The school gates open after 8.35am each morning. School starts at 8.40am. The girls have 10 minutes to make their way to their classrooms. At 8.50am, the school gates and doors are closed.

If your child arrives after 8.50am, they should go to the main entrance and sign in at the office.

School for infant classes ends at 1.20pm and the rest of the school finishes at 2.20pm.
● Infant Classes: Parents must collect their child from outside their classroom block. You will be informed by your teacher in advance of the meeting point.
● 1st Class: Parents will meet their children in the school yard at 2.20pm.
● 2nd-6th classes: These classes leave the school in an orderly fashion at 2.20pm. Please agree on a meeting place with your child in the morning.

Remind your child to return to the office if they cannot locate you after school.

Parents are not allowed to park in the staff car park during the day or outside of school hours. Parents may use the car park within Cabinteely Park across from the school or the car park beside the shops. We encourage parents to be very cautious when driving near the busy school grounds to avoid any accidents.

Children receive a short break at 10.30am and eat a snack. They receive a longer break at 12.30pm and eat their lunch.

If you must collect your child from school earlier than the usual finishing time, it would be convenient if you could inform the teacher or the office in advance. When you arrive at the school, please go to the office. Do not go to your child’s classroom. You will have to sign your daughter out and a member of staff will collect your child and bring them to meet you. Any person collecting a child on behalf of the parent will only be permitted to take the child if the parent has contacted/notified the school beforehand.

The full school uniform must be worn on all school days other than on days of PE lessons.
The school uniform consists of the following:
● Red airtech top, tracksuit top and school kilt with navy socks/tights and black/dark shoes.
● For PE, runners are compulsory and children must wear the red airtech top with school tracksuit.
● Pupils are not allowed to wear jewellery in school apart from one pair of simple earrings if ears are pierced.
● Extreme hairstyles or cuts are not permitted eg. bleached, tinted or shaven heads.
● Long hair must be tied back at all times and where possible hairbands worn in long and short hair to help prevent the spreading of hair lice, a common problem in schools.

St. Brigid’s has a healthy lunch policy. Please do not give your child sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks or crisps or popcorn for lunch.

St. Brigid’s GNS is a nut-free school as some of our students have serious nut allergies. Please ensure your daughter’s lunch has no nuts or nut products. We request that the following items would be excluded from your daughter’s snack / lunch in school :               

• Peanuts
• Peanut butter
• Nutella
• Bars etc which contain nuts or nut traces
• Yogurts containing nuts (e.g. Hazelnut yogurt)
• Bread / cakes containing nuts.
• All “Kinder” bars / products should be excluded as they are made in a factory which uses hazel nuts extensively and could be contaminated by hazelnut dust, even if nuts are not listed in the ingredients section.

The welfare of all our pupils is of the utmost importance to us and we request your full co-operation relating to the above.

Lunch should provide one third of your child’s food requirements for the day. The most effective way to plan a healthy lunch is to include one food from each of the food groups – one piece of fruit, milk/yoghurt, two slices of bread and meat / poultry /cheese. This will aid your child to stay focused and aid their energy levels throughout the whole day.

Chewing gum is not allowed in school.

● The Parents’ Association has agreed a ‘Smart Phone Code of Practice’ which can be read by clicking this link
● Pupils from 3rd – 6th class only may bring mobile phones to school. Children in infants to second class should not bring phones to school.
● Mobile phones are brought to school entirely at pupils’ own risk.
● Phones must be switched off at all times on the school premises and handed to the class teacher in the morning. They will be stored in a secure location in the school and returned to the girls at home time. They may only be switched on once off the school premises.
● Making or receiving calls or text messages during school hours is not permitted. Any necessary calls to or from a child in school should be made through the school phone situated in the secretary’s office.
● The use of mobile phones by staff for essential calls should be kept to a minimum. They should be taken/made in an area where pupils are not present and outside class time.

