General Information

School Opening/Closing Times:
Official Opening Time:    8.50am
Official Closing Time:

1.30pm     Junior and Senior Infants
2.20pm     First Class

At 8.50am the boys line up on their class line and are collected from the yard by their teacher.
At dismissal time the boys are brought back out to their line. Each boy is dismissed individually from the line by the teacher. We ask parents to work with us on this to ensure the safety of all the boys.

Breaks
The official break times are as follows:

Small break   10.30 – 10.40am
Lunch          12.00 – 12.30pm

All pupils are expected to go to the yards during breaks. The school yard is supervised by teachers and Special Needs Assistants. We have a variety of activities available to the boys while they are in the yard. On wet days the boys are kept indoors for breaks.

When pupils are deemed to be playing in a manner likely to injure themselves or other teachers on duty check this immediately. The boys are encouraged to tell the teacher on the yard if anything happens to them. We ask parents to reinforce this with their son. The teacher on duty is the person best placed to deal with an incident and she will follow it up with the class teacher or principal if necessary.

If a child is injured during yard time the teacher on duty decided whether or not it is necessary to send a child off the yard for first aid. All cases of head injuries, mouth injuries or deep cuts are notified to parents either immediately or at dismissal time as the occasion demands. All accidents are noted in the Accident Report Book.

School Lunch
Milk, sandwiches and fruit are available in the school daily.
If you wish to supplement the lunch provided we recommend a healthy lunch eg. A sandwich, crackers, fruit or a yogurt.
Fizzy drinks and glass bottles are not allowed. Small treats should be limited to Fridays.
We recommend that each child has a lunch box so as to cut down on the amount of wrappers and waste paper.

Uniform
Our school uniform is a tracksuit which should be worn to school every day. This consists of a navy crested top, navy bottoms and a red polo shirt. The tracksuit is available from Happy Events in The Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. As we aim to have physical activity every day the boys should wear proper runners (no canvas shoes please) preferably with Velcro fasteners.
All children’s property should be clearly marked, particularly coats, hats, scarves and tracksuit tops.

Discipline
Our discipline structure rests on a mixture of expectation, kindly commendation, caring and insistence on standards. We look to parents to support us in developing and maintaining such standards. The education of children is the joint responsibility of home and school. One cannot succeed without the other. We ask for your help and co-operation on certain points which will help in the smooth running of the school.

Homework
In Junior and Senior Infants homework consists of reading and oral work daily. Each boy has a Reading Folder with a Reading Record which should be signed every day by a parent or guardian. We ask parents to support current themes or projects in their child’s class. This can be done through discussion, collecting items or looking up information where appropriate.

Home-School Links
We hope that your son’s time at St John Bosco JBS will be very happy and that by co-operation and mutual understanding between home and school we will be able to work together to lay firm foundations for good character formation for your child.

Opportunities occur during the year for you to visit the school and to discuss your child’s progress with the Class Teacher. A written report of your child’s progress will be sent home annually and parents are invited to Parent/Teacher meetings at least once a year. If you wish to speak to the teacher at any other time we ask that you do so at dismissal time rather than in the mornings. Mornings are generally very busy times for teachers as they welcome their class and begin the school day. An appointment to meet either the Class Teacher or the Principal can be made by phone or by letter at any time.

Please ensure that the school has up to date contact information in case of an emergency. More than one contact number should be provided in case you are not contactable.

Check your child’s schoolbag regularly for notes or newsletters. You should nominate one mobile number for our Text-a-Parent service. This is fast becoming our primary form of communication so it is vital that this number is accurate. If you are not receiving text messages please let us know as soon as possible.

It is very helpful to inform the school of any particular problem or changes your son might be facing. This knowledge can help us understand each boy better and any information is dealt with in the strictest confidence.