1ú Marta 2024
Dear Parents, Guardians,
I hope you are all well. The recent change in the weather was not expected but hopefully it will not cause too much disruption.
I wish to bring the following to your attention:
Future School Closures.
In addition to the closures that were outlined in our Year Planner we will also be closed on the following dates:
Friday 8th March-Voting in the referendums.
Thursday 16th May-Training in New Maths Curriculum. This is a Department of Education directive.
Monday 20th May.We are closed for a half-day for training in the new Language Curriculum. (Department directive also.)
Seachtain na Gaeilge.
Our annual Seachtain na Gaeilge will commence on Monday 4th of March up until Friday 15th of March. We bring our culture to life in a more celebratory way during this period with events like a Ceilí, Raidió Naomh Fhearghail, and an Assembly (tionól).
Tesco Donation.
Our school wishes to say a huge thank you to our local Tesco. They donated 974 euro to us . This will be used to purchase various types of equipment for the school.
Cake-Sale.
Our wonderful Parents Association organised a magnificent Cake-Sale on Tuesday 13th March. It was a truly lovely occasion that created a lovely sense of community and support. Thank you to our Parents Association and to all the parents and children who supported us in so many creative and meaningful ways. The proceeds came to 1,750 euro. Many, many thanks to you all.
Kind Regards.
Tom Sargent-Principal.
23u Nollaig 2023
Dear Parents/Guardians and all members of the school community,
I hope you are well.
It has been an extremely busy time of late with events including; assemblies, Christmas Raffle, opening ceremony for our new special class-ASD Unit, Carol Service etc.I would like to thank everyone who played a part in making all of these such a fabulous success.
On behalf of everyone in St Fergal's, I would like to wish you all a happy and peaceful Christmas. Nollaig Shona daoibh go léir.
8ú Meán Fómhair 2023
Dear Parents/Guardians,
May I commence by welcoming you all back after our summer holidays, I hope you all had an enjoyable and safe summer.
I wish to bring the following to your attention:
School Dinners.
Hot school dinners were introduced on our return to school. Most of the children partake in the scheme and overall the feedback has been positive. It is however, very important that you ensure that your child(ren) avail of the great variety that is at their disposal so therefore, please make sure that you support/monitor them as the order for each individual week is placed. The default menu is chicken curry and if a child is eating that every day they will soon tire of the whole thing. Also, if your child is not availing of the scheme please ensure that what they bring to school conforms to our healthy eating policy-no fizzy drinks, energy drinks, popcorn, crisps, chewing gum, sweets/lollipops, fruit winders, bars, chocolate croissants, doughnuts etc, chocolate (including spreads and biscuits.)
Nuts are banned in school due to allergies as well as nut based products.
Special Class-ASD Unit.
I am delighted to report that after a lot of hiccups our ASD Units are ready to go. They will be in use from Monday next 11th September and I intend holding an official opening ceremony quite soon.
Medical Information Forms
These were recently sent out to you all so please complete and return them as soon as possible. It is vital that we have up to date information about these issues and if your child requires an epipen, anapen, inhaler etc please ensure that they are provided with one that has not reached its expiry date.
Covid.
Unfortunately this has revisited us quite strongly. We are taking measures within the school to safeguard against it spreading and we have sent some guidelines to you all. By working together hopefully we can successfully overcome this problem.
Thank you for your attention in these matters.
Kind Regards.
Tom Sargent-Principal.
1ú Iúil, 2023
Dear Parents/Guardians,
It is hard to believe that another school year has finished. I wish to bring a few points of information to your attention.
Special Class-ASD Unit.
Yet again there has been an additional dispute between the Department and the builders over additional costs. As recently as this morning I was in contact with both parties and I'm quite hopeful that it can be resolved. However, what I'm not certain of at this juncture is the fact that the reconfiguration works will be finished on time. If they are not, we will use some existing rooms in the school on a provisional basis until the works are complete.
Staffing/Interviews.
As you are all aware I have not allocated teachers to all class levels yet. It is proving particularly challenging at the moment. I also have some more interviews to carry out later in the summer and as soon as I have everything sorted I will communicate with you all and let you know what teacher your child will be having next year.
Sixth Class Graduation.
We held a lovely graduation event for our sixth class students on Tuesday 27th June in our Junior PE Hall. It was a fantastic occasion. We wish our leavers every success and happiness as they continue on their educational journey. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to get the children to this stage and thank you to our Parents Association for putting together a fabulous Year Book.
Farewell to Mr O'Brien.
On Tuesday 27th June we held a special assembly to say goodbye and thank you to Mr O'Brien for forty years of outstanding service to the entire school community. In the classroom and in the community, mainly through his involvement in Gaelic Games and for a period as a Councillor, Mr O'Brien displayed a kindness, a compassion and a willingness to lend a helping hand, above and beyond the call of duty. In the classroom his approach was that pupils constructed their understanding of what they were doing and of the world around them, through direct experience. Ní bheidh a leitheid arís ann. Míle buíochas Mr O'Brien.
Thank You.
May I conclude, on behalf of the Board of Management, all of the staff and myself, by thanking you all for your wonderful support and cooperation towards our school. I hope you all have a safe and very enjoyable summer and hopefully we will see you all when school reopens on Wednesday 30th August.
Kind Regards.
Tom Sargent-Principal.
