Dear Parents ,
Please see some important notices for your attention.
School Calendar
Parents are reminded that the school will close for the mid-term break on Thursday 25th October due to elections on Friday 26th .
Our Parents Association are organising the Halloween dress up dress down day on Thursday 25th . Children are kindly requested to bring €2 on the day or €5 per family. Each child will be entered into a raffle for Cinema vouchers.
Language Curriculum :The school will be closed for staff in-service on Monday 19th November .
Board of Management Notices
The Board of Management has legal responsibility for the overall running of the school. It serves a term of four years and a new Board was formed in November 2015. The members of the current board are:
- Patron’s Representatives – are Joe McDermott ( Chairperson) and the Very Rev. Fr. Thomas Dooley P.P. Portarlington and Emo
- Principal and Teacher’s Representative- Cyril Duggan ( Secretary) and Florence Fennelly
- Parents’ Representatives – Declan Donoghue and Roisin Hogge
- Community Representatives – Mary Owens and Bernie Gorman
- Chairman – Joe McDermott
The following items were discussed at our October meeting:
Pupil Attendance
Our current enrolment is 211. The attendance for the school year 2017/2018 was 95%. We had 5 pupils with full attendance last year.
Child Protection and Anti Bullying
In accordance with the requirements of the Children First Act 2015, the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools 2017 and Tusla Guidance on the preparation of Child Safeguarding Statements, the Board of Management of the school has agreed a Child Safeguarding Statement and Assessment of Risk . This document may be viewed on our website at this link . It is important that parents are aware of the content of this document. Parents who wish to make a comment/suggestion in relation to this document may do so by e-mailing: principal@emons.ie
The DLP ( Designated Liaison Person ) for the school is Cyril Duggan and the deputy DLP is Florence Fennelly.
The BOM are provided with an child protection oversight report at each meeting.
Curriculum
Numeracy and Literacy
Standardised testing in Maths and English completed during June was discussed . Comparative figures for the last three years were distributed.
School Improvement Plan
The BOM were informed that we are continuing to work on our school improvement plan for Irish with the main concentration on improving children’s attitude to Gaeilge through games and our maidin Gaelach. We have also introduced a supplementary reading scheme and we will be monitoring how that is progressing.
We are also looking at our Science plan this year and the school’s use of technology. We have engaged the help of the PDST to work on the science plan and they will be providing our teachers with sustained support this year.
Ms. Maher and Mrs. Fennelly met with junior infant parents recently.Our teachers explained the phonics programme and the school’s reading scheme. Our thanks to the Parents Association who provided a cup of tea.
- Sixth class visited Emo Court as part of their history curriculum.
- Fourth class have completed a Cycle Safety course over the last six weeks. Once again we are delighted that this initiative is supported by our Parents Association.
Policy and Planning
Checklist for Annual Review of the Child Protection Policy was signed off at this meeting. Amendments to our Critical Incident Plan were also agreed .
Treasurer’s Report
Roisin Hogge provided the meeting with up to date information regarding the financial situation . The 5% increase in the capitiation grant was welcomed as was the guarantee that the minor works grant would be paid on an annual basis .
Sports News
Our teams are competing in the Cumann na mBunscol competitions at the moment. We are also running internal football leagues for 2nd to 4th classes.
Parents Association Report
The Parents Association AGM took place on Wednesday 19th September at 8p.m. in the school. Miriam O’Shea , secretary of the Parents Association provides the Board of Management with a report at each meeting. Please see the new committee and proposed list of events 2018/2019 here