Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome back

Welcome back after the mid-term break. We hope that everyone is feeling well rested. We have another jam packed half-term ahead. In the Catholic Church, November is referred to as the month of the Holy Souls. We remember our faithfully departed and we also celebrate our Saints. November the 1^st was All Saints Day and November 2^nd was All Souls Day. November is a month that is filled with Saints Days including November 1^st on which we remember particularly Saint Valentine. In 1836, Fr. John Spratt, an Irish priest and famous preacher, was given many tokens of esteem following a sermon in Rome. One gift from Pope Gregory XVI were the remains of St. Valentine and "a small vessel tinged with his blood." The Reliquary was placed in Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, and has remained there until this day. This was accompanied by a letter claiming the relics were those of St. Valentine. Please remind children to pray for the souls of the faithfully departed in your family prayers each night.

Friends for Life Programme

The ‘Friends for Life’ programme is a school-based positive mental health programme. The World Health Organisation cites ‘Friends for Life’ as the only evidence-based programme effective at all levels of intervention for anxiety in children. The programme helps students to develop effective strategies to deal with worry, stress and change and teaches the skills required to reduce anxiety and promote resilience. It is beneficial for all students, irrespective of their anxiety level. St. Luke’s run the programme over ten weeks with the 6^th class students commencing this term.

Christmas Concerts

Christmas is a wonderful time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. We are delighted to announce that we will hold our Christmas concerts this year in the school hall on Tuesday the 15^th of December. The children will sing a song or recite a poem and they will be delighted to see their loved ones there. We are trying to give enough notice so that parents can make arrangements which will enable them to attend. The schedule of performances will be as follows:

Tuesday 15^th December 2016

12:50pm – 1:40pm Junior Infants and Senior Infants

2:00pm – 2:40pm 1^st and 2^nd  Classes

3:00pm – 3:40pm 3^rd and 4^th Classes (Children supervised in foyer before performance)

4:00pm – 4:40pm 5^th and 6^th Classes (Children go home at 2:40pm then return to school at 3:45pm)

Zumba night for Dylan

Two-and-a-half-year-old Dylan Finglas has Multiple Sulfatase Deficiency (MSD) which is a "clinically devastating" condition. The kind hearted students at St. Luke’s are constantly trying to raise funds to donate to Dylan’s charity and we are immensely proud of their efforts to date. This Friday night 6^th November there will be a “Saving Dylan ZUMBA Fundraiser” which will be hosted by Z&K Fitness. It takes place in the Tyrrelstown Community Hall and begins at 7:30pm. Donations can be made at the door on the way in. We would urge everyone to take part if possible.

Photographer

Our school photographer will come to the school on November 18^th to take photos of the new junior infant children. These photographs capture the new children in their earliest days at primary school and give families a lovely keepsake. Photographs will need to be paid for in advance. Letters will be sent to junior infant parents next week. Please return completed envelopes as soon as possible.

Parents Nominee Board of Management

We will need all parents to partake in a vote to choose a male and female parent nominee to sit on the St. Luke’s Board of Management. If you are interested in the role please come and speak to the principal. An election will take place in the school over the coming weeks. The new board needs to be established before the end of November.

Parent Teacher Meetings

Parent teacher meetings will take place on Tuesday the 24^th and Wednesday the 25^th of November after school. Your child’s teacher will send a letter home in the coming weeks with an appointment. This is a wonderful time to get some one-to-one time with the class teacher. Please notify us if your child has any medical or behavioural needs.

Science Week

Science Week takes place next week from 8^th-14^th of November. Please look for events and activities to bring your child to in Dublin which will display Science in a fun and exciting way. Children will partake in scientific activities in the school next week to mark science week.

Rainbows

We would like to inform you that a new Rainbows group will commence on Tuesday 10th Nov at 5.45pm – 7pm at Mountview Family Resource Centre, 11 Whitechapel crescent, Mountview, Dublin 15. The programme is for children whose parents have separated and who are experiencing difficulties because of the loss of or the separation of one or other parent or guardian . For more information please contact Margaret Mc Loughlin, Co-ordinator, Mountview Family Resource Centre on 01 – 8206171.

New Enrolments at St. Luke’s

If you have a child who will be four years of age next year 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.

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. 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.

Dates for your diary

November 18^th : School Photographer

November 24^th and 25^th : Parent Teacher meetings

November 9^th -14^th : Science Week

Early-mid November : Elections for Parents Nominees to the Board of Management

December 15^th : Christmas Concerts

December 22^nd: Last day of term. School closes at the normal times.

Kind regards

Vivienne Bourke

Principal

Dylan a local boy from Tyrrelstown, Dublin 15 was diagnosed (Oct.2014) with a devastating, very rare, fatal genetic condition called "Multiple Sulfatase Deficiency" (MSD). Sadly, it has a low life expectancy with most children not seeing their 10th birthday.

