Parent’s Association Committee Members 2024/2025
Contact email paslanens@gmail.com
- Bridget Kerrigan (Chairperson)
- Alex Ledward (Secretary)
- Leah Cooney (Treasurer)
- Denise Cassidy (PRO)
- Sarah-Jane Lynch (Board of Management 2023-2027 mother’s nominee)
- Richie Carolan (Board of Management 2023-2027 father’s nominee)
- Marie Carolan
- Dev Cudail
- Rachel Carolan
- Alex Ledward
- Soren Jensen
- Maggie Greene
- Tania Rueda Finnegan
- Deirdre Stafford
- Ruth McKeever
- Corina Gomez Ball
- Agnes Matczynska
- Eamonn Flanagan
Parent’s Association Principal Update Beginning of September 2024
- Thanks
- Welcome back
- Thanks to PA for coffee morning and book rental committee for all organising in advance of this school year
School Life- New staff – Tim Dineen 1st/ 2nd, Leah Kells (SET), Abi Greene (SET), Niamh O’Connor (3rd).
- Assembly on Tuesday with pupils. Discussion on yard, uniform, attendance, preventative measures relating to head lice, mobile phones and role modeling problem solving in relational difficulties with others.
- Routines back up and running – yard, entry and exit from school, contact details for teachers, medical forms etc.
- Letter 2 gone home as well as after school activities.
- Improving attendance will be a big focus this year as figures have dropped over the last number of years.
- Child protection. Parental feedback on child safeguarding arrangements.
Curriculum- Embedding the Maths curriculum will be our big curricular focus this year.
- We continue to focus on music as part of our school self-evaluation focus.
- There will be a speaker at our assembly at the end of the month on road safety.
- GAA coaching – 6th class and both 4th classes this half term.
- GAA – 4th-6th class Cumann na mBunscol league and 2nd to 4th lunch time league.
- Meta grant digital equipment rolled out in junior and senior classes on a pilot basis.
- We were unsuccessful with our application to the DE for a physical education grant.
Summer Works- New high speed broadband installed in the school.
- Exterior of the school has been painted.
- Painting of rooms indoors.
- Power washing of gutters, soffit and fascia etc.
- Storage and shelving put in outdoor shed for play materials.
- Principal’s office swapped with SET room so more space for teaching and learning.
- Doors inserted between staff room and resource room to create extra teaching space.
- Assessments carried out as part of Pathfinder Retrofit programme.
Parent’s Association Update Beginning October 2024
Thanks
- Thanks to the outgoing PA committee and I look forward to working with the new committee.
Curriculum Activities
- A discussion on preventative measures relating to head lice and also anti-bullying preventative role modeling on relational difficulties with other children took place at assembly this month. We also had a guest speaker on road safety from Meath County Council.
- All classes from 1st to 6th will participate in swimming lessons in November and December of this year.
- School participating in GLOBE air quality project again this month in association with the EPA. We will be measuring Nitrogen Dioxide levels outside the school.
- Hen rota set up and pupils trained up for the next month. Eggs being sold again.
- The GAA leagues for boys and girls have ended. We are now coaching 60 2nd, 3rd and 4th class boys and girls. Thanks to the 6th class “aspiring coaches!” who are helping out.
- Lorna Murphy and Ruth Collins will attend a conference shortly to mark the end of the Erasmus outdoor learning and risky play study. We will also get a copy of the research about its impact in our school in the near future. The research will be shared with the school community.
- Following a request at the last PA meeting, contact details for parents who consented to have their details shared with others at each class level were forwarded to parents this week.
- Staff received training for first aid after school recently.
- We have been accepted into a Creative School project for this school year and will shortly discuss our project aims.
- Attendance levels are up for the first month of school compared to the same period last year. It will continue to be a focus this term.
Policy Ratification
- Our child Safeguarding Statement for 2024-2025 has been published on our website.
- There will be a new anti-bullying policy created, including a child friendly version during this year and ratified for the 2025-2026 school year. Staff will be receiving a half day for training in this area later in the year.
Future Plans
- I am investigating a number of projects in relation to PA funding and hope to report back at the next PA meeting.
- The survey on the school uniform options for 2025-2026 was published in the letter home this week, as well as consent for the nasal flu vaccine and Board of Management priorities for this school year. We have received 89 school uniform survey responses to date.
