St. Joseph’s N.S. is a co-educational, Catholic, Primary school which strives to provide a well-ordered, caring, happy and secure atmosphere where intellectual, spiritual, physical, moral and cultural needs of the pupils are identifies and addressed.
While St. Joseph’s NS is a school with a Catholic ethos, it also has due recognition for all other religions.
St. Joseph’s NS will strive to promote, both individually and collectively, the professional and personal development of teachers through staff development programmes.
St. Joseph’s NS will encourage the involvement of parents through home/school contacts and through their involvement in the St Joseph’s NS Parent Association, GAA, Fóroige, the Show Society and the Tidy Villages Committee.
St. joseph’s NS will endeavor to enhance the self-esteem of everyone in the school community, to instill in the pupils respect for people and property and to encourage in them the idea of being responsible.
Déanfaimid iarreacht Gaeilge a labhairt
School Ethos
Our school’s ethos is a Catholic one, which embraces all religious denominations, placing particular emphasis on the Roman Catholic tradition, where we hope to foster all traditional Christian values within a caring and supportive school community
It is also an Irish one where we emphasise Irish culture, traditions, heritage, language, music, dancing and games. We hope to develop in the pupils an appreciation of who we are and what it means to us to be @Irish@ and also an appreciation of the people who made our country what it is today, while simultaneously developing an appreciation of other cultures and traditions.
At the same time we want to be part of the increasingly progressive modern world, actively involved in it and having the skills to go out and play a prominent part in it, while not losing sight of where our people came from.
Enrolment for Junior Infant pupils takes place in the December of the school year before the child is due to start. New parents/guardians moving into our school area should contact the school if they require placement for children in other classes. It is recommended that pupils are four years of age by March of the year of enrolment. A birth certificate, proof of address and a PPS number must accompany each application
For security and health and Safety reasons, all visitors including parents must check in at the office. If your child needs to be collected one a member of staff will go to the class and collect them.
St. Joseph’s operate a book rental scheme where some books can be rented from the school. There is a responsibility on each child to keep these books clean and tidy. This scheme is designed to keep costs down for parents. Book lists are provided for parents of all children in June each year. Included with our booklists is a payment covering arts and crafts, sports, photocopying and other activities This payment also covers an Insurance payment for your child. This covers your child 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The school will open to receive pupils at 9:15am. No responsibility is accepted for pupils arriving before this time. Classes will commence each day at 9:20 am. Junior and Senior Infants are dismissed at 2pm. All other classes are dismissed at 3pm. Lunches Healthy Lunches are provided for each pupil. Pupils will fill out an order form with a wide range of options at the beginning of each term. Milk is available to purchase in the school. In the interest of safety, no glass bottles are allowed along with no crisps, chewing gum, sweets, chocolate (including spread), biscuits, cereal bars and fizzy drinks. Children should bring home any rubbish in their lunch box. Break Times: 11 am – 11:10am 12:30pm – 1pm
St Joseph’s N.S has an active P.A. comprising of all parents who have children enrolled in the school. The P.A is run by an elected committee who meet regularly during the school term. An AGM is held once a year. The P.A. fosters co-operation between parents, teachers and school management. The P.A raise funds for additional school equipment, organise workshops for both children and parents and are involved in assisting at school social events. The committee are always glad to welcome new members.
Children are given homework 4 days per week (Monday to Thursday). This is at the teacher’s discretion in Junior Infants. The amount and type of homework given largely depends on the class and age of the child. All homework should be checked and the homework diary signed each day.
This is a Catholic school and we recognise and respect the religious diversity within the school. Where possible we will accommodate this diversity. Catholic religion lessons are taught daily and short prayers may be said during the school day. Children of other faiths may be engaged in another teacher approved activity during religious instruction, within the classroom.
The school recognises the shared responsibility of parents and teachers in the education of children. P/T meetings foster good communication between the home and school. Formal Meetings: These are held once a year in November. Parents are given adequate notice in advance through a standard letter. Time-tabling is arranged by the classroom teacher. Every effort is made to accommodate parents’ needs. Informal Meetings: Parents arrange meetings through the office or with the teacher for a mutually agreeable time outside of teaching time. Letters/Notes A letter is required from a parent for the following:
- When a child is absent (in accordance with the Welfare Act).
- When a child is late.
- To excuse a child from homework/P.E. or not wearing the appropriate school uniform.
- If a child needs to leave school early and they must be signed out by an adult · If a child is unable to go to the yard e.g. broken limb etc.
- If a child has caught a contagious disease. · If the teacher/principal needs to be informed of a problem.
- To give permission to go on a school tour or any other school outings.
- To inform the school of a change in address or contact telephone numbers. It is really important that we have the correct mobile phone number.
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