18/08/2026
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you and your family had a nice summer. We're really looking forward to welcoming your child back to Scoil Ghráinne CNS for the 26/27 school year!
It has been a busy summer here at the school, but hopefully the work completed will enhance even further your child's experience in Scoil Ghráinne CNS!
The following developments have taken place over the past few weeks:
New 4G Astro: Our new 4G Astro has been completed and is now a really fantastic surface (see photos attached). We worked with Setanta Secondary School and the Community Centre to combine our finances to fund this. Thank you to both Mark in the Centre and Liam Walshe for being so easy and positive to work with throughout the project. Mark out a huge amount of work into the application, which is hugely appreciated!
New teaching and learning resources JI - 2nd Class: We have further invested in hands-on learning materials this year to extend our final 45 minutes of the day hands-on learning programme up to 2nd class! This can be costly but generally involves mainly one-off purchases and it makes the final part of the day far more productive and enjoyable for our younger pupils.
New Literacy Resources Senior Classes: Through maximising the free schoolbooks grant we have been able to invest in materials to develop pupils' punctuation and grammar in our senior classes. This has been identified as one of our literacy focuses and is a key foundational aspect of literacy that will benefit pupils across all written subjects all the way up to leaving cert!
The Keith Duffy Foundation Dunlin City Marathon fundraiser has been set up with 4 participants this year. There are a lot of other schools/organisations in a far worse position to us at this stage, so KDF understandably need to spread their resources this year. However, they have agreed to sponsor 4 runners hand promote the fundraiser. The team has already been putting in hours of training every week, and we are beyond grateful for their amazing level of commitment to supporting our school!
Building Maintenance: Thanks to Robbie who was hard at work throughout the summer break clearing the overgrown area at the back of the school, fully weeding and power washing around the school, cleaning and polishing the halls and classrooms across all 3 floors.
Cleaning: The cleaning staff were also hard at work cleaning all classrooms, halls, toilets and common areas.
OT and Movement Room: We were able to drawdown the grant for our new OT Movement Room in Croí which in addition to the Manna Sponsorship has allowed us to create a vital space for the pupils. See plan attached in pictures.
Free Books Scheme: The free schoolbooks have been delivered and prepared for each pupil.
Return Dates: Below is a reminder of the start times and dates for incoming classes, along with a link to the school's calendar for 2026/27:
https://www.scoilghrainnecns.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Calendar-Outline-2026-27.pdf
Junior Infants and New Pupils:
A very special welcome and good luck to our incoming Junior Infants and the many new pupils who are starting across all year groups this year. I have attached a copy of our infant induction booklet which can also be a useful reference for pupils in other classes as it includes important information about our school. Booklet is on a separate post.
*On that note, if anyone has moved out of the area over the summer can you please email the school ([email protected]) to confirm this as we have a high number of children on waiting lists and it would be much easier for their transition if they know a place has become prior to starting in another school in September and moving again.
Please also see below information on the times/dates for starting.
Free Hot School Meals: Glanmore will be starting hot school meals from Thursday, August 27th . Please ensure that you are set up with the app and contact Glanmore directly if you need any assistance.
Return to School Procedures:
Junior Infants
Week 1: 10:00 a.m - 12pm , Wednesday, 26th August - Friday 28th August.
Parents can walk their child through the main entrance (as we did for the visit last June).
New Junior Infants will start school at 10:00 a.m. and finish at 12:00 p.m. for the first three days.
*I have also attached the full information booklet developed for Junior Infant parents with this message. Page 6 onwards includes further information/helpful tips for the first few days.
Week 2 & 3:Junior infant children will start school at 9am and finish at 12pm (The children will still enter through the main door, but teachers will give updates on lining up procedures)
Week 4:The children will be in school for a full day (8.50am to 1.30pm). (Same as week 2 & 3 above).
Senior Infants to 6th Class (Croí)
Day 1/2:
8:50 a.m. Thursday, 27th August and Friday, 28th August
Parents can leave their child at the entrance to the infant yard (facing the astro) at 8:50 a.m., where staff will be on hand to direct them to their class line.
Pupils will line up with their class at their designated area with their new teacher (name previously sent out) before being walked to their new classroom.
Day 3 onwards: Monday onwards
Entry Points: Main entrance/door at office: Junior Infants, Senior Infants, 5th and 6th
Side gate/Infants yard facing astro: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, Croí
*Pupils will access the school through their assigned entry point and go straight to their classroom. Pupils will not line up in the yard.
Thank you once again for all your support last year, and we look forward to creating another positive year for the pupils over the coming year!
Kind regards,
Jonathan Hanley,
Principal,
Scoil Ghrainne CNS,
Phibblestown,
Clonee,
Dublin 15
https://www.scoilghrainnecns.ie