3ú Aibreán, 2023
Dear Parents/ Guardians,
I hope you are all well! The weeks have flown by since we came back after Christmas. We have had a very busy and eventful term. We had a wonderful and very successful Cake-Sale, we have had great success in Gealic Games and yesterday we had our annual school quiz. We also had some lovely assemblies during the term. There is undoubtedly great talent within St Fergal's.
However, the one dark cloud at the moment has been the hold up with regard to our Special Class-ASD Unit. There is a dispute between the Department and the builder over the cost of certain items. I am holding a meeting later today and possibly more meetings next week to try to resolve this. I will keep you informed.
For the time being from all at St Fergal's, we wish you all a very happy and enjoyable Easter. Please have a look at some pictures below of the wonderful things that happened this term.
Kind Regards.
Tom Sargent-Principal.
10ú Feabhra 2023
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are all well! We are into that beautiful time of year when new life abounds and our "hearts with pleasure fill and dance with the daffodils".
I want to bring some recent developments in St Fergal's to your attention.
Special Class-ASD Unit.
Work will commence on this project on Monday next 13th February in the Senior Building. The more destructive parts (knocking walls etc) will be done next week while the school is closed for half-term. I would imagine that it will be close to Easter before the complete reconfiguration works are completed. A small section of the present 5th class yard will be fenced off for the duration of these works in order to provide a safe compound for the builders to work in.
Peace Proms.
Our 5th class children took part in this on Saturday last in the RDS. There were around 150 schools in total participating in this cross-border peace initiative. The children were fabulous and represented us all so well. Well done to them and a huge thank you to our 5th class teachers, Ms Gleeson, Ms Roche and Mr Reilly who put so much hard work into it and also to the other members of staff who helped on the day. Thank you so much to all you parents who attended to gave your support.
Laura Lynn Clothes Collection.
Thanks to all of you who supported this very worthy charity over the Christmas period. We collected close on 130 euro.
Assembly-St Brigid's Day.
We had a beautiful assembly on Friday last on this theme. During the assembly our 4th class girls were presented with medals for their victory in a recent camogie blitz. We are also doing Be-Well Month at the moment and the children at all class levels did a picture based on this theme. There was 21 prizes in total given out for this.
Cake Sale.
We had a very successful cake sale today. Many, many thanks to you all who contributed in so many different ways and especially to all the volunteers who gave of their time on the day. It was fabulous to experience the tangible atmosphere of excitement and cooperation around the school and we raised €1685.
Half Term
We close today until Monday 20th February. Again, thank you all for your cooperation and support of our school. From all at St Fergal's we wish you a safe, relaxing and enjoyable break.
Kind Regards.
Tom Sargent-Principal.
21ú Nollaig 2022
Dear Parents/Guardians,
The first term seems to have flown by and here we are on the brink of our Christmas Holidays. It has been extremely busy in St Fergal's over the last few weeks and I would like give you an update on some of the developments and events.
Special Class-ASD-Unit.
A meeting took place with the consultant and builder and the reconfiguration work is scheduled to start on Monday 13th February-the week of our February Half-Term. There will have to be some careful planning done around arrangements in the Senior Building while this is going on and you will be informed about these closer to the time
Winter Mornings.
I mentioned this topic in my most recent message and I would again ask that if the weather is very bad of a particular morning that you would provide your child with a change of clothing if you feel it is necessary.
Recent Events in the school.
We had our Art For All Day at the end of November and within the last 2 weeks we have had Christmas plays and songs for all classes from Early Start to 6th Class. These, without exception were hugely enjoyable and successful. Thanks again to all members of staff who worked so hard to make this possible, thanks again to Father Jimmy and the parish team and to all of you parents who cooperated so well with us and supported us and your children in such a wonderful way. Thank you all for your generosity in sending in food for the Five Loaves Collection. It was hugely appreciated and will go a long way towards helping those less fortunate than us!. Also, a huge well done to all of the children who took part-they were the real stars of the show, they were really marvellous.
We also held and art competition to make decorations for our Christmas Trees, the imagination and creativity of the children's work is simply stunning.
Christmas Wish.
I would like to conclude by thanking you all for your continued support and cooperation and by wishing you all a safe, happy and peaceful Christmas on behalf of all the staff at St Fergal's National School. Nollaig Shona daoibh go leir.
Tom Sargent, Principal.
11ú Samhain 2022
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope that you all had an enjoyable and safe Halloween Break. We have a very bust few weeks coming up in St Fergal's. I would like to bring the following items to your attention.
ASD Class-As I mentioned in my last correspondence this is up and running in a provisional setting since Monday last 7th November. Further good news arrived earlier this week as we received approval from the Department for the Reconfiguration works to proceed and the required grant was also approved. A meeting will soon be held with the Consultants and the Builder to plan the safe commencement of the works.
Parent/Teacher Meetings.-As there are big numbers in many classes some of these are going on at the moment. However, the designated day is Thursday next 17th November and therefore, in line with official guidelines school will finish at 2.15pm.
Winter Mornings. These have inevitably arrived and with them cold, wet, unpredictable weather. Could I please ask of you to use your discretion and judgement and to provide your child with a suitable change of clothes on the really bad mornings. We generally open the school gates as it approaches 08:50 but will do so at 08:45 on these mornings.
Christmas Events. That magical time of the year will soon be upon us and Fr Jimmy has kindly offered us the use of the Church again for our performances. We will let you know as soon as we have them all planned of the relevant dates and times.
Art For All Day. This will take place on Friday 25th of November. It is always such an exciting day in our school and we are really looking forward to it.