Right now he is very well in almost every way and is not on any medication. Unless Dylan gets life saving treatment it is a 100% certainty that Dylan will suffer terribly with MSD, almost all his bodily functions will be attacked resulting in death at a young age.

There is a cure on paper but it has to be developed to a clinical trial stage. His parents Alan and Michelle Finglas have launched a massive Fundraising Campaign to ensure the cure is developed. 

Z&K Fitness  who currently run Zumba & Piloxing classes in Tyrrelstown Community Centre have jumped on board this campaign and are organising aZumba Fundraising event on Friday 6 November 2015 from 7.30pm -9.00pm,in Tyrrelstown Community Centre.  Its a Family Fun Event, so please come along and together we will dance for  Dylan. 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Thank You

Thank you to all of the parents who attended our Meet and Greet sessions in September and October. It was lovely to see so many of you there. As mentioned at each meeting, please don’t forget to ensure that we have your up to date contact information. Thank you to all of the parents who joined us for the opening meeting of the Parents Association. We are always happy to have volunteers.

Morning Line Up

We have had a few incidences of parents coming into the junior classrooms in the mornings and bringing their child to their seat and taking off their coat for them. These visits usually cause other children to get upset as they wonder why their parents aren’t coming in. Please ensure that you say goodbye to your child at the line. The children are learning how to do these basic things for themselves, such as hanging up their coat and settling into class. It is important that they become independent and are allowed to settle into the school routine.

Halloween Celebrations

Halloween is a big celebration for the children every year. They love to dress up and scare each other and the staff! The Parents Association work very hard to create a “Spooky” room each year in the school. The children love the excitement of the surprises and scary games they play in the spooky room. Every class will have a chance to visit the Spooky room on Friday 23^rd October. Children are welcome to dress up in their scary costumes on that day. If each child could bring in €1 we will use the money raised to buy much needed school resources. We would like to thank you for your donations for the Dubs day and Irish Flag day.

GAA

Our 5^th and 6^th class girls GAA team, coached by Ms. Brennan, Ms. Barrett and Ms. Reynolds are through to the semi finals of the Cumann na mBunscol league. This is very exciting news for the school and we will follow their success over the coming weeks.

Our 5^th and 6^th class boys GAA team, coached by Mr. Lynch and Mr. Mc Keown are through to the quarter finals of the Cumann na mBunscol league. We will also follow their success over the coming weeks and keep you all posted.

A big thank you to our team of GAA coaches, teachers all of our players. Please continue to support them in their efforts.

Parents Association

The Parents Association have been busy planting beautiful flowers in the front yard. We really appreciate their efforts. They help to make the school a nicer place. This month they will be looking for help to set up the Halloween “Spooky” room on Thursday evening 22^nd October at 7:30pm. Please give your name to Kate, our secretary, if you can spare a helping hand or carve a pumpkin or two!

Rainy Days

On wet mornings and afternoons we have special entry and exit strategies in place for the children. On a wet day, the gates will open in front of the school at 8:45am. All Junior and Senior infant children will go into the school hall with their parents. They will wait there, with their parents, until their class teacher comes to collect them at 9am. All other children will be allowed to stay in the lobby until 8:55am. No parents are to stay in the lobby as it becomes overcrowded very quickly. At 8:55am the children in the lobby will be allowed to go to their classrooms.

On a wet afternoon all Junior infant, Senior infant and 1st classes will be dismissed from the school hall. All other children will come out through the front school door. We would ask that parents do not wait in the lobby on wet days, as the lobby gets overcrowded easily. We would really appreciate your co-operation on this matter. We have the children’s health and safety in mind at all times.

Basketball

Our school basketball teams will commence training after the mid-term break. Training will begin for 4^th Class after the mid-term up until Christmas. Training will begin for 5^th and 6^th Classes after Christmas. The teams will train towards playing in the Dublin Mini League which takes place in the Oblate Hall, Inchicore, in June 2016. We would like to thank our basketball coaches – Ms. Burke, Ms. Geraghty, Ms. Ni Lorcain and Ms. Mc Gearty. They give their coaching skills and time on a voluntary basis and are a tremendous asset to the sporting life of the school.

PE in the Yard

If you are collecting your child in the afternoon, and have to wait in the yard, we would ask that you do not interrupt any PE classes that may be going on in the basketball courts. Some parents accidentally walk across the yard and disturb the children whilst they are in full swing. Please be mindful of the children at these times, as many PE lessons occur in the yard in good weather.

