Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Leixlip ETNS located?

 

What is the teacher / class allocation for 2024/2025? 

Mary McDowell, Principal

Noreen Cronin, Deputy Principal & SENCO

Niamh Haughton [Junior Infants] 

Caitríona O’Connor [Senior Infants] 

Jean Donnelly [1st Class] 

Pooja Puri [2nd Class]

Éabha Ryan [3rd Class]

Sharon Lynch [4th Class] 

Kate O’Connor [5th Class] 

Additional Education Team 

Special Education Teacher, Noreen Cronin

Special Education Teacher, Olive Clancy

EAL Teacher – Jenny Connolly 

EAL Teacher – Anna Doran

Additional Needs Assistants

Grainne Moore, Noreen MacInerney, Julie Herron, Karen O’Flaherty, Sarah Brennan 

School Administrator

Debbie Moriarty

As in all Educate Together schools, all staff, children and parents are addressed by their first names.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR NEW PARENTS / REMINDERS FOR CURRENT PARENTS

What are the school times?

Infant classes finish at 1:20pm and senior classes (1st – 5th) finish at 2:20pm.

The gate will be locked at 8.50 and pupils that arrive after this time will be marked as late.

At collection time, teachers will lead their classes to the yard to line up and wait for collection. Children in classes 3rd – 5th can walk home unsupervised. Please advise the school if you do not consent to this and require alternative arrangements.

What is the situation with parking?

There is strictly no parking available at Leixlip ETNS nor on the grounds of Coláiste Chiaráin. Parents are not permitted to drive onto the grounds of either school. Parents dropping off and collecting children should always park legally and with consideration for local residents. Please ensure you are not blocking access to residents’ homes, double parked blocking traffic or parked on double yellow lines.

Please be mindful that students attending Coláiste Chiaráin will be arriving/leaving the grounds of the school throughout the school day and will be using the same main entrance as the pupils attending Leixlip ETNS.

What will my child need for their first day at school?

Children in the infant classes should have a small school bag to carry their lunch boxes and drinks.

Children in the older classes should have a larger school bag to carry their lunch boxes and drinks and whichever books/copies they need for homework.

What else does my child need?

All books, copy books and stationary will be provided by the school under the Department of Education’s new free books scheme.

What will my child be learning in school?

All national schools in Ireland are required to teach the national Primary School Curriculum. More information here.

In addition to the primary school curriculum, every school is also required to teach an ethical or religious progamme that is aligned to the core beliefs and values of their patron body. Leixlip ETNS is a non denominational school, and therefore does not teach a religious programme. Our patron is Educate Together whose core values are – Child Centred, Equality-based, Democratically and Co-Educational.

More information about the Learn Together ethical education programme can be found here.

What about lunch?

Lunches must be provided by parents/guardians. Pupils will have two break times. The first break is at 10.15 – children will have time to eat a small snack and then will go out to play for 15 minutes.

The second break is at 12.10, children will eat their mid-day lunch and then go out to play for 25 minutes.

The school has a healthy-lunch policy – generally, pupils bring in sandwiches, wraps, cold pasta/rice dishes, and fruit, crackers etc. Yoghurts are discouraged because of spillage.

Pupils should not bring the following – crisps [chips], popcorn, sweets [candy], chocolate, chewing gum, fizzy or sugary drinks.

NUTS AND NUT PRODUCTS ARE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN DUE TO SEVERE NUT ALLERGIES AMONGST OUR PUPILS. Please note all chocolate spread products contain nuts and are forbidden.

Please let the school know if your child has any food intolerances, allergies or does not eat certain foods for cultural or religious reasons.

What is the Plastic-free Lunch Policy and why is plastic discouraged?

Leixlip ETNS is an Educate Together school and many of our practices are guided by the key philosophies of the Learn Together curriculum, of which ‘An Ethical Approach to the Environment’ is one of the key strands. Please use environmentally friendly products – reusable containers and bottles, consider using a compartmentalised lunch box or wrapping your child’s lunches in biodegradable products such as paper towels, baking paper instead of plastic.

We also try to discourage individually wrapped processed food items for two reasons – [i] the impact on the environment and [ii] most are high in sugar or salt content and are not very healthy [no matter what the manufacturers say in their marketing].

What should my child wear to school?

Leixlip ETNS does not have a uniform. Pupils are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing that allow them to be active. PE takes place twice a week in most classes [your child’s teacher will inform you of the days]. On PE days, the children should wear appropriate sports clothing – tracksuits and running shoes. For Health and Safety reasons, children may not be permitted to participate in PE if they are not wearing the appropriate clothing.

Junior and Senior Infants have a very active day and often still have toileting accidents. They should wear comfortable clothing that they won’t have difficulty changing in the event of an accident.

Long hair on both girls and boys should be worn tied back to prevent the potential spread of head lice, if your child does get head lice, please contact the school in confidence.

What about jewellery?

For health and safety reasons, pupils should not wear jewellery to school, with two exceptions – small ‘stud’ earrings if their ears are pierced, and watches. Smart watches or watches with cameras are not permitted.

What about phones and other electronic devices?

Pupils are not permitted to have phones or other electronic devices. If your child needs to have one to contact you before or after school, please contact the office so that suitable arrangements can be made. Leixlip ETNS along with the other primary schools in Leixlip have signed up to the ‘Voluntary Smart Phone Agreement’ initiative

Can pupils bring their own toys, collectible cards etc to school?

No. Unfortunately this can often lead to minor conflicts or upset – particularly if toys get lost, broken. 

If I have a concern about my child, who should I contact?

Communication with the class teacher is via the Aladdin App. 

For concerns of a confidential nature, please email Mary at principal@leixlipetns.ie

What if I need to talk to my child’s teacher?

Make an appointment – teachers can not supervise their class if they are engaged in talking with a parent in the yard or at the classroom door. If it is urgent, call into the office, and Debbie can pass the message on. You may also contact your child’s teacher via the Aladdin App.

Formal communication between school and home

Formal parent/teacher meetings take place once a year – usually late November/December, these can be in person, by telephone or via Zoom. End of year reports are sent via Aladdin in June. Other communications may take place between teachers and parents on an individual or class basis.

Can the ANAS pass on the messages to the teachers in the morning?

No, unfortunately not. Gráinne, Noreen, Julie, Karen and Sarah will always be busy in the morning, looking after the care needs of the children with whom they work and messages given to them to be passed on may be forgotten [through no fault of theirs]. Please always use the official communication channels – Aladdin, or email to the office.

If my child is feeling sick, what should I do?

Keep them at home to monitor them, call your GP if needed. 

If your child has a temperature or a cough, keep them at home.

If your child has vomiting or diarrhea, keep them at home for 48 hours after the last episode.

If your child child gets head-lice, inform the school in confidence admin@leixlipetns.ie

If your child has any other infectious illness [chickenpox etc], inform the school in confidence.

All absences should be explained using the Aladding App. 

The school is obliged to inform the Education Welfare Service of any child that misses more than twenty days, for this reason, it is very important that you explain the reason for your child’s absence.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please email Mary at principal@leixlipetns.ie or Debbie at admin@leixlipetns.ie