BDAF Art Competition. This very worthwhile competition is run annually and the children in our senior classes always partake with tremendous enthusiasm and application, Well done to all the children who took part. This year we had 3 winners from our school who were presented with their prizes at a ceremony in the Little Flower Hall on Tuesday last. Also, for the third occasion, we had the overall winner from over 600 entries. This is a fantastic achievement and again congratulations are very much in order. ( See photograph below)
Kind Regards.
Tom Sargent-Principal.
28ú Deireadh Fómhair, 2022
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I sincerely hope that you are all well and looking forward to the Halloween Break! I wish to bring the following information to your attention.
ASD Class.
We will be opening this on Monday 7th November in a temporary setting. We are still waiting on the Department to give the final approval for funding and when that arrives we can undertake more comprehensive reconfiguration works and get the permanent structure in place. Ms A Thorp and Zoe will be the staff.
HSCL Position.
Ms King will take over in this role on Monday 21st November until Ms Stewart returns.
Taking children out during school time.
We totally understand that there are occasions when a child has to be taken out during school hours. However, we ask that you please notify your class teacher in advance if at all possible.
Halloween Assembly.
We had a hugely enjoyable Halloween Assembly this morning. The children looked amazing and thank you so much for your cooperation with this. Halloween is a really ancient festival that marked the transition from warm summer days to the long dark days of winter. Let us hope that winter is kind to us. In the meantime, on behalf of all at St Fergal's N.S thank you for your ongoing cooperation and support and have a safe and enjoyable Halloween
Kind Regards.
Tom Sargent-Principal.
16ú Márta 2022
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are all safe and well! We have been extremely busy of late and I would like to bring your attention to a few of the events that have happened recently.
First Confessions & Service of Light
The First Confessions took place on Monday 7th and Wednesday 9th of March for Ms Gray's and Mr Creamer's classes. Well done to all the children involved and to the two teachers who did a great job in preparing the children. Then, last night, Tuesday 15th , we had the Service of Light for Ms Scanlon's, Ms Connolly's and Ms Donnelly's sixth classes. Again very well done to the children involved and to the teachers for doing a wonderful job-a special word of thanks to Ms Scanlon,to the wonderful Gospel Choir and to Fr. Jimmy.
Fundraisers.
We have held two very successful fundraisers recently; on World Book Day-Thursday 3rd March for the Parents Association and on Monday 14th March for our annual school quiz.
Parent/ Teacher Meetings.
The vast majority of these were held in February, mainly by phone.
Assemblies.
We held a ZOOM assembly on Friday 18th February and we will hold a "live" one this morning in the junior playground, This will be the first of these we have had for two years.
The development with regard to the assemblies is very welcome but please continue to be very vigilant with regard to Covid and please cooperate with the advice and directives we have been given.
Thank You.
All of the above mentioned events would not have been possible without your continued and wonderful support . May I,on my own behalf and on behalf of all in St Fergal's National School ,thank you all sincerely for this and wish you all a very enjoyable, safe and happy St Patrick's Festival. Beannachtaí na Féile Padraig oraibh go leir.
Tom Sargent-Principal.
22nd December 2021
Christmas Thoughts
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Seasons greetings to you all. I hope you are all safe and well and looking forward to this magical time of the year.
I wish in some way that you all could be transported into the school and see how beautiful it is at the moment thanks to the diligence and creativity of your children. The artwork is absolutely stunning and the imagination they have displayed in making some of our Christmas tree decorations is just fantastic. I hope that you will also find time to see the various Christmas performances which will be available on class-dojo. At this time of year when we remember the birth of baby Jesus it really hits home what a treasure these children are; we should all be proud of them and celebrate their achievements.
It has been a very challenging few weeks but thanks to the understanding and cooperation of the entire school community, we have got through. Thank you all so much. You will have noticed that many children will have brought home some essential school material earlier this week as a precaution. We all sincerely hope that is all it is and that we see you all back again on Thursday 6th January 2022. You will be kept informed of developments.
May I conclude, on behalf of all at St Fergal's, by wishing you and your families, a safe and happy Christmas and a much brighter 2022.
Kind Regards.
Tom Sargent-Principal.
17th November 2022
Dear Parents/ Guardians,
I hope you and your families are keeping safe and well during these very challenging times.
Unfortunately, my message is dominated by the theme of Covid-19. It is regrettably yet again rampant in the community. I would like to bring the following points to your attention.
School Covid Inspection. Our school, like many more, was subjected to a rigorous Covid inspection by an inspector from the Department Of Education in June of this year. We satisfied all of the criteria in all areas of inspection and received the final welcome report this Autumn. Therefore, the school setting is a safe environment and furthermore we meet regularly to ensure that our high standards are maintained.
Notification to parents. If there is a case(s) of Covid in the class your child attends you will receive notification of this and the number of cases as and when necessary.
Procedures in the school environs. We have always praised and thanked you all for your wonderful spirit of cooperation and flexibility throughout this crisis and continue to do so. However, I have to relate that we have dropped our guard with regard to the wearing of facial coverings on the school grounds and I implore you all to give us your full cooperation with regard to this issue again. Please.
Safe Procedures. I totally understand how difficult it is to keep your child at home when you have work and other commitments. However, I again plead with you to do so if your child is feeling in any way unwell for at least 48 hours and to monitor developments. Below is a link with advice for procedures for children 3 months to 13 years. Please read care…
Kind Regards.
Tom Sargent-Principal
22 October 2021
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are all well and keeping safe from the continued blight of Covid 19.
