Welcome Back – Principal’s Letter
September 2015
Dear Parent/Guardian
At the start of the year I welcome you all back to St Paul’s. I hope your son/daughter has settled in well and is looking forward to the year ahead. I wish to extend a special warm welcome to the three classes of first years and the students who have transferred into St Paul’s over the summer. We were granted two new temporary classrooms over the summer to accommodate the increase in student numbers. I wish to reassure you that the new school is very much on track and I expect to update you over the next few weeks as we move towards the planning application.
I welcome new teachers Mr Colm Fitzgerald (History and English) and Ms Yvonne Quinn (Gaeilge and Music), confident that they will bring new skills and energy to the teaching of their subjects and the learning of their students. After many years of fantastic service to St Paul’s as the Home School Community Liaison I wish Paul Marron every success as he goes back to the classroom. In his new position of Home School Liaison Officer I wish Wayne Harrington every success and hope he enjoys the new challenge.
It was another very successful year for the Leaving and Junior Cert students of 2015. It is encouraging to see results improve year on year and this years’ results represent the great work that takes place in St Paul’s. I wish all the outgoing Leaving Cert students the very best for their bright futures. There is no secret that there are three key elements for these successes. When ambitious hardworking students are taught by quality dedicated teachers and are encouraged by supportive parents they will inevitably achieve highly. At its last meeting the Board of Management formally ratified a 5 year “Teaching and Learning Plan” (available under the Policies tab) to set a roadmap to further improve teaching and learning and ultimately student attainment, I thank all those involved in its development.
While the teaching and learning is our main focus, school is much more than books and results. We pride ourselves on the extra-curricular opportunities we provide for our students and we are lucky to have so many staff members who give feely of their time for the betterment of the students. Please encourage your son/daughter to get involved in whatever capacity they can. Involvement in these activities can improve student’s mental health, physical wellbeing, teamwork ethic and enhances teacher/student relationships. As a small school we need high participation rates to compete with the larger schools.
As our new website is the ideal forum for sharing school news and updating the school community on activities, events and successes it will replace the traditional newsletters. I encourage you to go to this website regularly to keep informed. We will notify you by text for significant news items for your attention. If you think of something that may be useful to put on the website please feel free to contact us. I look forward to another good school year and thank you for your ongoing support.
Yours sincerely
Brian Bergin
