School starting dates - Headford?

sarahfancy

Hello,
We are moving to Galway from Germany with our family and two of our kids will be going to school in Headford. My older daughter is starting secondary school. I need to register all the kids, but I also don't know when school starts. I take it this isn't standardized?

I'm assuming no one is at the school in mid August to sign them up,correct?

Also, are school holidays the same everywhere?

Thanks for your help!
Sarah in Heidelberg

Welcome to Galway.

I went to secondary school in Headford myself but the start dates would be different now. If nobody else can help between now and the weekend I should be able to get you some information when I'm at home.

sarahfancy

Thanks, that would be great. I only arrive on the 13th and will be carless initially, so I need to have some good info.

Sarah

http://www.presheadford.ie/contact.htm

They might also be able to give you contact details for the primary school.

You are leaving it a bit late to register - I would not wait until you arrive to do this.

sarahfancy

Yes, I had already e-mailed them, but the e-mail didn't go through. I figured if I called, no one would be there. This whole move happened within 4 weeks, so I could not have done it any earlier.

I'll try and ring there tomorrow morning.

Thanks,
Sarah

Welcome to Galway. Hope you love your new home here.

gaeilgegrinds1

Headford are doing a staggered start like most schools from the 30th but I'd register the children first. If they don't get places you'll have to look elsewhere. Hope it all works out for you.

Mrs OBumble

sarahfancy wrote: »

Yes, I had already e-mailed them, but the e-mail didn't go through. I figured if I called, no one would be there. This whole move happened within 4 weeks, so I could not have done it any earlier.

I'll try and ring there tomorrow morning.

Just to really spell out what others are saying:

There is no obligation on schools in Ireland to enrol students just because they live in the neighbourhood. I know nothing about availability of places in Headford, but in the schools are full you will be expected to find places elsewhere.

So be very persistent in your phone calls.

sarahfancy

JustMary wrote: »

Just to really spell out what others are saying:

There is no obligation on schools in Ireland to enrol students just because they live in the neighbourhood. I know nothing about availability of places in Headford, but in the schools are full you will be expected to find places elsewhere.

So be very persistent in your phone calls.

Thanks for that, Mary. I will ring them in the morning. I found another e-mail address for them. It does say that priority is placed on "newly resident students in the catchment area", so I hope that helps.

gaeilgegrinds1

Genuinely it depends on how their numbers are and I know they added another class recently so they're pretty high. I'd make it my business to get onto them and be as persistent and organised with documents pertaining to their application as possible, you really don't want to be trekking to the next nearest school. Best of luck

sarahfancy

Hello everyone,
Thanks for your help! I got through to the school finally this morning in a bit of a panic, and she said it is no problem, there is a place for her in the first year.

Thank goodness!
Sarah in Heidelberg

Wompa1

sarahfancy wrote: »

Hello everyone,
Thanks for your help! I got through to the school finally this morning in a bit of a panic, and she said it is no problem, there is a place for her in the first year.

Thank goodness!
Sarah in Heidelberg

The School in Headford isn't great but if yours kids are already pretty clever it shouldn't eb a problem. But your kids probably have a bit of an advantage in terms of the leaving cert possibly. They could be exempt from Irish, They can take German as a subject and get an A no problem. Going on your English they probably wouldn't struggle with that either? If they have any musical talent its another easy grade.

sarahfancy

Thanks, but I'm American, which is why my English is so good . But they speak fluent English; they just don't write really well.

German will be easy, that is for sure. Do you think my 10 yr old will have to do Irish? She will be in the 5th class.

Mrs OBumble

Whether your kids should do Irish (not matter whether they have to or not) depends also on your long-term plans as a family, and their likely career aspirations.

If they want to get into certain professions here (eg teaching, nursing), they need Irish. If they want to work in central or local government, it's a massive help. If they're public figures, it really helps if they can speak some. Etc.

While the willingness to exempt foreigners from the language is useful at times, it can also be seen as a way of keeping them out of certain areas.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's excellent that Irish policies support keeping Irish alive. I just think it's good to be open about the consequences.

sarahfancy

Thanks, that is good to know, Mary.

The older one is not much of a student. Not sure what she will do.

We plan to stay in Ireland for the long term, so it does make sense for the other ones to learn it. I just hope that it isn't too hard for my 10-yr-old to catch up. Although she should be good at learning languages, as she learned German from nothing at the age of three.