This policy is set out according to the provisions of the Education Act 1998. The Board of Management trusts that by doing so parents will be assisted in relation to enrolment matters and that futhermore, the principal will be happy to clarify any further matters arising from this policy.

St. Mary's Junior School is a co-educational Catholic school under the patronage of the Archbishop of the Dublin Diocese and situated in Main St. Blessington, Co. Wicklow. At present we have a full time administrative princial, 11 mainstream classes from Junior Infants to Second, one fulltime,two shared and one part-time Special Educational Needs teachers plus one full time Language Support teacher.

Our school follows the curricular programmes prescribed by the Department of Education and Science, is dependent on the grants and teacher resources provided by that department and therefore operates within the guidelines laid down by them.

As a school that promotes a Christian ethos we support the principles of inclusiveness, equality of access and participation, parental choice in relation to enrolment, respect for the diversity of values, beliefs, languages and ways of life in society.

Applications are to made in writing on the official application form. This document is available upon request from the office or can be downloaded from the Contacts section of our website.

1. Brothers and sisters of children in St. Mary's Junior and Senior schools.
2. Catholic children who live outside the parish and do not have a Catholic school in their parish.
3. Children of staff in St. Mary's Junior and Senior schools.
4. All children who live within the parish boundaries but are not Catholic applying for a placement are entitled to a place if there are vacancies after the groups from (1) to (3) have been allocated places.
5. All children who apply to the school and are not Catholics and not residents within the parish boundaries are entitled to a place in the school if there are vacancies in the school after the groups from (1) to (4) have allocated places.
6. If all things are equal, priority will be given to older children.

PTA Activities-(only some of them....)

• Halloween Sponsored Walk
• Hot Dog Days
• Table quiz and raffle.
• Cake Sale.
• Copper Hunt.
• School Relay Marathon.
• School Newsletter.
• Communion and Confirmation Receptions.
• Free Christmas Raffle for the children.
• Sponsorship of visitors to the school such as drama groups.
• Green Schools sponsorship.
• Gardening.
• Sponsorship of Seachtain na Gaeilge activities.

You may ask what are we doing with the monies raised? Funds raised are split between the two schools. In the Junior School funds raised to date have supplemented the Department I.T. grants to provide each class with a working latop, wireless mouse, wireless keyboard and interactive whiteboards. We have also purchased PE equipment, classroom resources and software. We have replaced the carpet in our hall with heavy duty lino, supplemented the cost of swimming and gymnastics and paid for a visiting theatre group as well as a host of other small things which make learning easier for some children and simply more fun for others. One of our biggest outlays which was assisted by PTA funds was the purchase of our new reading schemes. PTA funding went a long way towards the initial cost which will be ongoing. In the future we hope to invest in gymnastics euipment and continue to develop our school garden.

Other Parent Activities

Parents do not have to be members of the PTA to become involved in school. At present we have lists of parents who help out with Library Trips, Swimming, Gymnastics, School Tours and Reading. Parents also get involved with short and long term projects such as book covering, helping with the school library and Visual Arts rooms, in the parish Let the Children Come to Me program and at the Communion and Confirmation Reception.

Blessington Educational Trust Fund

An Educational Assessment is carried out by an Educational Psychologist to determine what level of ability a child has and to establish what learning strengths and weaknesses they have. Children who present with learning difficulties may be referred for educational assessments to determine if they have specific learning difficulties eg. Dyslexia. Educational assessments are also required to support applications for Speech and Language and Clinical assessments. When applying for Resource hours and or Special Needs Assistance, children must have an educational assessment. Each year the Department of Education and Skills provides a limited number of assessments through the National Educational Psychological Services (N.E.P.S.) The number of students requiring assessment is always greater than the allowance from NEPS and parents have to resort to paying or a private assessment. Not every family is in the financial position to afford the cost involved and the Blessington Educational Trust Fund was established to subsidise these costs for such families. The fund has also been used to subsidise the cost of engaging therapists to work with groups of children. The fund may be set up to cater for specific children but the benefits of its use are far reaching and to the advantage of all pupils. The Blessington Educational Trust Fund is managed by the principals and treasurers of both the Junior and Senior schools. It is not a bottomless pit and funding is allocated carefully and confidentially. Every year the Parents' Association designate monies from specific fundraising events to maintain the fund. This year they have selected the cake sale and monster raffle on the 13th April. Your support will be much appreciated.