St Kevin’s Parents’ Association
Click here to view the St. Kevin’s NS Parents’ Association Constitution – Ratified October 2020
Dear Parents,
My name is Philip Moyles and I am the chairperson of St. Kevin’s Parents’ Association. I would like to welcome you and your child to St. Kevin’s National School, Greystones.
A brief note on what a Parents Association is and does…..
The Education Act, 1998 sets down the role of the Parents’ Association as follows:
A Parents’ Association shall promote the interests of the students in a school in co-operation with the Board of Management, Principal, teachers and students.
The Education Act also sets down two broad tasks for a Parents’ Association, as ways of implementing that role:
- To advise the Principal or the Board on matters relating to the school.
- To adopt a programme of activities which will promote the involvement of parents in the operation of the school, in consultation with the Principal.
The National Parents Council (NPC) of which St. Kevin’s Parents’ Association is a member, states the aims of a Parents’ Association are:
- To enable parents to play a meaningful role in supporting the aims & objectives of the school.
- To ensure parents are meaningfully consulted in the development of relevant school policies.
- To ensure that parents, Board of Management, Principal and staff work together to ensure the smooth operation of the school by adhering to agreed policies and procedures.
- To enable parents to contribute to an enhanced learning environment for pupils.
- To ensure that the work of the whole school community is at all times focused on the collective needs of all the children in the school.
- To identify and make available the skills and talents of individual parents that may be valuable to the school.
All parents are members of the Parents’ Association but not everyone needs to be involved in the day-to-day business of organising the work. It is for this reason that parents elect a committee. St. Kevin’s Parents’ Association is very proud to have a dedicated and effective committee. We have a number of active sub-committees that oversee aspects such as fundraising, catering, an annual book fair, Christmas cards, swimming, athletics and Healthy Mind and Body Week, amongst many others.
The money raised by the Parents’ Association goes towards updating aspects of the school that the Principal and the Board of Management have identified as areas for development. Previous examples of this are sound-proofing the hall, updating the computer room, installing new windows, improving drainage for the sports’ field and playground graphics, updating classrooms to name but a few.
Money raised from the Book Fair goes towards new books for the school library and classroom libraries. Our current focus is fundraising to update all of the classrooms in the school.
The Parents’ Association cannot function without the kind volunteering of parents within the school. There are plenty of opportunities to help out with events such as catering for school functions, covering books, helping during the sponsored walk, volunteering in the school library and gardening.
The Parents’ Association meets once a month with work continuing through the sub-committees and other members throughout the school year. Whether you can volunteer any amount of your time or your skills we are always grateful for your participation. After all, it is always with the benefit of the students in mind and that is what it is all about.
You can see what the Parents’ Association are doing through the noticeboard in the school, on this page of the school website or through the closed group Facebook page that we have – St. Kevin’s National School Greystones – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1896710900615999. If you would like to contact the Parents’ Association directly, you can reach us at office@stkevins.ie. You can also go through your class representative or contact any member of the Parents’ Association Committee for more information. Each class has a representative linked directly to the Parents’ Association Committee and are an important communication link both ways.
Kind Regards,
Philip Moyles, Chairperson
St. Kevin’s Parents Association.