Parents’ Association Meeting Oct 6th 2026
ENS Parents’ Association Meeting Minutes
Date: Tuesday, 6th Oct 2026
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: ENS Staff Room
Minutes Taken By: Claire McCarthy
Meeting Attended By:
Jenny Butler
Claire McCarthy
Louise Ryan
Connie Ma
Shayla Hilpert
Kat O’Shea
Clodagh Murray
Apologies:
Eileen Tobin
Fiona Eason
Brian Troy
Natalie Nkomo
Michelle Summerly
Agenda:
● Welcome
● Quiz Planning
● Goal Settings
● Observations and thanks from recent events
● Any Other Business
Quiz Event Planning:
● Sign up sheet was circulated
○ Plan for setup from 5:30 (6 volunteers) and then 2 shifts (8 volunteers) for shop and tea
opening.
○ Pre-event tasks – kitchen inventory, pricelist and shop stock.
● No PA-led costume swap/sale. Tidy Towns are hosting one on 17th Oct that will include
Halloween costumes and Christmas jumpers.
● Communications will be circulated on social media closer to the event.
Goal Setting:
● An estimate of the likely money available was used to evaluate the available funds for items on
our ideas list.
● The ideas list was discussed, new ideas were also added during the meeting. Examples of some of
the ideas that are still under discussion:
○ Fun Day: outdoor games rental, dance teacher
○ Sensory Playground/Items: larger donation towards the playground, or other smaller items
that could be distributed by need to be used in classrooms
○ Complimentary free raffle at the Christmas concerts
○ Donations of supplies to afterschool clubs
○ Signage: Update signage in carpark, additional signs to direct parents/guardians at events
○ School Garden: robust polytunnel, manage small plot of school garden, add wildlife signs
○ Prizes for a Spring Family Fun event (e.g. Bingo/Quiz)
● A plan was put in place to poll the parents using an online form to get an idea from the parent
body where the money would add most value.
● Additional discussion on promoting parental involvement in the PA events/activities:
○ Suggestion box for the parents to provide ideas at the Christmas concert that would benefit
the school, even in future years.
○ Possibility of adding a one-off scavenger hunt/activity at infant yard pickup to increase
community feel and awareness of the PA.
○ Workshops could be added that would help educate on particular topics (e.g. cyber safety)
■ Connect with the teacher working for Agree-to-Agree on any actions out of this.
○ Emphasise PA activities and that the volunteers are critical for them to go ahead. Promote
the Helper WhatsApp group to keep the pool of volunteers large to ensure that the load of
work isn’t large for any individual volunteers. Sufficient volunteers are needed or some of
our key activities/contributions could be at risk:
■ Tuck shops at Grad/Communion/Christmas Concerts
■ Bingo event
■ Approx half of the activities at the Fun Day
Photo Day
● We discussed how to run photo day in the future, the main question being whether a photo is
needed of every student every single year.
○ Reach out to County Photos on uptake
○ Suggested that at least 6th Class and Junior Infants could get pictures every year as then
parents could have pictures of their children at entry/exit from the school. Full school
pictures every other year.
○ Poll parents on their interest.
Christmas Concerts
● Dates currently set for 16th/17th Dec
● Request for permits for Split-The-Pot needs to be submitted mid-October.
Welcome Packs
● Plan to distribute to incoming parents in May when they come in for their introduction visit.
● Updates and a reprint of the packs will be done this school-year.
Any Other Business:
● Annual PA insurance was renewed, as per the PA Constitution
● Sanitary pads were provided to 6th class bathrooms last year, it was agreed to continue this year.
● Flag Day: Requests for dates are underway and is not currently set
● Photography Booking and initial event discussion: Confirmation and Communions
Next Meeting:
Wed 11th November 2026, 7:30pm.
ENS Staff Room