Children may bring a kindle to school only after submitting a permission slip from the child’s parents. This can be obtained from the office. Children are not allowed to bring any form of smartwatch to school (including fitbits etc).

If you wish to speak to your child’s teacher, please make an appointment to meet in advance. This can be made by contacting the office or by contacting the teacher through Aladdin Noticeboard. Please only contact your child’s teacher during school hours and allow sufficient time for the teacher to respond. If the message is urgent, please contact the office.

Health and Safety

1. Children who are ill should not be sent to school.
2. Parents are asked that teachers be made aware of any physical disability or allergies which their child might have.
3. Please check your child’s hair regularly for outbreaks of Head Lice. If there is an outbreak of head lice in a class, all parents of pupils in that class are informed and asked to take immediate action to treat infestation.
4. Requests to remain indoors at break times should only be made in exceptional circumstances (limbs in plaster, recovering from/awaiting surgery). These requests must be made through Noticeboard to the class teacher.
5. In the interests of safety, parents’ cars are not allowed into the school grounds at any time.
6. At assembly and dismissal times, parents and other visitors to school are asked to avoid parking on or near the pedestrian crossing outside the school.

Accident Procedures

1. Accidents occur despite supervision. Minor accidents are treated at school. Slight cuts and grazes are normally treated by cleaning with cold water and applying a bandage to the wound. When a dressing has been put on a wound, parents are requested to inspect the wound when the child comes home from school.
2. In the event of an accident/child becoming ill, every possible effort will be made to contact the pupil’s parents or the persons delegated to take responsibility for the pupil.
3. Please ensure correct contact details of home/work phone numbers are given. The school should be notified immediately of changes of address etc.
4. Non co-operation in this matter could result in a delay in having your child attended to medically, should the need arise.
5. Please ensure that alternative contact consent has been received and that they live locally.
6. The school will not accept responsibility for any medical expenses incurred.
7. There is a facility for parents to take out insurance to cover medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident at school. Details of this scheme are circulated to parents in September.

Personal Insurance

The school ensures it has the correct insurance in place at all times. However, we also offer the facility for parents to purchase accidental injury cover on their child each year. This policy cover your child not only when they are on school grounds or partaking in an after-school activity but 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We would encourage all parents to purchase this cover as it offers great piece of mind and financial assistance should your child suffer an injury anytime during the year. Further information can be sought at the school office.

It is important that teachers are made aware in writing of any medical conditions/allergies, short or long term suffered by a child. Children who are acutely ill should not attend school until the illness has passed and they are capable of full participation in class and school activities.

Yes.

The aims of giving homework are as follows:
● To benefit student learning
● To reinforce work done in class
● To develop study skills
● To promote a similar approach to homework across all classes
● To strengthen links between home and school

Suggested length of time:
● Infants:10 minutes
● 1st and 2nd: 20-30 minutes
● 3rd and 4th: 35-45 minutes
● 5th and 6th: 45-60 minutes

Expected homework format by class:
● Junior Infants – Occasional, informal oral work
● Senior Infants – Reading & Regular worksheets
● 1st and 2nd Classes – Reading, Spellings, Tables & Regular written work
● 3rd and 4th Classes – Reading, Spellings, Tables, Maths & Regular written work
● 5th and 6th Classes – Reading, Spellings, Tables, Maths, Oral learning & Regular written work
Your child may also use ICT to complete their homework from time to time. Children from 4th-6th Class may use Google for Education.

● Pupils have a responsibility to ensure they have taken down and have the necessary books etc. for homework.
● If pupils have a problem with the homework, they should make the teacher aware of this as soon as possible.
● Parents have a role in establishing a routine for homework – place and time. Preventing interruptions is vital.
● Parents should monitor homework appropriately in consultation with the class teacher.

● Children should have their names on their coats and other personal property such as school books, copies, lunch boxes, drinks bottles etc.
● It is never a good idea for children to bring valuable items, toys, jewellery etc. to school as the loss of which can cause great upset.