Stewarts School Update December 2021
Once again our Christmas celebrations were a little different this year and while you could not join us you can have a look at some great photographs on the school social media pages. Santa arrived via motorbike on Monday last December 13th and did a number of ‘wheelies’ in the car park before delivering some surprises to the students. He was accompanied by his favourite elf – VAL. We got a great surprise when Santa turned up again on Wednesday last in the Bumbleance – he was so happy with us on Monday that he came back again and sang a few songs with his elves. We took lots of photos and the Bumbleance visitors were making a video of their visit. This visit was also sponsored by the Variety Club Ireland.We had the best Christmas dinner ever on Friday last – chicken goujons and chips and sausages!!!
Classes have made lots of decorations for their classrooms and home. We built a Winter Wonderland under the big stairs in the main hallway with lots of little snowmen and Santa elves. Classes are sending home some photographs and video clips to share with you.
Lots of Christmas cards were also made by the students for the favourite people in their lives.
Board of Management Update:
The board was delighted to hear about the Christmas Celebrations in the new school – this being the school’s first Christmas in Rosse Court. IEPs are being sent home in the coming weeks. The board is keen to re-start a school Parent Association. In the past this has been a great source of support for parents and families. The Parent Association is important to the school and works with the school to enhance communications and partnership between parents and the school. It helps the school provide thebest service it can to all students. Its activities vary including: providing
feedback on policies, organising speakers on topics of interest for families and organising fun events for students and their families. It is planned to have a
Zoom meeting on January to discuss the re-establishment of a school parent association – save the date TUESDAY JANUARY 18TH @7.30PM.
The board wishes to thank the whole school community for the huge effort that was made by everyone during this school term to keep the students and staff in the school safe. It has been a challenging few months and this has been made easier for everyone by the level of co-operation from parents and staff withschool protocols. THANKS EVERYONE.
Christmas Holiday Closure:
Please note the school will close on Wednesday December 22nd at 12.30pm for the Christmas holidays. We hope the school re-opening will not be impacted by any national Covid 19 issues. School re-opens again on Thursday January 6th 2022.
Wishing everyone a happy and peaceful Christmas.
STEWARTS SCHOOL UPDATE: OCTOBER 2021
The first half-term back is going well for everyone. The students, especially our new students, are settled in to the school. We await further guidance from the Department of Education regarding the further easing of Covid restrictions and will update you further once these are available. As always, thanks for your co-operation since our return to school.Halloween Celebrations:
To celebrate Hallowe’en we will have our annual ‘Witches Walk’ along the yellow pathway around the school. This is always a fun event for our students and we will decorate the pathway with lots of student artwork and some ‘scary creatures’. The Witches Walk will take place on Friday 22nd October for the students and the class teacher will send some photographs home to share with you. Your child can wear a Halloween costume to school on Friday 22nd – if they are happy to do so.
Home Economics:
We are delighted to be back in the Home Economics room learning important life skills. During the past few weeks we have been learning about the importance of fruit and vegetables in our diet. As part of this we are following the Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme. During the week the programme ran, the students had an opportunity to explore and taste a different fruit and vegetable every day. We made a vegetable pizza on wraps in class and we also planted some spinach seeds to grow our own vegetables.
Progressing Disabilities Services – Clinical supports
At this stage you will all have been notified by the HSE of your new CDNT (Children’s Disability Network Team) – a letter was posted out to you in September from the HSE with the name of the new CDNT for your child.
Contact details for the CDNTs are as follows:
CDNT4 – email crc.clondalkin@crc.ie
CDNT5 – email cdnt5@stewartscare.ie
CDNT6 – email cdnt6@stewartscare.ie Tel – 01 6518130
CDNT7 – email info.tallaght@enableireland.ie Tel – 01 4626304
CDNT8 – email cdntadmin.chamberhouse@hse.ie Tel – 4686248
Stewarts Care clinical team is no longer providing clinical supports to the school children. However, some of the Stewarts team have transferred over to the new teams and there may still be some familiar faces on the new teams. If you wish to contact the new team for support please send an email to the team or email school@stewartscare.ie and we will pass on your concern or request.
We do not yet know what level of support will be available to the school. If you have contact from a member of the new team please stress to them the urgency of clinical supports for your child.
Parent Teacher Meetings:
Class teachers are currently making arrangements for the annual parent teacher meetings. Most meeting will take place this month and the remainder will take place in November. Meetings are via Zoom/telephone and provide an opportunity for you to discuss your child’s needs and targets for the year with their teacher.
Transport Reminders:
The number of students travelling on a route each day affects bus times particularly in the afternoons. Please be at home and available to meet the bus at least 10 minutes ahead of the expected bus arrival time.
If someone different is collecting your child from the bus in the afternoons please let the school know in advance by calling Allison on 2119121.
If you are moving house please let the office know as soon as possible. The school has to make a transport application to the SENO and the Department of Education for any change of address. It can take six to eight weeks to organise transport when a student changes address.
Bus Eireann operate the buses travelling to and from the school and any queries about buses or drivers should be directed to Bus Eireann who can be contacted on 01 802222.
Contact Details:
Please let the office know of any changes to contact telephone details for when the school may need to get in touch with you urgently or to send a text message.
Retirement:
Rita Fitzgerald, the school deputy principal, is retiring at the end of this month. We send a big thanks to Rita for her wonderful contribution to Stewarts School for the past twenty years and wish her a very happy and healthy retirement.
Mid Term Closure:
Please note the school is closed from Monday October 25th until Friday October 29th inclusive. The school re-opens as normal on Monday November 1st.
STEWARTS SCHOOL UPDATE June 2021
It has been a wonderful first term in our new surroundings and a huge thank you to all of the staff, students and their families for helping making this transition to our new school a wonderful success. See you all again on Monday the 30th of August.
