Dear Parents/Carers
Enrolment for Primary One, September 2023
The Education Authority’s online application procedure for admission to Primary 1 in September 2023, opened on Tuesday 10 January 2023.The closing date/time to apply to St Joseph’s, or any primary school, is 12.00 noon on Friday, 27 January 2023. More details are available from the Education Authority at the following link: https://www.eani.org.uk/parents/admissions/primary-admissions-guide
After-School Clubs
The new block of after-school clubs has now begun and will last for 4 weeks, concluding Friday 10 February.
Invite to P1 and P2 Grandparents
After a gap of 3 years, we are delighted to welcome grandparents of Primary 1 & 2 pupils into St Joseph’s on Wednesday 25 January at 10:00, as part of our celebrations for Catholic Schools' Week. Refreshments and entertainment in the school hall will be followed by the opportunity for grandparents to visit their grandchildren in their class.
Industrial Action
You will be aware that all the teaching unions are now engaging in industrial action short of strike. Whilst the unions have collectively tried to minimise the direct impact on children and young people, this is undoubtably having an impact on the ability of St Joseph’s to maintain all our usual provisions. I will continue to keep you informed of any developments.
Transfer Meeting (P7 parents)
A meeting for P7 parents will be held in the school hall on Wednesday 1 February at 09:15, to discuss the application procedure for admission to a post-primary school place. This will be particularly useful for those parents that are new to the process.
Guidelines and Acceptable Use of Seesaw
I would like to remind you of specific guidelines from our Seesaw Policy, which should be adhered to by teachers and parents.
- Teachers will only reply to ‘messages’ through the Family App within office hours of 8.30am to 4.15pm and will do so at their earliest convenience.
- Teachers will only reply to messages during the normal school week (Monday – Friday).
- All communication should be professional and related to school matters.
Please be mindful of this when communicating with teachers. We are currently in the process of reviewing this policy and will provide you with an update later this term.
The School Day
A reminder that the drop-off and pickup arrangements for the school are as follows:
- All classes will arrive between 08:45 and 09:00.
- To ease the flow of traffic around the school, we are requesting that P3 - P7 pupils are dropped off at their normal school entrance gate, where they will make their way directly to class.
- Any children arriving late (i.e., after 09:00) should proceed to the office, using the Holland Drive entrance to the school.
- When collecting your children, do not enter the school grounds before the following times, unless otherwise agreed by the class teacher:
- 14:00 (P1 – 3) and 15:00 (P4 – 7) from Monday – Thursday
- 13:45(P1 – 3) and 14:00 (P4 – 7) every Friday.
Sacraments
This term the following sacraments will be celebrated:
- Confirmation for P7A and P7B on Tuesday 7 March at 16:00 in St Colmcille's.
- First Confession for P3A and P3B on Tuesday 29 March at 13:00 in St Colmcille's.
Road Safety
Please heed the advice given to us by the PSNI in relation to parking around the school.
Do not
- park outside or opposite school gates.
- park on pavements.
- park across resident’s driveways, entrances or dropped kerbs.
- obstruct the school crossing patrol.
- park opposite or within 15m of a junction.
Always
- keep your speed down and drive carefully past schools as pupils leave.
- respect those who live close to the school.
- leave the middle of the road free, with enough room for others to easily pass through.
- check for pedestrians and cyclists before opening a vehicle door.
- ensure your child leaves and enters your vehicle onto the pavement.
- cross any road with extreme care and attention.
- take care when reversing.
- ensure you and your passenger(s) wear seatbelts.
Kind regards
Mr Donaldson