We have arrived at the Halloween Break and thank goodness we have got through the opening few months of the new school year without too much disruption. This is because, as I've stated on several occasions in the past, of the understanding, flexibility and cooperation of the entire school community-thank you all so much.
The following are some points of information that I would like to bring to your attention.
Halloween Assembly/Halloween Safety.
We held a most enjoyable Assembly this morning. The children were overflowing with anticipation and excitement. Their dressing-up was just magnificent and a huge well done to them and their parents. (We will try to attach some images)
Their artwork was a huge part of the assembly as was the emphasis on having an enjoyable and safe Halloween. Therefore please re-affirm the rules about going on Trick or Treat and also about safety around fireworks and bonfires. We had a Garda in earlier this week to talk to the older classes about this.
GAA Activities.
Thank goodness we have this up and running again and our very popular coach Tommy comes into the school on a timetabled basis. There is also Friday and Saturday Nights Under The Lights in the nearby field-thank you Mr O'Brien and your team of helpers for organising this.
Parent/Teacher Meetings.
Similar to last year these will be held after Christmas. We will let you know closer to the time of the precise structure they will take.
Post Halloween.
We return to school on Monday 1st November and I beseech you all to have the Covid Declaration Form filled in. You will get a prompt about this on Sunday 31st October and please, please fill it in . If you cannot access the form will you please write a note informing us that your child has not had contact with any Covid cases and is free of Covid. We are trying our very best to keep the entire school community safe so please continue that spirit of cooperation that has been so evident to date.
Swimming will hopefully commence again after Halloween and you will receive the relevant information letter when it is your child's turn. I need to state that there is very limited viewing available.
Finally, winter is on our doorstep, therefore, if the morning is particularly bad will you please put an appropriate change of clothes in your child's bag.
From all in St Fergal's NS we wish you all a safe and enjoyable Halloween.
Kind Regards.
Tom Sargent-Principal
26th March 2021
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are all well and that this beautiful time of year; a time of renewed hope, of new life, lifts all of your spirits.
Our school closed today at 12 noon for our Easter Holidays and this event prompted me to reflect on what has been a very challenging term since Christmas.
We got through the lockdown period and we reopened successfully in March. These feats were accomplished thanks to the hard work, understanding, flexibility and cooperation of the entire school community. You parents and guardians are a key part of that community and I want to take this opportunity to say a sincere thank you to you all for your support.
We held our Easter Assembly this morning and the main themes were Spring and Easter. Both symbolise new life and new hope. Let us hope that when we return to school on Monday 12th April that, not only will the dark days of winter be well behind us but that also, the dark, oppressive covid clouds will be lifting. Let us hope for brighter days.
Happy Easter to you all.
Rath De oraibh.
Tom Sargent.
5th March 2021
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are all safe and well!
Monday last 1st March was a joyous day for our school as we welcomed back the children in all of the classes from Early Start right up to Second Class. The reopening went very well and it is truly uplifting and fulfilling to have the children back in school again. Let us hope that they will be joined by the remainder of the school on Monday 15th.
A huge thank you to all staff members and to all of you parents for your hard work and cooperation in making this possible.
We are now into March and our national feast day - St Patrick's Day is fast approaching. We place an added emphasis on Irish language and culture at this time so if you can speak any Irish with your child, please do so and encourage them to use the language if at all possible. We are also exploring the possibility of holding some Irish cultural events in the school, if they can be conducted safely. Please support Seachtain na Gaeilge.
Our school garden is starting to bloom and there are signs of Spring everywhere. With the arrival of Spring comes new life and new hope. We hope that with the arrival of the various vaccines and other positive trends that our lives and society in general can bloom and grow again in a safe and productive way.
Rath Dé oraibh go léir.
Tom Sargent.
29th January 2021
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Please click on this link below to see my video to you and all the children in the school.
22nd December 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope that you are all safe and well as we approach this magical time of the year.
Let me commence by again thanking you all for your wonderful spirit of understanding and cooperation that was so in evidence as we successfully went through a very challenging first term. Covid 19 has presented many challenges, but thanks to us all working together we got through it. You will receive a text on the week we are scheduled to come back reminding you of the procedures to follow if there is a Covid related test pending in your family and also on suggested procedures if your child has symptoms that are not due to Covid-19.
We have updated our website with the most up to date advice about travel. It is to be avoided if at all possible, especially given recent developments. However, anyone who travels internationally must restrict their movements for 14 days on arrival into Ireland. Alternatively,travellers may take aPCR test on day 5 after arrival and should continue to restrict their movement until they receive a "not detected" result.Please,please keep the school informed about these issues as in this way we can best ensure the safety of all our school community
Christmas Assembly - We held our Christmas Assembly by means of ZOOM on Friday last 18th December. While these assemblies are not the same as the face to face ones, it was still very enjoyable especially as our former colleague Ms Carroll came to visit. Ms Carroll gave tremendous service to our school for close to 20 years and while we are all sad to lose such a fabulous teacher we wish her well in her new role as Principal.
Christmas in St Fergal's - Many of you would normally have visited the school or, perhaps, the Parish Church around this time to witness your child(ren) perform for Christmas. This could not be done this year so instead, we have put snippets of various events on a "Zoom Package" that will be sent to all of you via class-dojo or maybe email. In it you will see and hopefully enjoy the wonderful range of talents within our school. The production itself bears testimony to the hard work of parents, children and staff and I want to say a particular thank you to Claire Stapleton and our HSCL teacher-Ms Stewart who played a key role in putting it all together.