STEWARTS SCHOOL UPDATE March 2021
We are currently getting ready to move to our new school building and hope to be in after the Easter holidays. This is a really exciting time for all our students and staff and we will update you again closer to the move.
STEWARTS SCHOOL UPDATE September 2020
We are delighted to open our doors again and for face to face learning to commence on the 30th of August.
STEWARTS SCHOOL UPDATE March 2020
Due to the pandemic the school will remain closed until further notice and direction for the Department of Education. Your child’s teacher will be in touch with regards to our online learning arrangements.
Please see our student corner for weekly posts, games, activities and lessons for you to engage with at home.
STEWARTS SCHOOL UPDATE October 2019
The Witches Walk will take place on Thursday the 24th of October at 11am starting at the DAC building. Everyone is welcome.
STEWARTS SCHOOL UPDATE May 2019
School Events: It’s been a busy year with many celebrations including Confirmation and First Holy Communion.
The school Sports Day takes place on Tuesday next May 28th from 10.00am to 12.00noon beside the Junior School in Palmerstown. Please come along and join us. BBQ will be up and running from 10.30am onwards.
New School Update: Our new school building is nearing completion and the builders are working hard on the internal finishes. The building is due to be completed during the summer. It is hoped that we will move into our new school building later in the year. As soon as we have a ‘moving in’ date we will let you know but students will be initially returning to the 3 school buildings in September. At the start of the next school year, we will put in place a transition programme for our students and arrange visits to the new building. There will be opportunity for parents to visit the new building in advance of moving in.
Fundraising: We would like to say a sincere ‘Thank You’ to all students, parents/guardians, staff and extended family and friends who have organised and taken part in the fundraising events for the New School Playground Equipment. From the bag-packers, carol-singers, table-quizzers, video-makers, exercise fanatics and much more, we appreciate all the time and effort that has gone into raising these much needed funds. The fundraising events have brought together students, families and staff and created a real sense of school community, which is so important for us. It has also raised the wider community’s awareness of Stewarts School, the students and the work of the school as a whole.
We are absolutely delighted to let you know that we have reached our target with the fundraising efforts! This is great news, and means that all the playground equipment (both outdoor and indoor) that the children need for the new school will be provided. This could not have been achieved without all the hard work and dedication that each and every one of you have given. A big thank you also must go to the efforts of the Fundraising Committee and the Parents Association for driving the various events.
We are also very grateful to our donor who wishes to remain anonymous and to Irish Life staff, who voted Stewarts School as one of their two Charities of the Year 2019.
As our fundraising events are winding down for now but we will fundraise some more soon again to raise monies for a school bus and other much needed equipment. In the meantime we will accept all donations for the benefit of the students in the school and will support any fundraising ideas you may have.
Parent Teacher Meetings are currently taking place. Your child’s End of Year Report and IEP Progress Report will be sent home before the end of June. If you have any queries please contact your child’s class teacher.
Summer Trips: Classes are making arrangements for a variety of trips within the local and wider community. Your child’s class teacher will be in touch in the coming weeks.
Food Dudes Programme: Food Dudes is a Healthy Eating Programme which aims to encourage children to taste and eat a healthy amount of fresh fruit and vegetables. The first phase of the programme ran over the last three weeks in the senior school. The students had great fun exploring and tasting a range of fruit and vegetables including peppers, baby sweetcorn, oranges and grapes. We look forward to the middle of June when we will receive deliveries of summer fruit and vegetables which will include blueberries and melon.
School Graduation: Five students are graduating from Stewarts School in June 2019 – Dylan, Andrew, Niall, Mathea and Turab. This year the Graduation Evening will take place in the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel on the Naas Road on Thursday June 20th. We are looking forward to a great evening of celebration!
Parent Association: As we approach the end of this school year we would like to thank the school Parent Association for their support throughout the year. In particular, we want to thank their Chairperson, Dorothy O’Brien for her wonderful contribution to all aspects of our school over the years. Dorothy’s son will be graduating in June and she will no longer be part of the Parent Association. Dorothy took on fundraising for the school playground and was successful in getting Irish Life to nominate Stewarts School as one of their charity partners for 2019. Thanks for everything Dorothy and best wishes for the future.
School Website: We have revamped the school’s new website, please check us out on www.stewartsschool.ie. Keep an eye out for news, dates, pictures and videos of school activities and classwork.
Social Media: Parent/Guardian ‘WhatsApp’ groups and other social media sites have become increasingly popular. We remind parents/guardians that photos/information about children or staff should not be shared on any social media. We also remind parents that if they have a concern to please contact the school directly. Thanks to your co-operation we don’t have any issues in relation to social media use at the moment.
STEWARTS SCHOOL UPDATE April 2019
New School Update: It is exciting to see how far the building has progressed this year and the building is beginning to look like a school. The building is due to be finished this summer. It is hoped that we will move into our new school building by the end of 2019. We will put in place a transition programme for our students prior to moving into the new school. There will be opportunity for parents to visit the new school building in advance of moving in.
School Office: The school secretary’s office is open daily from 8.00am to 4.00pm. Allison is on her lunch break from 12.45 to 1.15pm daily and the office is closed for that 30 minutes. If collecting your child from the school for any reason in the middle of the day please do so at either before or after these times as there is no one in the office between 12.45am and 1.15pm.
Absences from School: The school is obliged to keep a record of any student absence from school and the reason for the absence. Please let the bus escort/class teacher know of the reason why your child is not attending school. You can send in a note the next day if that suits best. Otherwise, the class teacher will send a reminder note home for you to fill in and return to the school. Thanks for your co-operation in this matter.