We wish all members of the school community a very warm welcome back after the Christmas break.
Ahead of a busy term ahead, we want to bring the following important information to your attention:
School Uniform
Our school uniform is a core element of our school identity and, as such, it is always of the utmost importance that all students are in full, correct uniform, including the appropriate footwear, at all times.
We have noted a number of issues that we would like to bring to your particular attention:
- Canvas/fabric shoes are not permitted.
- Shoes must be black leather with no coloured logos or markings.
- Students wear their PE uniform on days when they have PE. In relation to the PE uniform:
- Students must wear the crested school tracksuit bottoms – non crested tracksuits or leggings are not acceptable as part of the PE uniform.
- Students who do not have the correct PE uniform will not be able to take part in PE.
If your child has a difficulty with any element of their uniform and needs to wear a non-uniform item of clothing or footwear to school, please ensure you have noted this clearly in their Dialann.
In general, we are delighted with how the vast majority of students engage positively with their uniform, and we take every opportunity to praise them for this. By the same token, students who do not engage positively with their uniform will be subject to sanction.
As you will know, an updated uniform policy was ratified by the Board of Management in June, and is available on our website.
As ever, we appreciate your continued support in relation to our school uniform.
Attendance & Punctuality
The correlation between school attendance and academic attainment is well established. In particular, given the significant amount of in-school time missed because of the pandemic – it is especially important that all students are in attendance at school every day for the full day whenever possible.
As such, we would like to remind you of the following important points:
- The school building is open from 08.20 every morning and our school day starts at 08.40 sharp.
- We expect all students to be in their base classrooms before 08.40 to attend assembly.
Morning assembly is a vital component of school life in Ratoath College our Caomhnóirí have the opportunity to meet with the students in their care, monitor their Dialann, assist with planning ahead and in managing challenges. Just as importantly, it is our daily opportunity to celebrate students’ achievements and pass on vital information to the whole school community.
Where a student is late more than two times in a week, we will send a letter home to bring this to your attention. The student will be required to meet with their Caomhnóir and complete a reflection task designed to engage with the reasons behind their difficulties with punctuality and make an improvement plan. This will need to be signed by you the parent(s)/guardian(s). This plan will be reviewed by the student and their Caomhnóir on an agreed date. Where no improvement is evident, the student will be referred to their Moltóir.
We fully understand that there are times that students will be unavoidably late for school on those rare occasions where some unforeseen circumstance or emergency arises and we appreciate your ongoing support in ensuring that, wherever possible, appointments and other planned events that would require students to be absent from school are scheduled outside school time.
In line with HSE advice and guidance, if your child is unwell, they should not attend school. Click here for more information.
Green School
As you know, we have been working hard this academic year to make our school a more sustainable and environmentally friendly place. Our staff and students, in particular our outstanding Green Schools Team led by Ms Hynes, have done terrific work to date and we are delighted with how positively all members of the school community are engaging with this process. Shortly before the Christmas holidays, we celebrated our Green School Action Day where the entire school community focussed on our environmental and sustainability initiatives for the day led by Scruffy, our Green Schools Mascot. One of the highlights of the day was the Clothes Swap for 1st Year students, emphasising the importance of the circular economy for students, which was our Green School theme for the month of December.
As we advised at the beginning of the year, it is now our goal to eliminate all single use plastic and non-recyclable material from the school environment.
As such, we ask that students do not bring such items to school with them. This includes, for example, zip-log plastic bags, clingfilm and tinfoil /aluminium foil.
We have made excellent progress on our Green initiatives this year and we are grateful for your continued support in this respect.
Assessment Week
Assessments for all students (other than TY and LCA students on work experience) will take place from Monday, 16th January to Monday 23rd January. This includes mock Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert exams for all Third and Sixth Year students. Note that Sixth Year mock exams continue until Friday, 27th January.
As normal during assessments, during this period the school timetable will not operate as usual and students should only attend school when they have a scheduled assessment.
Click/tap the button below to download the January Assessment schedule for all year groups:
Please note that, in order to facilitate mandatory staff training on Thursday, 19th January, only Third and Sixth Year students will have scheduled assessments on that day.
Dates for your Diary
Monday 6th February – School Closed (Public holiday)
Monday 13th – Friday 17th February – Mid-Term Break
Wednesday 22nd February – Third Year Parent-Teacher-Student Meetings
Tuesday 28th February – School finishes at 14.30
Tuesday 14th March – TY & 5th Year Parent Teacher Student Meetings
Thursday 16th – Friday 17th March – School Closed
Monday 3rd April – Friday 14th April – Easter Holidays
Monday 17th April – Beginning of Term 3
