LATEST NEWS

Welcome Back – January 2024

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 & jacket, 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.

    • 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.

    • Only the crested school jacket should be worn to and from school and while in school. Non-school jackets are not permitted.
    • Please note, there are a number of second-hand school jackets in excellent condition available. If you wish to purchase a second hand school jacket, please contact the main office.

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.

The school uniform policy is available here.

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.

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.

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.

Green School

As you know, we have been working hard over the last two academic years to make the school a more sustainable and environmentally friendly place. Our staff and students have done terrific work to date and we are delighted with how positively all members of the school community are engaging with this process. 

We appreciate to your help and support in furthering our sustainability initiatives, in particular to eliminate all single use plastic and non-recyclable material from the school environment.
As such, a reminder that students may 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, 15th January to Friday 19th 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, 26th 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:

Some Dates for your Diary – Term 2

Click here to view to school calendar.

Monday 5th February – School Closed (Public holiday)

Monday 12th – Friday 16th February – Mid-Term Break

Thursday 22nd February – Third Year Parent-Teacher-Student Meetings

Thursday 14th March – TY & 5th Year Parent Teacher Student Meetings

Monday 18th March – School Closed (public holiday)

Monday 25th March– Friday 6th April – Easter Holidays

Monday 8th April – Beginning of Term 3