St. Oliver Plunkett N.S.

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Pupils,

It is a real pleasure to welcome everyone back to St. Oliver Plunkett N.S. for the start of a brand new school year. I hope you all enjoyed a restful summer and that the students are ready for the exciting months of learning and fun ahead.

A very special welcome goes to our 12 new Junior Infants who began their school journey with us last week. It is always a joy to see their excitement and curiosity as they settle into 'big school' for the first time.

We are also delighted to welcome Daryl to 5th Class, who has joined us all the way from South Africa. We wish him every success and happiness as he becomes part of our school community.

We also warmly welcome back our wonderful, dedicated staff, whose hard work and enthusiasm are at the heart of all we do here at St. Oliver Plunkett N.S. A special welcome to two new members of our teaching team; Mrs. Úna Loughrey and Ms. Rachel McNally. We are thrilled to have them on board and know they will be a fantastic addition to our school.

As always, I look forward to working with you, the parents and guardians, to ensure that every child in our care feels safe, supported, and encouraged to reach their full potential.

Wishing you all a happy and successful year ahead.

Le gach dea-ghuí,
Ian Corbett

We are delighted to share details of two upcoming National Parents Council (NPC) sessions for parents and guardians of St. Oliver Plunkett N.S., facilitated by Mrs. Deirdre Johnson.

Session 1: Online Information Evening

📅 Tuesday, 17th September at 7.30pm
This session will focus on parental involvement in children’s education, and the role of the Parents’ Association in supporting our school community. Open to all parents and guardians.
🔗 A Zoom link will be shared in the coming days.

Session 2: In-Person Training

📅 Date to be confirmed after Session 1
This session, held in school, will be tailored to the needs of our Parents’ Association committee, providing training on committee roles and exploring ways parents can support learning at home and in school.

We are very fortunate to have Deirdre working with our school community and look forward to strong parent participation.

The school opens to receive pupils from 9.10am, with class beginning at 9.20am.

For safety reasons, please note that the school cannot accept responsibility for pupils arriving before 9.10am, and we kindly ask that children do not line up at the side doors before this time.

We ask that all pupils are in school by 9.20am so that we can begin our school day together in a calm and settled way.

Junior & Senior Infants finish at 2.00pm. All other classes finish at 3.00pm.

The Junior Infant day will finish at 2.00pm from September 8th.

We kindly remind parents to be on time for collection so that children can leave school safely and without worry. If, on occasion, you are delayed, please let the school know as soon as possible so that we can reassure your child.

At St. Oliver Plunkett N.S., we believe good communication is essential for building strong home–school links. There are several ways to stay connected with us throughout the year:

🌐 School Website: www.killinans.com – currently under renovation

📧 School Emails: If you are not receiving school emails, please let the office know so we can update our system.

📱 Aladdin Connect: Please download the Aladdin Connect app if you have not already done so, as this is our primary platform for school communication.

👩‍🏫 Parent–Teacher Meetings: These will be held in November.

📝 School Reports: Written reports will be issued at the end of the school year.

For direct contact, staff can be reached at the following email addresses:

Mrs. Ruth O’Sullivan: mrsosullivan@killinans.com

Mrs. Bridget Usher: mrsusher@killinans.com

Mrs. Úna Loughrey: mrsloughrey@killinans.com
Ms. Rachel McNally: msmcnally@killinans.com
Mr. Ian Corbett: mrcorbett@killinsns.com

School Office: office@killinans.com

Please remember to clearly label all items of school clothing, especially jumpers and jackets.

This simple step makes it much easier to return lost items to their owners and helps us greatly in reducing the amount of clothing that ends up in the Lost and Found box each year.

Thank you for your support with this.

We currently have a large number of school uniforms in our Lost and Found, in a variety of sizes. These will be sorted by size.

Parents are very welcome to call into the school after 3pm from next Monday, September 8th, and take what they need.

We also have a number of jackets in our Lost and Found. If your child is missing a jacket from last year, there’s a good chance it may be here. Please feel free to pop in and have a look.

