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Dear Parent(s),

By now you will have received your child’s end-of-year school report. Department of Education and Skills Guidelines recommend that all schools provide parents with the results of Standardised Testing in English Reading and Mathematics in 2nd,4th and 6th classes. The results of these tests are recorded in the form of a STEN score which you will find in the relevant section of your child’s report.

By now, many parents will be familiar with this system. For your information you will find a link to an explanatory leaflet on our school website or at the following address: http://www.ncca.ie/en/Curriculum_and_Assessment/Parents/Primary/Standardised_Tests/STenEng.pdf which will assist you in interpreting your child’s result. All parents are encouraged to read this leaflet carefully.

While standardised tests are an indication as to your child’s progress they are only measure part of the overall picture that is your child. Many factors can influence how your child performs on any given day. If you have any concerns around your child’s progress or regarding any aspect of his/her report, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Parents often ask for ideas as to how they can help their child. Perhaps the most important way in which you can support your child’s learning during the holiday period and throughout the year is to encourage and foster a love of reading. We really cannot over-emphasize the importance of reading for every child. Children’s language and reading abilities are fundamental to their development in all other subjects and so any additional help which they can get is bound to benefit them.  At the beginning of every school year pupils who have read for pleasure and visited the library during the holidays are clearly evident and have a head start over others who may not have read during the holidays. Reading skills require practice and the long summer holidays can sometimes cause pupils to regress if they have not read for enjoyment since school finished in June. The libraries contain a huge range of books which cater for all levels, interests and abilities and membership is free for children. There is something there to suit every child so please consider this option if at all possible. We have just completed a literacy booklet to help you at home when reading with your child and improving their comprehension. In particular please refer to the different levels of questioning you can use with your child which is very important. This booklet is  available to view in the parents section of our website. We hope you find this useful.

To our 6th class pupils, we express our thanks for the many ways in which you have enriched our lives and our school during your time with us. We wish you every good wish and blessing in secondary school and in the years ahead. To any families who are finishing with us we thank you for entrusting your child to us for these very special years and wish you good luck and continued pride in their many achievements.

We also wish to take this opportunity to thank  our Board of Management for their tireless work all year. A report showing a summary of all the board’s activities this year is available to view in the documents section.Thanks also to the members of our Parents’ Association who have been a marvellous support to us during the year. We also thank all our  coaches,  for their commitment and expertise which yielded such rich rewards this year. To our general parent-body, the entire school staff, pupils and all who combine to make our school a unique and special place we are very grateful for your contribution. We particularly acknowledge the many ways in which you, the parents, assist in the work of the school throughout the year.  We also request that any parents who are finished with a child’s uniform might consider donating it to the school in September as it is very useful to have extra uniforms in the school in the event of a child getting wet etc.We would be very grateful to receive any outstanding book rental money as soon as possible please.

Our school will close for summer holidays on Tuesday, June 28th and re-open on Tuesday, August 30th.

As one school year ends we look forward to the challenges and opportunities of the year ahead. We look forward to welcoming all pupils (old and new) and families back in September to embark on another exciting and fulfilling year.

Wishing all families an enjoyable and safe summer holiday.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Feeney and Staff.