Dear Parents / Guardians,

Welcome to our school website.s Our aim is to keep you informed of the daily or weekly happenings in Scoil na gCailini. I sincerely hope that it will provide all the information you require about our school and the services and facilities we offer. Our school motto is ‘Working , Sharing, Succeeding together’ and I hope that we, the school community and you the parents/ guardians will work together in achieving this.

We pride ourselves on the strong relationship we have with you the parent body and hope this continues into the future.I would urge you to get involved in the life of the school when the opportunity arises. Our aim is to challenge , motivate and guide our pupils in a caring and supportive environment so that every girl on leaving this school has reached her potential.

Our school serves the girls of Castleblayney and surrounding areas from 2nd class to 6th. Many of these girls began their formal education in the Convent Junior School with which we have, in the past, developed strong links. We hope to continue this long standing tradition of collaborating with both the Junior School and the Boys school – in coordinating events, fundraising drives and school holidays so as to minimise disruption to family life.

Here in Scoil na gCailini we pride ourselves in developing the whole child-academically, morally, spiritually and socially. We have an all- inclusive Special Educational Needs programme for any girl who needs a little support and we also have the services of a fantastic School Completion Programme who which offers additional support to ensure that all our students have the opportunity to develop to their full potential . If your child is having difficulties either academically or socially, let us know as soon as possible so that we can put supports in place.

The following items are a few housekeeping notes:

The school lunch scheme is working well and by all accounts the girls are enjoying the varied healthy menu on offer. We must stress however that we operate a healthy eating policy and anyone not partaking in the school lunch scheme is kindly asked to adhere to this. As we aim to retain our Green Schools status, we are asking the girls to take home the wrappers from their lunch and recycle them at home. In addition, in order to maintain our green flag for transport and from a health and safety aspect, can I please ask you to refrain from driving up the avenue and encourage your daughter to walk up to the school. Many of you are already doing this and we appreciate your cooperation and concern for the safety of the girls.

It is lovely to see the girls come dressed in the full school uniform every morning and I appreciate your cooperation on a daily basis. As you already know commercial logos of any kind are not part of the uniform.

Attendance at school every day is vital to your child’s education and social wellbeing. If for any reason your child will be absent, please let the school know by phone call or text that morning and a written note is requested on her return. We are legally obliged to report absences of 20 days to TUSLA. Every Day Counts !

I am looking forward to working with you all in the future and please rest assured that my door is always open if you have a concern. I can meet with you at a pre-arranged time before or after school should the need arise.

Le meas,

Principal: Paula Coleman