All uniforms and jackets will be available to view in the 5th & 6th Class room after 3pm. You can enter through the side door (where the senior class exits each afternoon).

Before the summer break, we shared the St. Oliver Plunkett N.S. School Calendar with all families.

For your convenience, the calendar is also available on our school website, where you can keep track of all the important dates throughout the year.

We encourage students to wear their school tracksuit and runners on their designated P.E. days.

• Junior & Senior Infants: Tuesday & Thursday

• 1st & 2nd Class: Monday & Wednesday

• 3rd & 4th Class: Tuesday & Thursday

• 5th & 6th Class: Wednesday & Friday

As some of our P.E. lessons will take place outdoors, we kindly ask that children bring a coat on these days, especially during the colder months. On wetter days, it may also be helpful for pupils to have an extra pair of runners and/or socks for outdoor activities, so they can change back into dry shoes afterwards.

Thank you for ensuring that pupils are properly dressed and ready to take part in their P.E. lessons.

A reminder that St. Oliver Plunkett N.S. is a completely nut-free school. For the safety of all our pupils, please ensure that your child’s lunch does not contain nuts or any products that may have traces of nuts.

We greatly appreciate your cooperation in helping us keep our school environment safe for every child.

We kindly ask parents and guardians to ensure that any snack your child brings for small break is a healthy option.

🍎 Monday–Thursday: Treats are not permitted in school lunch boxes.
🍪 Friday: Children may bring a small treat (for example, a mini bar or a biscuit).
🥤 Drinks: Please note that fizzy drinks are not allowed at any time.

Thank you for supporting our Healthy Eating Policy and helping us to promote healthy habits for all children in our school.

We are delighted that all pupils in St. Oliver Plunkett N.S. will continue to receive a free hot lunch every school day through the Lunch Bag.

• Orders must be placed on the Lunch Bag app at least 48 hours in advance.

• We encourage families to select lunches for the full week each Friday.

• Please ensure your child brings their Lunch Bag box each day to take their lunch home.

More information and the Hot Lunch Menu are available on the Lunch Bag website.

A reminder that the school fee of €60 per child is now due. This contribution helps us provide art materials, subject resources, photocopying, laminating, and other essentials throughout the year.

Payments can be made easily through the Aladdin Connect App.

Thank you to the many families who have already paid; your support makes a real difference to the learning experiences we can offer the children.

Please make sure that the school has your most up-to-date phone numbers and address. Parents can update this information quickly and easily through the Aladdin Connect app.

Having accurate contact details is very important so that:

• You continue to receive all school notices and updates

• We can reach you immediately in the event of an emergency
  
  

Thank you for helping us keep communication clear and reliable.

We are delighted to announce that Music Generation will continue in St. Oliver Plunkett N.S. again this year!

• 3rd & 4th Class will have the opportunity to learn the ukulele

• 5th & 6th Class will now be learning the guitar

This move to guitar is a natural progression from the ukulele, allowing pupils to build on the skills they have already developed while exploring a new instrument.

Music Generation is always a highlight for our pupils, giving them the chance to grow in confidence, develop their creativity, and enjoy making music together. We are really looking forward to another fantastic year of music-making in Killina N.S.!

At this time of year, cases of head lice often increase in schools. To help prevent outbreaks, we ask all families to regularly check and treat children’s hair as needed.

We also appreciate the support of families who ensure long hair is tied up for school — plaits, buns, and hair bands can help reduce the spread of lice.

With everyone’s cooperation, we can greatly reduce the spread of head lice in our school. Thank you for your support.

At St. Oliver Plunkett N.S., we have a zero tolerance approach to bullying. Our aim is to ensure every child feels safe, welcomed, and respected.

We ask parents to help us by monitoring children’s social activity, especially on social media and online games.

While schools are not expected to manage incidents that occur outside of school hours, under the Bí Cineálta procedures we must act where outside behaviour impacts school life. This may include bullying in the community, on the journey to and from school, in clubs, or online.

Online bullying is of particular concern, as it can happen anytime, spread quickly, and cause lasting harm.

By working together between home and school, we can support children to make safe, kind, and positive choices.