Letter at Christmas
January 2018
Dear Parent/Guardian
As this is the first letter of the new school year I wish to extend a warm welcome to all the new students and their families to St Paul’s. I trust your child has settled well and is enjoying the new experience. I wish to welcome new staff members Catherine Stynes, Aisling Carroll, Ciaran Kelly, Brian O’Neill, Bernadette McDonnell and Nora Flynn.
The update regarding the new school is as follows. The design team have submitted the detailed drawings to the quantity surveyor who is preparing the bill of quantities for completion in mid-February. Once this is completed the design team will prepare a report for the Department of Education before getting the approval to go to the tendering process. The traffic management issue has been resolved and Kildare County Council have already begun the preparatory work on their design. As enrolments continue to increase, now at 420 students, the need for the new school is now greater than ever. The pace of progress is frustrating, however, there is a process that needs to be followed and we can only hope there will be no further delays. Thank you all for your patience and understanding.
As you are aware, after the resolution of the industrial action surrounding the new Junior Cycle, it’s roll out in voluntary secondary schools is now in full swing. To facilitate whole staff training in the new Junior Cycle the school will be closed for all students on Monday February 5th and Thursday March 8th 2018. This year the focus for improving teaching and learning will be on the use of ICT in the classroom. We have been fortunate to have been accepted as a pilot school for a Google initiative with Camara Education and we look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship over the next three years.
You should have all received a letter from the Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) Department at St Paul’s with details of proposed guest speakers for different years. These guest speakers are professionals who deliver age appropriate content with the purpose of educating and promoting positive mental health. As the letter stated if you feel your child may be adversely affected by the content of these please notify your child’s SPHE/RE teacher in advance of the talk. Please see www.stpaulsmonasterevin.ie under the Parent/Guardian tab for a copy of the letter.
It has been a busy time for sport in St Paul’s. We continue to punch above our weight on the basketball court with regional victories for the Senior Boys and Runners Up for the Cadet Boys. Our U14 boys football team had a wonderful victory against St Farnan’s Prosperous in Hawkfield in the Kildare Final and will now progress to the Leinster competition. This year saw the introduction of Spikeball (a version of volleyball) with our first year teams competing against schools from the region with great success. Well done and thank you to all the students, teachers, coaches and parents who work and support our sports teams, it is an essential element of the educational experience offered at St Paul’s.
On a personal note I wish to thank the students, parents, staff, Board of Management and community for your kind, considerate and overwhelming support for me and my children after the passing of my dear wife Fiona.
On behalf of myself, the staff and the Board of Management I wish to thank you for your continued support of the school and I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and I wish you all a happy and healthy 2018.
Yours sincerely
Brian Bergin