Christmas-Tree Decorations - Every year we purchase 2 Christmas Trees - one for each building. We encourage the children to make decorations for each tree from recyclable materials using their creativity. The decorations they produced were simply incredible-there is a huge future there for many of them. It was a terribly difficult task trying to judge the most creative ones. Well done to all and thank you all so much for the tremendous work you put into them.
Nollaig Shona - May I conclude by wishing you all a very happy, safe and enjoyable Christmas. Hopefully we will see you all again on Wednesday 6th January. Nollaig Shona daoibh go léir.
Le gach dea-ghui.
Tom Sargent.
20th November 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope this finds you all in good health and in good spirits!
We are back three weeks now since our Halloween Break and so far so good on so many fronts. As always, I want to thank you parents and all the school community for making all this possible. It is as a result of us all working together in a spirit of cooperation, understanding, patience and flexibility that we have been able to reopen our school and keep it open, without disruption, to this point. I am particularly pleased with the level of compliance with regard to the wearing of facial coverings on the school grounds-thank you and please keep it up. As you know, we also changed the window for arrival to school, it is now from 08:50 until 09:00. Please, please, try to have your child in school by 09:00 at the latest. This is so important from an educational and indeed safety point of view.
We would normally hold our yearly Parent/Teacher Meetings at this time of year but because of all the disruption and uncertainty this Autumn we have decided to put them back until late January or possibly early February, we will let you know for definite closer to the time. However, if you are concerned about a particular matter around your child's learning or general welfare, please contact the school and make an appointment to see the relevant teacher. Such matters will be dealt with in a safe and covid compliant way.
We will soon be into Advent and that lovely time of preparation. As part of this preparation we will be doing Art For All Day next Friday 27th (St Fergal’s Day).
Let us hope that we will have something joyful, fulfilling and safe to prepare for.
Regards,
Tom Sargent-Principal.
23rd October 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are all safe and well. We are back over 8 weeks in school at this stage and we are all looking forward to our Halloween break.
I want to thank you all again for your wonderful support and understanding over the last 8 weeks, they were and are difficult and uncertain times and without your support and understanding we just could not get by-thank you all.
We have had to make some adjustments at certain class levels and these will be in place when we return on Monday 2nd November. Also, we had a 20 minute window to allow children to come safely to school in the mornings, 08:50 until 09:10. However, now that everyone is familiar with procedures and having evaluated this we are going to narrow this period for arrival at school, it will now be from 08:50 until 09:00. Punctuality is so important from an educational and security point of view so please ensure that all children are in by 09:00.
We will be into winter time when we return, with darker mornings and probably more congestion on Schools Road, so I would urge as many of you as possible to use the parking facilities in the Church Car Park or the one close to the Community Centre. It would help greatly to prevent chaos on Schools Road.
It is hugely encouraging to see the amount of people wearing face covering on the school grounds and around the general school environs, it makes for a safer environment for all of us and as I stated previously, greatly increases our chances of keeping our school open. Please bear in mind also two key messages that we wish to impress on you; 1. If you or any of your household has a test pending all members of the household must self isolate until the test result is completed and 2. If a GP does not recommend Covid testing and it is early in the child's illness, the recommendation is to observe the child for 48hours and if no further symptoms develop,then they can return to school.
Finally, as we approach Halloween, please be extra careful with regard to the safety of your children this year. We have spoken to them in school about this and I know we can rely on your support with this issue also. We sincerely hope that we will be reopening again on Monday 2nd November and that the government does not decide to extend the period of closure between now and then (the children will bring home essential materials today as a precautionary measure). Until then have a happy and safe Halloween.
Rath De oraibh go leir.Regards.
Tom Sargent.
18th September 2020
Dear Parents/ Guardians,
I hope you are all keeping well and in positive spirits despite the recent negative news about the pandemic. We are 3 weeks back now and overall the children have settled in well. While many of the normal things you associate with school life; play time, homework, after school activities etc are seriously curtailed we are all trying our best in these very difficult times. This is thanks to your support and in no small way to the very hard work and planning on behalf of all the school staff. We will send you a text periodically reminding you of the importance of self isolating if a test is pending until the result of that test is complete. If further action needs to be taken the HSE will be in contact with the school. This has not occurred so far. Also, the Re-Opening Our School Policy is on our website and we regularly update this so please refer to it.
On a positive note, we have been blessed with wonderful weather and this makes the entire school experience much more enjoyable during these times. Thank you, for your understanding and cooperation in the many areas I referred to in my last communication, however, punctuality is slipping in a few instances and I ask that we keep a careful eye on this. Everything has to be very structured at the moment for the safety of the whole school community and being regularly late can really compromise this.
Sister Mary sent out information about the upcoming First Confessions and Holy Communions, we sincerely hope that these can go ahead and not be thrown off-course by the recent rise in cases.
May I conclude by wishing you all an enjoyable and safe weekend.
Kind regards.
Tom Sargent - Principal.
13th August 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you all are having a safe and enjoyable summer!
As we near the end of the holidays the challenge of re-opening looms ever larger. This week the school is being thoroughly cleaned and next week I have a series of meetings about the structures, procedures and plans that need to be put in place for a safe re-opening on Thursday 27th August.
Therefore, next week and the following week you will be kept informed about what exactly these measures are - communication is vital in these times - so be alert for these communications.
