Dear Parents/Guardians, Welcome Back It is with great pleasure that we welcome everyone back to school for the new year. We would like to wish all parents, staff and students a happy, healthy and safe New Year for 2017. Attention: New Enrolments at St. Luke’s If you have a child who will be four years of age this year before 30th June and would be eligible for a school place, we would be delighted if you would fill out an enrolment form with the school secretary Kate. Please notify us if your child has any special educational needs. The cut off date for applications is January 28th 2017. We will then notify families if their child will have a place for the 2017/2018 academic year. Places are filling up fast this year so please ensure you get your application in on time. Thank you We wish to extend our gratitude to all of the parents who helped us before the Christmas holidays with the raffle and Santa visit. The children had a fantastic time. We really appreciate your kind support and efforts. As always, the Parents Association will need new volunteers for the new year. If you have any spare time, even on an ad-hoc basis, we would be delighted if you could come and lend a hand. All of the work that is done is loved by the children and helps to create a warm and fun atmosphere in the school. The Parents Association can be contacted on the St Luke’s Parents Association Facebook page. Catholic Schools Week Catholic Schools Week 2017 will run from the 29th January – 3rd February. The theme for this year is “Catholic Schools: Learning with Pope Francis to care for Our Common Home.” On Wednesday 1st February we will celebrate Grandparents day as part of our activities. Special Educational Needs If your child has any special educational needs and you think that they may require the help of an SNA or additional resource time, we would urge you to arrange a meeting with your class teacher and the Principal as a matter of urgency. The deadline for applying for additional support is late January 2017 with the NCSE. We would need to have all up to date paperwork submitted in advance of the deadline. Label Personal Belongings We would like to remind parents to label their children’s jumpers, jackets, hats, scarves, gloves etc. If something goes missing or gets mixed up it is easier to find if it has a name on it. All lost items are left in the entrance area to the school. Please check there if you are missing an item of clothing. Food Dudes We are taking part in the Food Dudes programme commencing this Friday 20th January. Food Dudes is a programme designed to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables both in school and at home. It is based on positive role models (the Food Dudes characters), repeated tasting of fruit and vegetables and rewards. In large-scale studies the programme has been shown to be effective and results long-lasting across the primary age range, regardless of gender, school size, geographic and socio-economic factors. The programme in Ireland received a “Counteracting obesity” award from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2006. The programme will run for 16 days for the junior classes (infants to second 20/01/17 to Friday 10/02/17) and for 8 consecutive days for the senior classes (3rd to 6th 20/01/17- Tuesday the 31/01/17). You can find out more about Food Dudes at www.fooddudes.ie Head Lice In most schools head lice is a recurrent problem. We at St. Luke’s would like to stop the head lice cycle by asking parents to partake in “Bug Busting Fridays” with us. Every Friday night we would ask that you shampoo your child’s hair with a regular shampoo and then condition it. Leave the conditioner in the hair. Then using a special head lice comb we would ask you to check your child’s wet hair for any lice or nit eggs. Rinse the comb to dispose of the lice. Then rinse the hair and check again with the comb to ensure all lice and eggs have been removed from the hair. Treat with a head lice treatment if necessary. Please sign your child’s diary to say that you have checked their hair on Friday evening. Together we can combat the head lice problem in our school. Emergency Contact Details If you have changed your telephone number or moved house please remember to let us know as it is vital that we have emergency contact details for all children. Also, if you are not receiving text messages, please contact Kate, our secretary, to rectify this. Dates for your diary January 29th – February 3rd 2017: Catholic schools week. January 26th 2017 @ 7pm: Enrolment Mass for First Holy Communion children and parents, St Luke the Evangelist Church, Mulhuddart. February 16th 2017 @7pm: First Confession Ceremony, St Luke the Evangelist Church, Mulhuddart. February 20th – February 24th 2017: School closed for mid-term break. March 17th 2017: School closed for St Patricks Day. March 29th 2017 @ 10am: Sacrament of Reconciliation 6th Class Confirmation students. April 10th- April 21st 2017: Easter Holidays. School closes at 11:45am for Junior and Senior infants and 12pm for all other classes. May 1st 2017: School closed Bank Holiday. May 4th 2017 @ 7pm: Ceremony of Light for 6th Class Confirmation students, St Luke the Evangelist Church Mulhuddart. May 11th 2017 @11am: Sacrament of Confirmation, St Luke the Evangelist Church Mulhuddart. May 13th 2017 @ 11am: First Holy Communion, St Luke the Evangelist Church Mulhuddart. May 24th 2017: School closed to facilitate training for staff on the New Primary Language Curriculum. June 5th – June 9th 2017: School closed for mid-term break. June 30th 2017: Last day of term. School closes at 11:45am for Junior and Senior infants and 12pm for all other classes. Kind regards Vivienne Bourke Principal |
