Dear Parents,
Sports Day – All Systems Go!
It’s all systems go for Sports Day on Sunday 14th June for this family fun day.
Take a few minutes to check out the track events and the Sports Day event map (both attached) so you can plan your day and not miss a thing.
A massive thank you to everyone who has signed up to help with the stations – we really appreciate it!
We are still a little short so if you can spare just 30 minutes, please do sign up.
Even better… rope in a friend and sign up together so you’ve got company at your station!
***Remember: no volunteers = no station***
The Aladdin payment link closes at midnight tonight but you can still pay at the gate on the day. Gate opens at 1.30pm and track events starting from 2pm.
Sports Day Essentials:
- Runners
- Potato & spoon
- Suncream / Raingear!
- Water / Packed lunch
- Hurl (puc gearr)
Parents – you’re not off the hook!!!
Wear comfortable clothing, as you might be called into action for the mother & father races and the legendary inter-school tug of war… it’s always great fun and slightly competitive….it’s all about the bragging rights!
Just a quick reminder – this is a dog-free event, so no dogs on school grounds.
We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at what promises to be a great Sports Day!
Primary school survey published
The Department published the results of the recent national survey carried out in all primary and secondary schools in Ireland. The following are the results for our school:
The results of parents who completed the survey (33%) with children in our school:
Co-educational /Single sex preference
Single sex schools: 42%
Co-educational: 58%
Patronage /Ethos preference:
Multi-denominational: 35%
Denominational (religious) Patron – current configuration: 65%
Language Preference:
Education through Irish: 13%
Education through English – current configuration: 87%
*School Response Rate: 33% engaged with the survey (139 out of 416 households).
Future actions regarding the National Survey
The Department has set out the following steps for the Board of Management in September and October that should include:
September
a) Put a clear process in place to gather feedback from these groups. For example:
Ask the Parents’ Association and Student Council to review the results and send feedback to the Board by an agreed date, and inform parents/guardians/students of this deadline
Engage with school staff and provide a mechanism to collect their views
Publish the survey results on the school website and provide a school email address so members of the wider community can give feedback
Hold a meeting for the community to gather feedback
This will help ensure everyone has a chance to see the survey results and share their views. The Department is suggesting the 30th September as a timeline for feedback from the school community.
October
b) Hold a special Board of Management meeting to review all feedback and decide whether the school wants to explore a change in configuration.
If yes, the Chairperson of the Board of Management should inform our school Patron and the Department of Education and Youth by 31 October 2026. Under the Education Act 1998, the legal responsibility for changing patronage of a school rests with the school Patron. We can decide to take part in the first group of schools to action the survey results for September 2027, or a later date. We should also inform our school community.
If no, we should inform our school Patron.
d) Communicate our decision with parents/guardians, the Parents’ Association, Student Council, staff, and the wider school community.
Standardised test results – Standard Scores (SS)
The Drumcondra standardised tests are assessments designed by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) to measure Irish primary school students' achievement in English Reading, Mathematics, Spellings and Irish. Rather than acting as a high-stakes exam, these tests are used by teachers to see how a child is performing compared to a nationally representative sample of peers across Ireland.
They are not intelligence tests. Standardized scores do not measure how smart your child is; they simply show how well they performed on a specific subject on one particular day.
Scores are a snapshot. A child's score can be impacted by how they feel on test day, illness, or excitement.
One number doesn't tell the whole story. A teacher uses standard scores as a guide, but always looks at them alongside classroom observations, homework, classroom participation and regular day-to-day classwork.
Context for Special Educational Needs (SEN): For children with SEN or those with English as an additional language, these scores may not always reflect the true progress being made in the classroom.
In previous years we have published STen scores. This year, however, we will publish the ‘standard scores’ for English Reading and Mathematics. The standard scores place the national average right in the middle, usually at a score of 100. The scores typically range from 70 to 130 as outlined below:
130 and above: Very high (Top 2%)
120 – 129: High (next 7%)
110 – 119: High average (next 16%)
90 – 109: Average (middle 50% of the population)
80 – 89: Low average
70 -79: Low
Below 70: Very low
Jamie Donnelly – representing Dublin at half time in the Leinster Final
Well done to Jamie Donnelly from Mr. Clandillon’s sixth class who played at half time during the Leinster Final. This was a great honour for Jamie to play in Croke Park and we are all very proud of him.
Ross Conway and Kostas Alexandru representing Dublin hurlers at the fifth class Annual Friendship Games
Best of luck to Ross Conway and Kostas Alexandru who have been selected to represent Dublin hurlers in the Annual Friendship Games for boys in fifth class. This competition is organised by Cumann na mBunscol. This will take place in Parnell Park tomorrow.
Tennis lessons in St. Catherine’s Park – Summer 2026
Parks Tennis is a not-for-profit organisation running since 1977. Their aim is to bring affordable tennis lessons to children of all socio economic and ethnic backgrounds, who might not otherwise get to play the sport. They operate four coaching programmes throughout the year for children aged 5-15. Their 2026 summer term lessons cost just €35 per week (Mon-Fri). The summer term in St. Catherine’s Park, Lucan commences on Monday 13th July, running for 3 weeks. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
Multi-Sports Summer Camp
Dean Russell will hold a summer camp on our school grounds from the 6th – 10th July from 10am to 2pm. Please read the attached flyer for more information.
Le dea-ghuí,
Dara Burke, Principal.