May I conclude by congratulating the boys and girls who made their Confirmation last weekend and also their families. A huge thank you to their teachers throughout their time in St Fergal's and particularly Ms Scanlon, Ms Grace and Sr Mary. It was a lovely occasion on a beautiful August day - an august occasion you might say.
Regards.
Tom Sargent.
26th June 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We hope you are all well! Another school year has gone by with great speed and today would have been the day of the summer holidays.
Most of you know your child's teacher at this stage but just to bring to your attention that there are four positions still to be filled. We will conduct the interviews for these towards the end of July and then you will be informed as to who your child's teacher is in these classes. You should also have received your child's book-bill and the school calendar.
As you know this week was a break from academic work on class dojo and was devoted to Active Week and just to bring to your attention that many of the photographs from this can now be seen on the gallery page of our website.
On the subject of class dojo, we all at St Fergal's want to thank you most sincerely for your support with this and indeed your ongoing support throughout the year with so many initiatives.
We had a unique event last night, our first ever Zoom graduation. It is not the same as the personal, face to face interaction, but it was a lovely occasion. You should all be very proud of those boys and girls and we wish them the very best for the future.
We will conduct a comprehensive deep clean of all classrooms over the summer holidays and will also implement whatever measures and guidelines we are given, to ensure that your child's return to school is managed in as safe and efficient a manner as possible. As I have outlined here on several occasions the situation keeps changing, for the better recently, so there is no point in being too rigid at the moment. There is no point in worrying and rest assured, we will be in touch to let you know exactly what is happening and we know that we can rely on your support.
On behalf of everyone at St Fergal's School, I will conclude by wishing you all a lovely, safe, healthy and enjoyable summer.
Kindest regards.
Tom Sargent.
19th June
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are all well as we go into the longest weekend of the year. Spring and early Summer have flown by in what has been a very different and at times a very challenging year.
Next week, beginning Monday 22nd, would have been our last week in school. As I have referred to in previous communications, this is the time of year when we have sports-days, school-tours etc. Therefore, we have decided to cease academic work on class-dojo this Friday 19th June. Next week will be titled "Active-Week" and the teachers have been very diligent and creative in getting lots of very interesting activities ready for class dojo, please encourage your children to engage.
We have been busy of late planning for the structure of classes, teachers etc for next year. This whole issue is muddled by the problems caused by Covid19 and the uncertainty and lack of clarity around returning to school in the Autumn. It is further complicated by the fact that I need to advertise and interview for some teaching positions, but there is an embargo on advertising at the moment. However, in as much as we can, you will be told what teacher, class etc your child has from Thursday next 25th June.
You should have received your child's end of year reports by now and we have also finished the book-bills. You should have received these also and a link to pay on-line, which is by far the best and our preferred method in the present circumstances. I am meeting the ladies who organise the savings on Monday morning and we will convey to those of you who have excess savings the means by which you can get back this money. We are nearly finished our holiday-planner for school year 2020/2021 and while, this, by definition, is somewhat provisional, you will receive it very soon also..
Next week would have been graduation time for our 6th class pupils and while nothing takes the place of the real event, we still want to celebrate this hugely important occasion.The parents of the 6th class children will have received information from the relevant teachers about the structure of this, and I ask for your full cooperation and support ,especially with the" Zoom Graduation"
I will be back to you all next Friday with my last communication of this school year. In the meantime enjoy the longest weekend of the year and thank you for your ongoing support.
Regards.
Tom Sargent.
12th June
Dear Parents/ Guardians,
Another week has flown by and I sincerely hope that you all remain in good spirits!!
I had hoped to have been able to convey some clarity to you today about the future plans of the school re opening in the Autumn, structure of school day etc., but as I write this on Friday morning we still have got no advice or communication about these matters from the Department. We were to get them this weekend and hopefully they will arrive soon as we want to plan and let everyone know the outcome of our planning. However, at this juncture we are in the dark.
We made further progress re the savings this week and you will be contacted soon by the organisers if there are any loose ends regarding this. The end of year reports were also finished this week and you will receive those very shortly.
We will hold a Zoom staff meeting early next week and will discuss the possibility of holding end of year activities. When we have weighed everything up,and if certain activities are going ahead, you will be informed what these are and how they will take place.
I realise there are a lot of uncertainties in this, unfortunately, they are unavoidable in these uncertain times. On a positive note the situation seems to be improving, let's hope this continues so that clarity and normality return to our lives. Thank you all for your continued support.
Regards.
Tom Sargent.
5th June
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We hope you all had a very enjoyable Bank-Holiday Weekend, that you are enjoying the lovely weather and keeping well!!
We have progressed the savings since I last communicated with you all and those of you who availed of the savings scheme will be receiving information soon. Many thanks to Maureen and Debbie who coordinate the scheme and to all of the parents who give of their time every Friday morning to ensure the scheme runs smoothly. I would encourage as many parents as possible to get involved in the scheme.
We have also completed the book-bills for the coming school year and have made a 25euro deduction across the board as a gesture to offset the loss incurred because of the enforced closure.
We are also very busy getting the end of year reports finished and these will be with you all quite soon.
I have attended quite a few webinars recently and am due to attend some more next week. With the aid of these and the promised guidelines from the Department towards the end of next week, we might have a somewhat clearer picture of the road ahead and how to plan for the future. However, we cannot even attempt to put any definite plans in place at the present moment. As soon as I have a better and more definite picture I will immediately inform you all.
Please keep in regular touch with the school/HSCL/class teacher, if you need support or advice on any issue - communication is so important .
