St Declans N.S.
Homepage Office News About St Declans N.S. Sports News Who was St Declan? History of St Declans N.S. Class Work Special Events School Archives	General School Rules, Services and Procedures Punctuality It’s important to note that all boys should be ready to line up when the bell goes each morning at 8:50am. All external doors are locked by 9:00am. After that time, entrance into the school is through the main front door only. Punctuality is important and parents are asked to be conscious of the impact and disruption caused by being regularly late. Property Lost property is an on-going issue that could be easily addressed. Books, jumpers, tracksuits, coats etc. are all much easier to return when a name can be found on them. Please check that your son’s name is on all such items. Mobile phones which are brought to school should be left in the boy’s schoolbag and are to be turned off at all times. Mobile phones are to be used only outside of the school grounds. Confiscated phones can only be collected by a parent. Entering and Leaving the school There is one entrance to the school for the pupils and all pupils must use this entrance. This is up the slope leading to the Junior Yard. If you are visiting the school during the day you are asked to report to the secretary’s office before proceeding to the classroom. Parents are reminded that no boy is allowed to walk on the walls of the school at any time. For health & safety reasons it is very important that all boys are collected on time each day and that no child is left regularly waiting for long periods of time at the end of the school day. Please note that school begins at 8:50am each morning and finishes each day at 2:30pm. The Board of Management of St Declans does not take responsibility for children outside of these official opening and closing times. Absences A written explanation is required when a child is absent from school. If possible all medical and dental appointments etc. should be made outside of school hours. If, for any reason a child must leave the school during school hours he must be collected from his classroom. Once again, please report to the office before proceeding to the classroom. In accordance with the Educational Welfare Act, we are obliged to inform the Educational Welfare Officer when a child is absent for 20 days or more during the school year. This is a legal obligation whether covering notes of explanation have been provided or not. It is school policy to inform parents when a pupil has missed 15 days. Dogs Dogs are not allowed on school grounds. Homework It is the duty of parents to ensure that the child gives homework due time and effort. The class teacher will advise on which copies etc. need to be signed. Uniform All pupils should wear the proper school uniform each day. The school uniform consists of a maroon jumper with the St Declans crest, maroon and gold tie {both available at Gregorys Menswear, Patrick Street} grey shirt and grey pants. Black shoes and not runners of any kind must be worn with the uniform. Navy “decks”or brown shoes are not part of the school uniform. The school tracksuit consists of a tracksuit and polo shirt {available at K Sport Unit 614, Northern Industrial Estate} and suitable runners for PE. Boys can wear their school tracksuit to school on PE days or on swimming day or as directed by the class teacher. Parent-Teacher Meetings All teachers will meet with the parents on an individual basis at the Annual Parent-Teacher meetings. The dates for these meetings will appear on the school calendar. Further details will follow closer to the date. Parents who wish to meet a teacher or the Principal at any other time should do so by making an appointment through the school secretary. Any early morning conversations should be kept to the minimum and should not delay the teacher from supervising his/her classroom properly. Lunches You are encouraged to give your child a well-balanced and healthy lunch each day. Fizzy drinks are not allowed and are to be replaced with milk, water, juice etc. Chewing Gum Chewing gum is not to be brought into school under any circumstance Rainbows Rainbows is available for boys from 1^st to 6^th class. Rainbows is a support programme suitable for children who have experienced death, divorce separation or any painful transition in their family. The programme is presented to groups of 3 or 4 children during the school day for a period of 12 weeks by trained facilitators. Rainbows is a different kind of helping. It is not counselling or therapy but it can be therapeutic in its results. Information on this programme will be provided during the school year. School Counsellor. A counselling / support service for parents and guardians is available through the school. Further information on this service can be found under Office Latest News on this website or by contacting the school directly. School Home Communications Please ensure that you check your child’s bag on a regular basis for school notes or check our school website – www.stdeclansns.com for up to date information. Our new text a parent service has been a great success since it was introduced in Sept 2010. This has allowed faster and more efficient home school communication especially in emergency situations. This year once your son is enrolled in the school you will be automatically entered onto the Text a Parent System. Internet It is very important that all parents are aware of how their children are using the internet, both on the home computer and on mobile phones – especially in relation to social networking sites like, Facebook, Twitter, U Tube etc. We strongly encourage all parents to be proactive in this area - to monitor websites visited and frequently ask about messages sent and received {on MSN, X Box etc}. Active parental vigilance can go a long way to reduce the hurt caused by cowardly offensive behaviour on the internet.