Good evening Parents / Guardians,
As we reach the end of a busy and productive second term, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to all parents and guardians for your ongoing support and partnership throughout the year. Your encouragement at home and engagement with the school play a vital role in the progress and wellbeing of our students.
As we break for the Easter holidays, we hope this two-week period provides an opportunity for families to rest, recharge and enjoy some quality time together. With the arrival of spring, the longer days and brighter evenings offer a welcome chance to get outdoors and enjoy a slower pace.
We would also like to acknowledge our 6th year students, who will be continuing their oral examinations over the Easter break, along with preparing for upcoming practical assessments. We wish them every success and thank you for the support you provide them during this important time.
We look forward to welcoming everyone back for what promises to be a busy and positive final term on 13th April at 8.45am. There are a number of important updates on recent developments for St Seton’s that I am including in this week’s bulletin which I encourage you to take a few minutes to read through and engage with.
Wishing all of our families a safe, restful and enjoyable Easter break.
Sarah Green
Principal
Tús Nua Update
The Tus Nua group met this week. The Agreed Report on the Meeting can be read here: Tus Nua – Agreed Report Meeting 3 – 23.03.26
On Tuesday evening, I had contact from the Building Unit and there is a plan confirmed to support our school with certain developments while we are across two campuses. The works being prioritised are health and safety measures eg resurfacing external surfaces; marked spaces for carparking; 5 aside and basketball courts in the yards; accessibility works to our entrances and equipment to support PE and the repurposing of a classroom to a Woodwork room on our Senior Campus. Every effort will be made to have these works ready for the start of the next academic year.
On Wednesday TDs Catherine Ardagh and Aengus O’Snodaigh raised a joint topical to the Minister of Education about the concerns on the lack of progress with our school buildings. Junior Minister for Special Education Michael Moynihan responded very well and will come to visit St Seton’s as soon as he can. We want this visit to happen before the end of the school year.
The recording of the full exchange can be viewed here from 36 minutes on. When a topical is raised, there is 4mins of speaking time on the matter from those raising it, followed by Ministerial response and then a follow up from the original speaker and then final ministerial comment.
Yesterday, there was an article on ‘Dublin Live’ reporting on the exchange in the Dail and raising the concerns in the local community about lack of progress with the building. Tús Nua will be preparing a media pack ahead of the Public Meeting and will engage with local and national media then as a platform to raise our concerns about the lack of progress with our building project.
Public Meeting
The Public Meeting to campaign for the timely delivery of our new school building will take place on 21st April at 6pm on the Junior Campus. We need your help!!! Come and show your solidarity and support for St Seton’s and have the collective voices of the families of our students heard. The poster for the meeting can be viewed here and below:
DEIS Plus Scheme
You may have seen that St Seton’s has been awarded DEIS plus status. Information on the DEIS Plus Scheme and what it means for St Seton’s, as far as we know right now, can be viewed here. All additional supports for our school, students and families are welcomed.
Difference Days
I am delighted to announce that St Seton’s Senior Campus has been chosen as a project for Difference Days to complete on 18th June! The sponsor for this transformational day of action is SMBC Aviation Capital. They are sending out 350 volunteers to complete a series of developments across St Seton’s and the three local Dominican Primary schools.
The project details for St Seton’s involve a major upgrade of the rear of the Senior Campus including new shelter structures, new planters and planting, a new greenhouse and the redevelopment of the court area to include two 5-aside football pitches and a basketball court.
The details of the works are outlined in this presentation. This is a huge win for St Seton’s and I believe will make a positive impact and enhance daily experiences of our senior students in St Seton’s.
The Difference Days project on the JC on 20th April is a smaller venture but will be impactful nonetheless. The outdoor classroom will be completed on 20th April. The volunteers from IPB Insurance who are the sponsor for this project will be based in our canteen that day and there will be student participation from some TY and 1st Year Students with support from Mr Gallagher and Mr Keogan.
Thank you to Denis and Maurice from Difference Days and the teams in SMBC Aviation Capital and IPB insurance for this investment in our school community.
Literacy Week
Thank you to Ms Connolly for her coordination of Literacy Week which takes place the week after the Easter Holidays. Literacy is at the heart of all learning and its development is a shared responsibility across every subject, every classroom, every day. When students are supported to read, write, speak and think with confidence, they are better equipped to access the curriculum, express their ideas, and engage meaningfully in their learning. Embedding literacy in all lessons through subject-specific vocabulary, discussion, reading and writing, helps to build not only academic success, but also the skills students need for life beyond school.
Staffing Updates
On behalf of all the staff, I’d like to wish our Haven teacher, Ms O’Connell, all very best wishes as she finishes in St Seton’s today to commence her maternity leave. She is about to begin her most important job yet! A new sub teacher, Ms Olive McNamara, will commence in Haven on 13th April and I am sure everyone will give her a warm St Seton’s welcome.
🙌 Celebrating Success:
- A big thank you and well done to Lisa Howell and the Wellbeing Committee for the coordination of a wonderful Wellbeing week. It was great to see the positive engagement from our school community at all levels – Students, Staff and Parents / Guardians. St Seton’s is a challenging place to work but the warm atmosphere and positivity amongst staff is a real factor in the successes we experience. Thanks especially to the team who prepared the Staff Lunch yesterday. It was lovely to see all the happy and relaxed faces coming out yesterday when I got back from Carlow. A great way to set everyone up for the Easter break.
- Congratulations to Mr Keogan and his Girls Athletics team on the successful participation in the Athletics meet this week.
- Hard luck to the U15s who lost their Leinster quarter final vs the Donahies this week. There was a penalty in the final two minutes that went against them and they lost 1-0. Hard luck to Ms Mollison and Mr Eustace who have guided this team who have played so well and represented St Seton’s wonderfully.
- Congratulations to the Junior Boys GAA team who won their semi-final and are through to the final. This is a wonderful achievement considering GAA was newly introduced to St Seton’s in 2023! Many thanks to Mr Joyce and Mr Nolan for their leadership.
- Well done to Joshua Lawless from TY who is back in school following his experience in Dept Foreign Affairs this week. He had a wonderful experience and has really benefitted from the opportunity.
