Menu
26 January 2015
Dear Parents
I am delighted to inform you, that after many false dawns, details of our move to St Patrick’s have now been finalised.
I can confirm that our last day, in the present St Mary’s School building, will be Wednesday 25 March. DENI has confirmed that the school can take two exceptional closure days on Thursday 26 March and Friday and 27 March, to allow furniture and school belongings etc. to be transported to St Patrick’s. We will also use three of our allocated Teacher Training Days the following week to reduce the loss of class contact time.
School will be closed from Thursday 26 March to Friday 10 April. This includes the Easter holiday period. Children will return to school, at St Patrick’s, on Monday 13 April. Breakfast Club and After School Club will operate as normal from Monday 13 April.
My apologises for any disruption caused. We have no alternative but to close for a number of days. The removal contractors believe it will take up to four days to move all items from one location to another.
At the request of Road Service, to avoid traffic congestion at St Patrick’s and any bottlenecks on the Scarva Road, St Mary’s school day will commence 15 minutes earlier at 8.45am. P1 to P3 pupils will finish at 1.45pm, P5 to P7 will finish at 2.45pm. Playgroup will finish at 12.35pm and Nursery will finish at 1.15pm. After School Club will operate as normal.
The present school building will be open on Wednesday 25 February from 6.00pm to 8.30pm for public viewing. Ex-pupils, ex-members of staff and parents are welcome to attend. Please forward any group photographs of staff and pupils to help create a timeline from the beginning of the life of the present St Mary's building to the present day. It would be a great help if you were able to scan and email any photographs with details and the approximate year to info@stmarys.banbridge.ni.sch.uk.
Alternatively, photographs may be handed to a member of staff at reception daily between 9.10am to 9.30am and 2.45pm to 3.00pm. The photographs will be scanned and returned. Please place a label on the back of each photograph with your name, phone number and address. Please include any details e.g. year and names.
The closing date for photographs is Monday, 2 February.
A Celebratory Mass will take place in Church of St Therese on Friday 27 February at 11.00am. Our whole school community will be in attendance. Parents, ex-members of staff, ex-pupils and our Board of Governors are all invited to attend. School will close after mass at 12.30pm for all children. A packed lunch will be provided for any child who takes Free School meals, if requested. Please note there will be no After School Club on Friday 27 February.
Information meetings for parents will be held during the week commencing Monday 9 March. Information relating to parking, school entry, class location etc. will be discussed and parents will have an opportunity to view the site plans and ask any questions. Details of these meetings will be placed on the school website and a letter issued to each year group in due course.
All school reading books will be collected before Friday 20 March to allow these to be catalogued and boxed.
On Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 March all children will have an opportunity to visit their new class room and have lining up procedures, fire drills, toileting areas explained etc.
Wednesday 25 March will be a Fun Day at school for the children. Various activities will be planned for all the children to have an enjoyable end to the St Mary’s School building.
Please be aware that our computer systems will be removed from Friday 20 March. It is anticipated that telephone lines will not be changed until during the Easter holiday period.
We do not envisage any great difficulties other than getting all moved within the timeframe allocated to the school. Please continue to send any cardboard boxes to the school. Any help or assistance with the move is greatly appreciated.
Again my apologies for any disruption caused but this is unavoidable.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Yours sincerely
Des O’Hagan
Principal