Kind regards.
Tom Sargent.
29th May
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the fabulous weather as we go into the June Bank-Holiday Weekend.
Many of you are wondering what is happening with regard to the reopening of schools in September, the honest answer is that we don't know. Circumstances can change so quickly with this dreaded disease!!
What I can tell you is that the Minister for Education has stated that the Department of Education will publish a roadmap for the reopening of schools in two weeks time. This would be most welcome as managing the reopening of schools is a massive logistical operation that will need to be carefully planned and managed. The need to provide clarity and adequate support to schools to enable them to reopen is essential to this process - let us hope we get it.
From talking to many of you, I know that the distance learning is going well but there is no substitute for face to face interaction as far as effective teaching is concerned. It would normally be the time of year for school trips, inter-school athletics, sports day etc. and we really miss them all as we do the interaction with you and your children
We will communicate with those of you who participated in savings very soon and let you know how these will be managed.
When you get a chance please visit our website, it contains many interesting items and particular good news with regard to the Amber-Flag. Our school was victorious - a huge well done to all the pupils, teachers, other members of staff and particularly Ms Hickson for their outstanding work with this initiative. St Fergal's is up there with the best of them and it is an absolute shame that we are forced to close as our garden looks magnificent and I'm sure we would have done very well in that competition also.
Thank you all for your continued support and have a great bank holiday weekend.
Best Wishes,
Tom Sargent.
22nd May
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are all well and enjoying the good weather.
This would have been the weekend of First Holy Communion - one of the high points of our school year. A time of coming together, of happiness, of celebration - sadly it is not to be this May.
Speaking of coming together it was truly uplifting to see the response this week, to the school's efforts to organise and implement the collection of books/materials. The teachers did a splendid job in firstly, organising all the materials and later in the week in giving them out. While the response of you parents was fabulous, in your courtesy, understanding and compliance with Covid 19 protocols. It was fantastic to see so many of you and to have a little chat. Let us hope that the materials collected will be of benefit to the children for the remaining weeks of the school year.
I must not forget our caretaker - Joe - who did a wonderful job setting everything up. To each and every one of you, a sincere thank you and well done. I often use the Irish phrase - "Ní neart go cur le chéile" - unity is strength. It was clearly in evidence this week.
Regards.
Tom Sargent.
15th May
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you are all well and relieved somewhat by the hopeful introduction of the easing of restrictions on this coming Monday 18th May. If there are no unexpected obstacles we intend sending home your child(ren)'s books next week. On Monday18th and Tuesday19th staff only, will come in to organise the distribution. The distribution will take place on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st. There will be a large table set up at the front door of both buildings-Senior Building for distribution of material for classes 4th, 5th and 6th and Junior Building for distribution of material to all other classes. In this way we completely avoid the necessity of people having to enter the school building. You will receive a date and time from your teacher on class dojo to collect the material. Where there is more than one child in a family, all the material for the children in that family will be with the teacher of the youngest sibling. Therefore, you will not have to make several journeys-please make sure that you can manage all this material.
In order for the distribution to take place as safely and as efficiently as possible, strict social distancing will be in place, we will use both buildings and we ask that you follow the timetable rigidly.
1. There will be limited parking space on Schools Road. Therefore, please arrive no more than 5 minutes before your allocated time and depart immediately once collection is completed. If you are early please remain in your car until appointment time.
2. The system will be the same in both buildings;you will enter through the front gate on one side of a coned pathway, collect your books at the table and leave on the other side of the coned pathway.
3. There will be hygiene materials on a table adjacent to the distribution table.
4. Do not bring children with you while you are engaged the collection process.
5. If for any reason you cannot attend/ don't need to attend, please let your child's teacher know.
We hope to see many of you on either Wednesday or Thursday of next week. In the meantime stay safe and healthy and as we always recommend, please contact us if we can help in any way.
Rath Dé oraibh.
Tom Sargent.
8th May 2020
Dia dhaoibh a pháistí,
This is our second "remote" whole school assembly. I do hope you are all well and enjoying the lovely weather.
I regularly hear great news from your teachers as they tell me that you are working very well and trying your best with the work they are sending home to you. This is very important as you are not in school every day and it is so, so important not to fall behind.
Please do your best to communicate with your teacher and school as we love to know how you are getting on and we want to continue to help you in whatever way we can.
The school buildings and the school grounds are very sad these days because you are not learning and playing in them but the good news is they are looking very well. This is thanks to the great work that Joe and Denis are doing to keep the buildings nice, the garden watered and looked after and the grass cut. We are very lucky to have Joe and Denis and we say "go raibh maith agaibh."
I know that many of you would love to have some of your school books home and hopefully very soon that can be done for you. I will be back to you all next week but in the meantime work to the best of your ability and play to the best of your ability. Be happy and stay safe.
Slán libh.
Mr Sargent.
1st May 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I sincerely hope that you are all in good spirits and looking after yourselves. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an imminent end to the present crisis and therefore, I would like to bring your attention to a few related issues.
A number of enquiries have been made regarding the possibility of coming to the school to collect children's books. I will look at this issue very carefully early next week and get back to you. If it goes ahead it will require great planning, discipline and compliance with stringent safety regulations. You will be informed. Also, please let your child(ren)'s class teacher. the HSCL teacher or the school in general know if you are having any difficulties regarding distance learning, photocopying, etc. Communication is so important at this time, so please contact us if necessary and we will do our best to support you.
