THE FRIDAY NOTE (6TH FEBRUARY 2026)
Dear Parents/ Guardians,
I’d like to begin this week’s Friday Note by thanking everyone for your continued support over what’s been a very busy, but productive, first half-term of 2026! I’d also like to thank our incredible staff team for all the hard work so far this year too. I hope that all of our families, and our amazing staff, enjoy a restful and well-deserved break over the half-term holiday.
I hope that you find the following information useful.
ADDITIONAL EXCEPTIONAL CLOSURES
We received correspondence this week from the Department of Education confirming the allocation of two additional staff development days for the remainder of this academic year- one to be taken during Term 2 and another during Term 3.
School will be closed to pupils to facilitate staff training on the following two dates:
The school holiday list (available on the website) has also been updated to reflect the changes.
ARMAGH ROAD RACE
If you entered your child into the Armagh Road Race, they will receive their race numbers today. These will be sent home with the children this afternoon. Just a reminder that this is taking place on Thursday 12th February (over the break) and it is the responsibility of parents to supervise their children at the event- parents will need to drop their children off at the starting line and collect them at the finishing area. Good luck to all the Saints and Scholars pupils who are taking part!
HALF-TERM REMINDER
A reminder that school will be closed next week for the half?term break. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 16th February.
SPEECH AND DRAMA FESTIVAL
This week, children from across our school took part in the school section of the Armagh Speech and Drama Festival, and I can safely say they did our school proud. Every child performed their piece with fantastic confidence, expression, and enthusiasm. We are so proud of each and every one of them.
We also had some prize?winners, and I’d like to give them a special congratulations:
Thank you to all parents for supporting your children and helping them learn their poems so well. The children were wonderful ambassadors for our school.
BINGO NIGHT!
The pupils of the School Council have organised a fun Bingo Evening for Friday 13th March at 6pm in the School Hall for parents and children. This is to raise money for new sensory tools and toys for our Den as identified by the children themselves. The entry is £5 per person and we will hold a raffle during the evening too. If anyone has any donations for the raffle and prizes for the night, we would welcome any contributions. We will serve tea and coffee during the evening too.
SAFER INTERNET WEEK
We will be celebrating Safer Internet Week from 16th-20th February (the week after the half?term break). Our Digital Leaders are running a poster competition, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes to be awarded. Posters may be digital or hand?drawn and should be submitted to class teachers by Thursday 19th February. Good luck to everyone taking part.
CEREMONY OF LIGHT
The Ceremony of Light, for P7 children who will be making their Confirmation in May, will take place in St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Thursday 26th February at 7pm.
ADMIN REMINDERS
As we finish for this half-term could I please ensure all parents have checked their Parent Pay accounts for any outstanding balances and also ensure all absences have been reported via the school website link. Thank you.
SEAG INFORMATION SESSION
There will be an information session for P6 parents regarding the SEAG assessments on Tuesday 17th February at 7.15pm in school. If your child is currently in P6 and is planning to complete the SEAG assessments in November 2026, this will be an important session to find out more about the preparation work we will be doing in school. If you are unable to attend, please let me know and I will ensure the information is shared with you.
POST-PRIMARY ADMISSIONS
EA Connect is now open for online post-primary applications and will remain open until 12 noon on Thursday 19th February. If your child is currently in P7 and due to begin post-primary school in September 2026, you will need to apply via EA Connect. If you would like to arrange a meeting with me for support with the process, please get in touch.
If your child has a statement of Special Educational Needs you do not need to apply via the EA Connect portal. Your application has already been completed.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, you’re always welcome to get in touch with me or your child’s class teacher via Class Dojo or you can catch me at drop off or collection time. For safeguarding concerns, please contact Mrs O’Braonain directly at aobraonain211@c2kni.net.
Have a lovely half-term break everyone!
Mr A. Scott-Mulholland
Principal