Dear parents,

I hope that you and your family had a lovely long weekend.  Thank you very much for your full cooperation and support of our Covid response plan.  We rely on each other so much to keep ourselves safe and well – Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.

Here are some reminders and notices

Return to Education Form

Parents are required to complete the Return to Education Form in respect of children returning to school and after any absence from school.  This form may be completed via the Aladdin Connect App.  The link to the Aladdin Form is also located on the school website.

 HPSC Guidance Documentation 

• A Parent’s Guide to Close Contacts in School (10/03/2021)
• Please click here to view a HSE Quick Guide to Isolation for children 3months to 13 years of age. (05/03/2021)

Communion & Confirmation

The Bishop of Limerick has indicated that the sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion will not take place this year before 1st July 2021.  It is very difficult for Fr. Koenraad to make plans for the celebration of these sacraments with the present restrictions in place.  I will let you know as soon as we have possible dates for both celebrations.  Your understanding of the situation is very much appreciated.

Clothes for Cash Collection  

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to the recent clothes-for-cash collection. A special word of gratitude to the members of our Parents’ Council who organised the event.  As a result of your generosity, the Parents’ Council collected over €500 on this latest fundraiser.  This money will be handed over to the school to purchase resources for our pupils.   Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.

Uniform

Traditionally, pupils are given permission to wear a summer uniform during the month of June.  This uniform consists of navy short pants & blue polo shirt (PE shirt and top).   If the weather gets warmer during May, we will review this date and let you know via Aladdin of any changes to the wearing of the summer uniform.

Cycling & Scooting

Since Easter, quite a few pupils are now cycling / scooting to school.   We ask parents and guardians not to enter into the school yard in the mornings and afternoons.  All children should dismount their bicycles / scooters at the church and walk their bicycles / scooters into the yard via the footpath.  When leaving, pupils should walk their bicycles from the yard via the footpath and should only mount them at the church (or on the UL pathway if that is their choice of route).  

Standardised Assessments

1st – 6th Class pupils will complete standardised assessments during the month of May.  The tests will not be flagged with pupils and we will do our best to keep the testing as low key as possible.  Standardised Tests are only one of a number of assessment tools that can be used to inform teaching and learning in primary schools.  In accordance with Department of Education advice, results of any one standardised test will not be used in isolation, nor used as baseline data for predicting future achievements, nor for solely informing decisions regarding the provision of interventions or targets within learning plans for pupils. Information from ability tests, teacher observations, parental reports, as well as the views of the pupils are also very important aspects of a thorough assessment.

The results of these tests help schools to evaluate progress in literacy and numeracy, can help to pinpoint areas for improvement and will support teachers in ensuring that literacy & numeracy learning experiences meet pupils’ needs. The Department of Education has acknowledged that the school closures have had a significant impact on teaching and learning, which may be reflected in the standardised test results for primary schools this year.   The results of these assessments will be communicated to you in our end of year reports.   The school is obliged to report a summary of these results annually to the Department of Education for classes 2nd, 4th and 6th.

Swimming Refund

Some of our parents are owed a refund for the term of swimming lessons that was cancelled March-May 2020.  The school has a record of the families who are owed this refund.  We wish to refund this money to you before the end of this school year.  Our preferred method to do so is to offset the amount against a school requisite payment on Aladdin Payments for the school year 2021/22.   

If you prefer to receive this refund by bank transfer please let us know by Friday, 14th May via office@milfordns.ie  Once we receive your bank details we will process your repayment as soon as possible.

Families intending to Leave

If you think that your child may not be returning to Milford N.S. in September 2021, please let us know as soon as possible.   It helps to have early notice to help plan for the following year.  Thank you very much.

School Holidays for the School Year 2021/22

Please click here to view the school holidays for the school year 2021/22.  This information is also available on our school website.

Some Important Dates

• School will be closed on Friday, 4th June & Monday, 7th June (extended Bank Holiday Weekend)
• End of Year Reports – End of Year Reports are scheduled to be published on Aladdin on Monday, 14th June. 
• Summer closing – Friday, 25th June at 12 Noon.

Thank you very much for your continued cooperation and support.

Wishing you and your family the very best.

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Diarmaid