School Opening and Closing Times
The school gate is opened at 8.40 a.m. every morning. Classes start at 8.50 a.m. for all pupils. Classes finish at 1.30 p.m. for Infant pupils and at 2.30 p.m. for 1st – 6th Class pupils.
Playtime
All pupils get two play breaks during the school day. The first break is for 10 minutes and the second break is for 30 minutes. The children are supervised in the play area, by teachers and classroom assistants, at both breaks.
Childrens’ Lunches
School lunches are provided by Glanmore Foods. When a pupil is enrolled in St. Joseph’s parents are given a menu to complete. When completed, the menu should be returned to the school secretary. If a parent wishes to change their child’s menu items, the parent should request a new form from the school secretary.
Homework Guidelines
Our objective is to create a culture where homework is enjoyed, and is a valuable learning experience, not alone for pupils but also for parents and teachers.
View Homework Guidelines – September 2021
After School Care
It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that their child/children are collected on time from school and to inform their child’s class teacher (Junior classes) about who will collect their child from school.
A number of After School Care Providers drop off and collect children from St. Joseph’s in the mornings and at 1.30 p.m. and 2.30 p.m. Parents who need to avail of this service should contact the After-School Care Provider. Parents should also advise their child’s class teacher of the name of the After-School Care Provider who will be collecting their child/children from St. Joseph’s (e-mail to office@dunlaoghairens.ie).
After School Clubs
Our after-school clubs provide excellent extra learning opportunities for pupils. We have a range of after-school clubs for the pupils from 2nd – 6th Class. These classes run from 2.30 – 3.30 p.m. Monday – Thursday. The clubs are organised and supervised by the teachers with the help of coaches from outside organisations (e.g. G.A.A.). Parents and children are informed about the after-school clubs at the start of each school term. Usually the pupils who take part in the after-school clubs are on the school teams. Over the years we have taken part in, and have had numerous successes in, many competitions (Credit Union Quiz, Cuala G.A.A. football leagues and tag-rugby blitzes to mention a few).
Uniform and Tracksuit
The school uniform consists of a grey skirt/pinafore/trousers, a white or light blue polo shirt and a royal blue jumper with the school crest on it. The school tracksuit is navy blue and has the school crest on it. It should be worn with a white or light blue polo shirt. Uniformity is the sole supplier of crested jumpers and tracksuits to our school. The skirt, pinafore, trousers and polo shirt can be bought from Uniformity or from any store that sells school uniforms (Dunnes, Tesco, etc.).
Uniformity are located at Unit B, 3 Rock Road, Sandyford Business Park, County Dublin – Eircode D18 H213 / MAP. Email info@uniformity.ie or phone 01 230 0501.
The school uniform should be worn every day except on the days when the tracksuit is worn.
School books and other essentials
Payment for Photocopying, Art & Craft materials, book rental, etc., may be made through the Aladdin Connect App.
The book lists for each class have been provided to Michael Doherty / School Book Shop. To buy books:
- Go to book lists page via www.schoolbookshop.ie
- In the ‘School’ drop-down select “St. Josephs N.S. Dun Laoghaire” and click ‘GO’
- In the ‘Grade’ down-down select your child’s class and click ‘Go’
- Scroll down and the list of books will be shown ready to ‘ADD TO CART’
Note: The books are also available from other school book suppliers.
Parents must also provide the following for their child:
- A pencil case with pencil, sharpener, eraser, pritt stick, colouring pencils, crayons or twistables
- In the senior classes children also need 2 blue pens, a red pen and a 30cm ruler
- A lunchbox and water bottle that your child can open and close.
- A school bag into which an A4 homework folder can fit.
- Velcro fasteners on shoes are advised (in Junior classes)
It is very important that your child’s name is put on all your child’s belongings (especially on the school jumper and tracksuit top).
Swimming Lessons
The instructors in Monkstown Pool provide excellent swimming lessons for the pupils in senior classes annually.
Tours
Our aim is to find suitable, educational, school tours for the pupils in every class.
- A suitable, age appropriate, summer tour is organised in June annually for each class.
- Dun Laoghaire is a town steeped in History and is a fabulous natural resource to aid children’s learning. Class teachers (in senior classes) regularly organise educational walks for their classes to various parts of Dun Laoghaire. Over the years we have built up a “bank” of educational tours around Dun Laoghaire where teachers can bring their pupils.
Children who become ill during school hours
School is not a nice place to be if you are not feeling well. If your child gets sick during school hours the school will contact one or other parent. Parents must organise that the child is collected as soon as possible. Please make sure that your phone number, contact details and email address are kept up to date. Please e-mail office@dunlaoghairens.ie if there are any changes. Parents can also make changes to their contact details via Aladdin.
Home / School Communication
Teachers will communicate with parents in a variety of ways:
- Phone – teachers may phone parent(s) if they wish to discuss anything regarding their child in school.
- Aladdin Connect – We use the Aladdin Connect App to communicate with individual parents/groups of parents/whole school communication. See note below.
- When a child is enrolled in St. Joseph’s, details will be sent to parents explaining how to download and use Aladdin Connect.
- E-mail/Text message – At times parents may be e-mailed or sent a short text.
- Parents who wish to contact a teacher should e-mail office@dunlaoghairens.ie and request a phone call from the teacher. The message will be forwarded to the teacher. The teacher will phone the parent as soon as possible after he/she receives the message. If the matter cannot be sorted out over the phone, a face-to-face meeting will be arranged.
A note on Aladdin Connect
- Aladdin Parent Help Site [External Link – Website]
- 7 Steps to using your Aladdin App [External Link – PDF]
Communication with the Parents’ Association
We have a very active Parents’ Association in St. Joseph’s!
Board of Management
The Board of Management is responsible for managing the school on behalf of the Patron. The current Board of Management was appointed in 2019 and will serve until 2023.
St. Joseph’s Board of Management 2019 – 2023:
Margaret Brennan – Chairperson/Patron’s nominee
Pádraic Fay – Board of Management Secretary/Principal
Mary Brogan – Patron’s nominee
Linda McCarthy – Teacher’s nominee
Sinéad Cleere – Parent’s nominee
Ahmed Hashem – Parent’s nominee
Colette McCarthy – Nominee from the wider community
Declan Murphy – Nominee from the wider community
The patron of the school is Archbishop Dermot Farrell, Archbishop of Dublin.
The day-to-day management of the school is the responsibility of the Principal.
Funding
The school is funded by the Department of Education and Skills.
Curriculum
The Primary School Curriculum (1999) is taught in the school. For more information on the curriculum please visit the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment website.
Special Class
There is a Special Class in the school for children who have moderate learning difficulties.
Secondary Schools
There are many excellent secondary schools in the area. St. Joseph’s has been named as a “feeder school” for many of these schools. Many secondary schools do not operate a “feeder school” system. When choosing a secondary school for their child, parents should gather as much information as possible about the school (visit school website and talk to other parents). Before considering a secondary school, parents should read the Admission Policy of the particular school. All schools are obliged to publish their Admission Policy on their website.