We are flying the Irish Flag outside our school today, Friday 1st May, to honour our front line workers. The colours of our Flag are symbolic of the people of our country coming together; in this instance working together to combat this crisis. It is a small token of appreciation for those who have put their own lives at risk to help their fellow citizens.
I sent a message to all the children earlier and omitted to tell them that all the wonderful work they did on the Amber Flag project is being submitted today. It is all on our school website, so please view yourselves and bring to the attention of your children. A huge thank you and well done to all the children, staff, parents association, and especially Ms Hickson for their fantastic work on this project.
I will end by wishing you all a happy, safe and enjoyable weekend. Never was the motto of our Amber Flag more appropriate-"Caring for myself, looking out for others".
Rath Dé Oraibh,
Tom Sargent.
24th April 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you all had an enjoyable and safe Easter and have adjusted to the first week of life "without school", post Easter! Our teachers continue to send work home and we are constantly evaluating and striving to improve its content and effectiveness as we get more familiar with it and also as new resources come on stream.
Communication between home and school is so important at this time. Your child's class teacher will try to keep in regular contact with you but if you are having any difficulties and cannot communicate them to that teacher please contact our HSCL (Mairead). I liaise with Mairead regularly and we will do all we can to support you.
We are conducting our internal management meetings and our Board of Management meetings through ZOOM and are also exploring its potential for other uses.
I am also aware that many of you are wondering what is happening with regard to Holy Communion and Confirmation this year. The situation at the moment is that they are cancelled and no one knows at present what arrangements will be put in place. As soon as we have clarity we will let you know.
I will be back next week with further communications, but in the meantime, be healthy and stay well apart.
Regards,
Tom Sargent.
17th April 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We hope that you all had an enjoyable and safe Easter.
As you know we were due to be back at school this Monday, April 20th but, as you are also probably aware, the enforced closure has now been extended until Tuesday May 5th. (We will keep you updated if there are changes to this)
The teachers will have work on ClassDojo for your children next week and please remember to explore the other options I mentioned to you that are so beneficial for your child's education, RTE etc.
Also, very soon, our new draft Admissions Policy will appear on our school website. Will you please ensure that you read this and if you have any concerns/comments on its contents please email them to me at principal@stfergalsnsbray.ie on or before Monday 27th April 2020.
In the meantime, enjoy the lovely weather and stay safe and healthy.
Regards,
Tom Sargent.
3rd April 2020
Dear Parents
We hope that you all continue to be in good health, mentally and physically in these very trying times.
We hope that your children derived benefit from the work sent home to them on ClassDojo and also from the wonderful RTE 2 programme. Yesterday was scheduled to be Confirmation Day for our 6th class children, everything seems so surreal and out of kilter at the moment.
Our Easter Holidays begin today, Friday 3rd April and we are scheduled to be back on Monday 20th April, I sincerely hope we are. However, in the event of the enforced closure being pushed out further we will inform you and also let you know of the plans we will put in place to support your child's distance learning.
In the meantime, may I, on behalf of St Fergal's School, wish you all a happy and safe Easter. Rath Dé oraibh go léir.
Tom Sargent.
27th March 2020
Dear Parents, Guardians,
We in St. Fergal's sincerely hope you are all well and taking good care of yourselves. The enforced closure has been extended and now we are not scheduled back to school until Monday 20th April. (You will be informed if there is a further extension.)
We hope that your children have derived benefit from the work sent home via ClassDojo and you will shortly receive their work for next week. Also, look out for a wonderful educational programme on RTE 2 from 11-12am each day, Monday to Friday. It caters for children from 1st to 6th class and covers all areas of the school curriculum.
You will all be aware that we have run a free lunch scheme in our school with over a year. In an effort to continue with this scheme, during these very challenging times, Fresh-Today will do a single weekly delivery of non-perishable grocery items to our school. You will get a correspondence from our school about this, after which, we will get back to you about operational details. Our operational procedures will adhere to the strict guidelines re social distancing etc. as demanded by the HSE.
You will also be aware that our school is engaged in the "Amber Flag" initiative. The motto is, "Caring for myself, looking out for others.”. Never was there a better time to be an "Amber Buddy”.
Finally, summer- time begins this weekend; "The sun rises in spite of everything, and the far cities are beautiful and bright." From the poem, “Everything is Going to be All Right”.
Tom Sargent.
20th March 2020
Dear parents, guardians,
We hope that your entire families are safe, well and taking good care of themselves in these strange and challenging times. You and your children's general welfare are at the forefront of our thoughts at the moment.
From an educational perspective, our teachers have sent home work through the medium of ClassDojo. This will be in one-week lots initially; first to cover the week beginning Monday 23rd March and then for the week beginning Monday 30th March (if the enforced closure is extended you will be informed).
There are many other beneficial activities that your child can engage in such as: lego, cooking, drawing, cutting, art, doing practical maths, keeping a diary etc.
However, in the midst of the present maelstrom, please bear in mind that you are the primary educators of your children and you choose what you want your child to do. We will do all we can to support our pupils and parents but we must also realise that there are limitations to what we can do.
I used the term "general welfare" with good reason above because, there are many facets to one's life. Now, more than ever, in the absence of panic and pressure and in the presence of a balanced holistic approach, all those facets need minding. There is a lovely Irish saying, "Ar scath a cheile a mhaireann na daoine" -we are shielded from the sun by each other, we rely on each other for shelter. Working together we can provide that shelter.
Tom Sargent.