We are well settled in now to the 2025-26 school year. However, students are still wondering whether they want to remain with the original subject option choices which they made several months ago, or to change them. To date, we have changed up to 30 students’ subjects, along with their books and the practical subject fees on the app, as relevant. It is very time consuming. THE LAST DATE ON WHICH 1ST AND 5TH YEARS CAN MAKE A CHANGE TO THEIR OPTIONS IS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19TH AT 1PM.
I advise all parents/guardians to sit down and have a chat with their son about the choices he has made. There are 3 subject options in 1st year and 4 subject options in 5th year. The text books, the teachers whom they meet during the week, what they are learning in these first few weeks – these are the decision making points on which they decide to remain with their choice or see can they change.
Change is not always possible. Sometimes the subject has only one class on across the 3-4 blocks, meaning a straight swap while keeping the options they want to keep will not always work the way they want it to.
How does a student change their subject option? It is best to bring a note from the parent/guardian, in the journal, to say he wants to move from X into Y. Bring that note to my office (Mrs Murphy Principal, office upstairs beside the lift) and we can see will it work out.
If it does, your son will return the books of the subject he is leaving and I will make note for the Book Scheme Coordinator to give to provide him with the correct textbook etc. As changes have led to increased numbers doing some subjects, there is a waiting period for the extra texts to arrive. Again, your patience is appreciated.
Also, if you son has chosen a practical subject such as Woodwork/Construction, Metalwork/Engineering, Graphics/DCG, or Art he will have to make a payment for the project materials, or the subject ‘KIT’ for that subject. You will see that on the St Marys CBS App Notifications in SHOP. Please see the
Likewise, if you have paid the fee for any of those practical subjects listed, and he is moving out of them to say Business, French, Spanish, etc., you are due a refund. As I make the changes I inform the Book Coordinator and the Secretaries of these changes so changes are made on the St Marys CBS App Shop. If you find after a week that you haven’t received a refund which is due, please email me at mmurphy@portlaoise, and we will rectify the situation as soon as possible.
Your patience is appreciated. As you can imagINE, the Book Scheme has put enormous pressure on what is already an intensely pressurised time of the school year. It is ALL happening during these few weeks. We continue to help your sons find their best options and help them through their uncertainty. We can’t expect them to know what they want at this point of their lives, but at the same time the wondering has to end, so as not to miss the first few weeks of the courses they do move into. The basics are very important to the rest of their course. Thank you for working with us.