Gaelscoil Philib Barún will accept applications for enrolment in Junior Infants for pupils aged 4 before September 2015 during the month of February. Following receipt of applications places will be offered to parents for their children before the end of March based on criteria outlined in the school’s enrolment policy. An application form can be collected in the school office or alternatively downloaded from the website here. Parents who have pre-enrolled their children will receive a letter asking them to fill in an enclosed enrolment form 2015.

Please return before the 27th February with a copy of the child’s birth certificate. The school’s enrolment policy can be accessed here. Any queries please contact the school.

The latest school newsletter (December 2014 and January 2015) are now available on the Newsletters page.

Gaelscoil Philib Barún has been included on the Department of Education and Skills building list for 2015. Our school is one of sixteen schools formally excluded that have been added to the five year building list. All these schools (including ours) are ready to go to construction immediately.

This announcement is a result of the campaign of the school community to reverse the decision to exclude it from the five year building list announced in 2012.

Ciara Conway TD, rang the school principal with the news last night and the announcement was confirmed today on the DES website. The Minister’s announcement can be accessed here.

The Design Team will now prepare tender documents and construction can begin as soon as contracts are signed with the successful building firm.

Here are the times for the school plays on the 17th and 18th of December 2014. All performances will take place in the school on the school stage erected in 5th class.

Admission Free, with raffle in Aid of Parents Association.

The latest school newsletter (November 2014) is now available on the Newsletters page.

On Thursday 6th November 2014, an opportunity was given to speak briefly to Jan O’Sullivan who has been the minister for Education since July 2014. Jan was in the county to open a new school and we had basically a 15 min time slot to state our case with her. Daithi De Paor, John Wall and myself Claire Ogilvie went to Dungarvan to meet with the minister to ask why are we being continuously overlooked for a permanent building despite meeting all the criteria set out by the ministers office.

Daithi spoke with knowledge and conviction in regards to the past communications with her offices and the current state of the pre-fabs and the battering they received last winter. Daithi gave a good run down of other schools that have been built in the past year including some which never appeared on any of the “pre-approved” lists that we have laboured to be included on. The Minister was unaware of this but obviously if this can happen for others then why not for us?

Minister O’Sullivan did state that although she was new to the role,and that “she did not funds available to her at present”, the schools plight had been highlighted to her already by Ciara Conway who was also in attendance. She is aware that we have been waiting an unacceptable length of time and asked the group questions about demographic criteria, style of building etc. It would be fair to say that she listened diligently to the many points that were made to her:

• Lack of hall facilities.
• Children having to stay in their classrooms at lunchtime when it rains.
• The amount of taxpayers funds that have been spent on the existing prefab would now equal what that cost is of a new build.
• The numbers wanting to attend the school are high and the school is almost at full capacity.
• The population of the town has doubled in recent years.
• The school is in a prominent sight line of all who enter the town and although the department has built new schools in the town over the past 5 years they are certainly not getting any “positive publicity” like what was campaigned for in the last local elections.

We also brought up the fact that an educate together school has been established in Tramore in the past year. We made the point that in the future it would not be unrealistic to assume that existing religious schools nationwide would either merge with educate together facilities or convert to the system. However the Gaelscoil is a language school primarily and will always be stand alone whether secular or not, and will therefore always need its own permanent place in the community. Ciara Conway also highlighted at this stage that for the size of the Gaelscoil it was the most inclusive school in the town.

Possibly the one point of positivity that I took from the meeting was that although the party line is for the next list of “new build schools” to be announced in bulk later next year (closer to the election year of 2016), it is her wish that a handful of priority school’s be announced early in 2015. And as she said we have made it very clear to her that we are wish to be on that priority list.

Claire Ogilvie,
Chairperson, Parents Association.

Parent teacher meetings will be held next week on Wednesday 12th November 3-6pm and Thursday 13th of November 3-5pm. Please return the form attached to letter sent home with the time you wish for your appointment and every effort will be made to accommodate you. Each teacher has a timetable on their door if you wish to pencil in a time.

If these days do not suit alternative arrangement can be made. Please note that meetings are limited to 10 minutes. If you need more time to discuss matters it is best to arrange another meeting. You may also reply by email to address above.

Classes for Adults who which to learn Irish.

The school will offer classes to adults who wish to improve their Irish on Thursday mornings from 9:15 to 10:30. Emphasis will be on conversational Irish for beginners and we will cater for up to intermediate level. Classes will commence from Thursday, November 6th 2014.

The latest school newsletter (November 2014) is now available on the Newsletters page.

The School Calendar has been updated to include a date for the Confirmations, which will take place on Friday, 27 March 2015 at Holy Cross Church, Tramore.

See http://www.pilibbarun.com/info/calendar for more details.