Welcome Back

2025/26 School Year Here We Come!

We cannot wait to see all of our students and parents on Friday and are looking forward to welcoming new families to our school community this year! .

🌞

I hope you all had a chance to relax, recharge or at least do something that brought you a little joy this summer.

I'm so excited for this new school year. So let's trade beach bags for backpacks and get stuck into the 2025/26 school year!

Below are a few updates and reminders of things that might be helpful in the coming weeks!

Welcome to our new families

We're delighted to welcome lots of new families to our school community. Please reach out if you need anything. We have lots of wonderful parents who I know will be faster at answering your questions than us here in the office 😅. We will contact PGA class reps to get you connected with your class groups.

Start & Finish Times

School begins on Friday 29th August at 8.30am

New Junior Infants finish at 11.30am on Friday 29th and finish at 12pm there after until the 15th September when they will resume their normal finish time of 1.10pm.

Afterschool will begin on Friday for all classes except infants.

Clubs will not begin until the 15th September at the earliest. Information regarding clubs will follow in the coming weeks.

Mobility Plan

The ESB are making our connection this week and we can expect some disruptions to the Connolly Road Entrance. Some of the footpath is inaccessible, however the top gate is accessible as is the lower gate. Be mindful it will have some barriers which may mean that there is less room for parking. Best options are to park and stride until after Tuesday when we expect it to return to normal.

A reminder of our mobility Plan.

Top Gate is open for pedestrians and cyclists or if this gate is more convenient to you. If dropping, please be mindful of our neighbours, do not block driveways and exit via Pouladuff Road.
Vehicles can enter via Connolly Road entrance and drop children at lower school gates but please do not park, reverse and turn. For safety; a One Way System is in place - vehicles must exit past the Creche onto Tramore Road.
You may park briefly in the lower car park and walk your child up if this is more convenient for you.

The Lunch Bag

New Junior Infants will receive their code for The Lunch Bag app on the first day of school. Please check your child's bag for the flier and the reusable lunchbox that must come into school empty each day and will transport the hot lunch home so you can see what the children have eaten. Please note that only one parent can use the code - so choose wisely 😉

Hot Lunches will NOT begin for Junior Infants until the 15th September as they are on a reduced day until then so please ensure they have an adequate snack.

New Families:

You should have received a code for The Lunch Bag by now, if you have not received it please contact office@sletns.ie

Water

We have finally been connected to mains water. No more water fills or running out! This is a huge milestone for our school!

ESB

The ESB connection is being made on the 27th & 28th August.

his marks the final big hurdle in our construction journey. In the coming weeks, electricians will return to complete the final connections. As part of this process, our broadband will also be connected across the school. While we anticipate only minor disruptions, there may be short periods when our ability to send or receive emails is affected. We will keep you informed in advance if this occurs.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we take this last important step towards completing our building works.

Outdoor Soft Play

We are delighted to share that the Department will be installing an outdoor soft play area in one of our yards during the October Mid-Term Break. This exciting addition will feature a solid nest swing, which we know will be a big hit with many of our children!

Thanks to your incredible support and generosity during our Readathon, we are also exploring further ways to make our yard spaces more engaging and enjoyable. The children will play an important role in shaping these ideas, as we gather their input on how best to create fun, inclusive spaces for everyone. Watch this space for updates!

Permanent School Building

We are thrilled to update you on the progress of our permanent school building. Over the summer, we enjoyed a wonderful period of consultation with our architectural team, who have listened closely to our vision and values. Together, we are shaping a design that connects beautifully with nature and the nearby greenway, while creating innovative and inspiring learning spaces for all our pupils. Just as importantly, the plans place strong emphasis on safety, sustainability, and respect for our neighbours, ensuring that our school continues to grow as a vibrant hub at the heart of the community. We are so excited to see this vision take shape and to share each step of the journey with you.

We're delighted to welcome back our school staff. There are lots of familiar faces this year!

Junior Infants: Ciara
Senior Infants: Tracey
First Class: Meadhbh
Second Class: Ali
Third Class: Donna covering Caitriona & Grace who will be job-sharing after the October Mid Term Break. Donna was with us for a number of months last year. We are delighted to have her back with us again.
Fourth Class: Labhaoise
Fifth Class: Ted
Marian's Class
Aoife's Class
Teachers Supporting Additional Educational Needs & EAL this year are: Clara, Hannah & Brian
ANA's: Evelyn/Abbie (jobshare), Tara, Tanya, Sue, Emma D, Emma Mc, Bill and Elna

Parent–Teacher Meetings and Communication

Teachers will be in touch to invite you to a parent meeting during the week starting 8th September. These meetings will cover areas such as PE, homework, and other class routines.

Please note that we do not set homework in September or June, and we remind families that homework is always optional and should never be a struggle. Meetings for children receiving additional supports will take place later in September, and you will be contacted separately about these.

For communication:

All emails to teachers should be sent through the school office, and we will ensure they are passed on to the relevant teacher.
If you wish to speak with a teacher, please make an appointment through the office. This helps us to keep our primary focus during school hours on the children in our care.
To avoid disruption, impromptu meetings or requests to speak to a teacher without an appointment cannot be facilitated.

We greatly value open communication and encourage you to get in touch whenever needed - we just ask that it is arranged through the office so we can give you the time and attention your query deserves.

Whole School Events Calendar

Once finalised at our staff meeting; we will be sharing a more detailed school events calendar with you shortly so you can see what events are planned for the school year. We hope this will help to keep you in the loop about what is going to be happening this year!

Parents & Guardians Association - PGA

We are very fortunate here at South Lee to have a wonderful Parent Guardian Association (PGA).

Our PGA plays an important role in supporting the life of our school, from organising community building events and fundraising, to building connections and helping our school community grow and flourish.

Being part of the PGA is a fantastic way to meet other parents, share ideas, and make a real difference in the experiences of our children. The time commitment can be as little or as much as you are able to give, perhaps you can take on a role on the committee or would like to volunteer as a class rep - every contribution, big or small, is valued and appreciated, we know how busy you all are!

If you are interested in getting involved, we would love to hear from you! Please keep an eye out for details of the annual AGM, usually held at the beginning of the school year. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn more and see how you might like to participate.