24th June 2026

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope you and your families are keeping well and are enjoying the summer break. The Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations are now finished. I would like to congratulate our sixth and third year students on their hard work, dedication having completed the state examinations.

We look forward to welcoming our returning students and our new students to St. Mark’s Community School in August. We are delighted to be opening up a new school building for all our students. Our new school building consists of five new classrooms, resource rooms and new toilets for our students and staff.

The return schedule for students is outlined below. Students must be in full school uniform for their induction morning. Students do not need to bring in books for their induction. They will need on the day a pen and their school bag to collect some copies and books. Students will receive their school journal when they return to school. There is no charge for the school journal this year.

Induction and Return Schedule for Students

Tyro App: A reminder to all parents to download and set up Tyro which will have all the details for your child in the school. If you need support please contact the school office or follow the guidelines on the school website. Tyro will be used on a regular basis and will be a vital means of communication between school and parents. The following are the main features that we will be using the Tyro app for.

1. School Reports (Christmas & Summer Term Reports)

All term reports will only be available online through Tyro

2. Attendance & Tyro Mail

Parents/Guardians can access attendance data and provide notes to Year Heads to explain absences. As a school community this year we will be putting an extra emphasis on student attendance. It is vitally important that all students attend school every day unless there is a valid reason. Any absence from school must be communicated to the school through the Tyro app or directly with the Year Head. Attendance is the biggest factor to ensure that your son/daughter reach their full potential

3. Timetable & Options

Parents can view their son/daughter(s) live timetable and select options for subject choices

4. Tyro Mail

The School will send notifications to parents on upcoming events and updates. Parents can communicate via mail to all staff

5. Payments

All school payments can be made through the Tyro app for school insurance, trips and events that take place throughout the year

School Book Scheme Junior & Senior Cycle: As you are aware all junior and senior cycle students can avail of the free book scheme for the next school year. All books will be available to borrow from the school at no cost to families. Book collection dates for 1st and 5th years students are; Monday 24th August from 12- 3pm and Tuesday 25th August from 12-3pm.

Most of our 2nd, 3rd and 6th year students have their books through the established book scheme. In the first week of the new term additional books required by 2nd, 3rd and 6th year students will be distributed. Transition Year students will also receive some key textbooks.

The school journal, calculator and a copy per subject is included in this scheme at no extra cost to families. Specialised stationery including art folders, sketch pads and technical graphic drawing kits are also included. The book lists for all year groups are available on the school website. https://www.StMarksCS.ie/page/Book-Lists-2026-27/1169996/Index.html

Families are reminded the scheme allows for one copy of the textbook, calculator etc to be assigned per student and any losses or damage is not covered by the scheme. A copy of the book scheme agreement will be provided to each family.

Supervised Study: Supervised study will continue next year. Study takes place Monday to Thursday from 3.45 until 5.45. Students from all year groups are welcome to sign up for supervised study in August.

School Meals: We are delighted to be able to continue offering hot lunches and before school breakfast club next year. Breakfast club is open from 7:45am-8:15am daily. The weekly menu will be posted on Tyro and there is no cost to students. Further nutritional information will be published on the school website.

School Uniform: A reminder to parents that the details of the school uniform including the PE uniform are available on our website at the following link: https://www.StMarksCS.ie/page/Uniform/26875/Index.html

All students are expected in full school uniform from the start of the school year including appropriate all black footwear (Shoes or trainers. Crocs are unsuitable).

The school PE uniform is available to purchase from www.schoolwearhouse.ie The uniform consists of three pieces; crested hoodie (junior students) or half zip (senior students), crested T-shirt and crested tracksuit (choice available on uniform suppliers website). All students are required to wear the full school uniform including the PE tracksuit bottoms for 2026-2027 school year.

Timetable/Options: Students will be given their new timetable including all the subjects on their return in August.

I would like to wish all our students, parents/guardians and the wider school community an enjoyable School Year ahead and we look forward to working with your son/daughter in the coming months ahead. A copy of the school newsletter is available on the school website and instagram for you to have a look at the great memories from the 2025-26 school year. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YieCGv7X1sseWhAWWQ1KwjOOkwh8CGei/view

Kind Regards,

Ian Boran Principal