The school welcomes all parents to contact the school but interruptions should be kept to a minimum. All meetings with the Principal or Class Teacher must be by appointment.

Telephone calls about children’s absences; e.g. illness, etc. cause disruption. It is recommended that parents send a note to the class teacher to communicate such messages on your child’s return to school.

The child’s education and welfare are best served where there is regular contact between parent and teacher on matters relating to the child’s progress and well-being. Parent/teacher meetings, therefore, form an integral part of our school’s programme. In Le Chéile ETNS school parent/teacher meetings take one or more of the following forms:-

Parents may meet with the teacher on a one to one basis, by appointment, to discuss the child’s progress or other matters of concern to parent or teacher. Such meeting may be initiated by either the parents or the class teacher. If a problem needs further attention, an appointment may be made to discuss the matter more fully with the parent(s), class teacher and principal.

Parent-Teacher meetings normally take place in February. Regular consultation occurs between the Learning Support Team and Class teachers to identify children at risk with a view to providing educational support. When children are seen to be encountering learning difficulties parents are requested to come to the school for a progress report with the Class Teacher and Learning Support Team.

Individual Reports on pupils are issued at the end of each academic year. A copy of this is also kept in school.

Informal Meetings

The Principal is in regular contact with parents throughout the day by phone, by text or by meeting them informally at the school.

Formal Meetings

Meetings by appointment in the Principal’s office on request of parent(s) or Principal.

A meeting is held in January for prospective parents. Meetings are held in May each year with the parents of incoming pupils i.e. those with confirmed places in the school for the following September. At this meeting the Principal and Infant Teachers give a presentation on the history of the school and how it operates as well as useful advice on starting school.

The Parents’ Association provides further contact between parents and school at this and subsequent meetings.

When necessary, information is communicated to the general body of parents by letter on items such as school events, school vacations for the year etc. When such communication takes place the youngest child in each family receives the letter in order to avoid duplication. The text-a-parent system is also used widely for reminders of events etc.

In the event of a child becoming ill at school or suffering a fall or injury, parents/guardians will be contacted by phone. It is very important that we have a contact number of somebody who will be able to collect the child if the parent/guardian is not available. If you give such a contact name and number please inform the person that you are doing so.

Each pupil’s parent or guardian must give details of health problems on the registration form.

The orderly flow of traffic at the school at delivery and collection time is essential for safety, bearing in mind the numbers involved. To relieve congestion parents are requested to use the Drogheda Grammar School tennis court car park or use the “drop off area”. When dropping off please drop and go immediately. Parking on handicapped parking spaces is strictly for the handicapped.

We would ask parents to avoid issuing birthday invitations, Christmas cards, or gifts in the school as this does cause upset to children not included.

Please check books and schoolbags and ensure they are kept neat, clean and tidy at all times. Also check that your child’s bag has the minimum amount of books necessary and keep the weight of the bag as light as possible. Please check for notes, newsletters, etc. on a regular basis.

Le Chéile like all other schools relies on fund-raising to finance the extras in school. We collect an Arts and Craft levy annually to fund photocopying, library books, jigsaws, paints art materials, class games, computer software, hardware and other classroom and sporting requirements. Payment for Arts/crafts etc. are facilitated on-line on the schools website &/or a link will be sent to parents by text.

We do not allow bars, sweets, fizzy drinks, crisps or any item containing nuts in any class in the school.

As a general rule teachers will not be involved in the administration of medication to pupils. In exceptional circumstances Medication will be administered with the signing of an indemnity form.

At Le Chéile we endeavour to be an environmentally friendly school. To this end we encourage children to recycle. The exterior and interior of the school are clean, well maintained and pleasing to the eye. Please speak to your children regularly about recycling and using litter bins. “Where litter lies-beauty dies”. We are proud of our environment and endeavour to keep it as green as possible.

The pupils in the school are represented by the Students’ Council. There is an annual election of students on the council. Pupils from Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth are elected to represent the views of all the school pupils. Elections take place each September. The role of the Students’ Council is to act as a sounding board for all pupils and also to include the student perspective on issues in the school which are important for our students.

The Board of Management is responsible for the direct government of the school in accordance with –

• The Rules for National Schools
• The Constitution of Boards and Rules of Procedure
• Circulars issued from time to time by the Minister

The Board Membership is made up as follows –

• 2 Nominees of the Patron (Educate Together)
• 2 elected Parents (one being a mother, one being a father)
• The Principal
• One elected member of the teaching staff
• 2 community representatives

The Parents’ Association of Le Chéile is a very active committee made up of parents of children from all classes. The position of Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary and Public Relations Officer are elected by all parents at the Annual General Meeting which is held at the beginning of the new academic year.