June.

Places in school

Any parents enquiring about places in Junior Infants or Early Start can email the school at info@stbrigidsinfantschool.ie, call/text Olwen on 086-3705773 or call the school phone on 01-8348770 and we will be in touch.