Dates for your diary

Thursday 22^nd October 7:30pm – Parents Association need help setting up the Spooky Room

Friday 23^rd October – Halloween Dress up Day

Monday 26^th – Friday 30^th October – Midterm break

Kind regards

Vivienne Bourke

Principal

June 30                                                     Summer Holidays

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome back

A warm welcome to all of our new junior infants and welcome back to all students, parents and staff. The school tempo is speeding up and there are already a lot of activities taking place. It’s going to be a momentous year!

Collection Time

Collection time is a very busy time, especially for our new junior infants. Parents can make this time safer and easier for teachers if they stand back from the student line and wait for the teacher to dismiss each child one by one. This way the class teacher knows that every child has been collected. On wet days teachers will dismiss children from the hall. We know that this can take time but we appreciate your patience and cooperation.

Healthy Lunches/Allergies

We encourage the children to have a healthy lunch every day. The children may drink water at all times during the day but please ensure that the bottle has a sports cap on it to avoid spillages. As we have a number of children in the school with nut allergies, we ask parents to avoid providing nuts for lunches. So that we are aware of what your child is eating in school, we encourage children to put all rubbish and uneaten food back into their lunchboxes. Please ensure that your children have lunchboxes that they are able to open and close without assistance.

Meeting the class teacher

Parent Meet and Greets will commence this Monday 21^st September and run until the 9^thof October. Every class teacher will hold a meet and greet before school dismissal and your child will be notified by letter in advance of the meeting. This will be a fantastic opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and find out about the teaching and learning methodologies which will be used for the coming academic year. There will also be a small presentation given by the Parents Association and the GAM team at each meeting. Pupil Information Database sheets will be available at all meetings for parents to fill out. It is vital that we have current and up to date records for each child to keep your child safe. We urge all parents to try to attend these important meetings.

Dublin Team Support Day

To celebrate Dublin’s participation in the All-Ireland Football Final on Sunday 20^th September we are asking all the children to wear blue and navy to school on Friday 18^th September. We would also ask that each child brings in €1 on Friday for this non uniform day. The money raised will be used to buy important resources for the school.

GAA

Larry Mc Dermott is back coaching GAA in the school. He will start with the 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes every Tuesday this term.

Our 5^th and 6^th class girls GAA team is being coached again this year by Ms. Brennan, Ms. Barrett and Ms. Reynolds. The team are participating in the Cumann na mBunscol league. The girls have already won their first game against St. Benedict’s of Ongar and have another two games to play. Training takes place every Monday at 2:40pm until 3:30pm and matches are every Wednesday after school.

Our 5^th and 6^th class boys GAA team is being coached again this year by Mr. Lynch and Mr. Mc Keown. The boys team are participating in the Cumann na mBunscol and Dublin 15 leagues. Training takes place every Monday at 2:40pm until 3:30pm and matches are every Tuesday and Thursday after school.

A big thank you to our team of GAA coaches/teachers. They give up so much time voluntarily and inject huge energy into the sporting life of the school. Please support them in their efforts.

Parents Association

The parents association organise a number of events for both children and parents throughout the school year. They give their time voluntarily and are of tremendous benefit to everyone in the school. They organise events at special occasions throughout the year for the children, such as Halloween and Christmas, and training courses for the parents. Please support the parents association by giving your time if you can spare some! We would really appreciate your help. Contact details can be obtained in the school office.

Attendance

We encourage good attendance at all times and we request that, if your child is absent from school, you send a note to the class teacher. If any child is absent for 20 days or more during the school year, we are obliged to report the details to the National Education Welfare Board.

Late Arrival

We are currently monitoring children who are arriving late for school on a regular basis. Students who arrive late will receive a late stamp in their journal. Please ensure your child gets to school on time every day.

Signing Out

If you need to collect your child before dismissal time we ask you to come to the office and sign them out. This ensures we have a record of children leaving school early.

Lost Property

In order to reduce the amount of items that get lost we ask that you clearly label your child’s jumper, coat, hat, scarf, gloves and any other items they may have with them.

Cycle to School

If your child is cycling to school please ensure that they bring their own lock so that they can lock the bicycle to the bicycle rail. Unlocked bicycles have been stolen recently and we want to prevent theft occurring again.

Car Park

Please accept direction from caretaking staff at the roundabout close to the school as safety is always our main priority.

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

Friday 18^th September – A Day for the Dubs

Monday 26^th – Friday 30^th October – Midterm break

Kind regards

Vivienne Bourke

Principal

Dear Parents,

Community Gardai will address children from 3rd to 6th class, tomorrow,concering safety at Hallow'een safety and other safety issues.

Mr Neary

Please discuss the following with your child.

• That a stranger is anyone they don't know

• That most strangers are nice people

• Never to go anywhere with a stranger or take anything from a stranger.

Discuss with your child the meaning of the word 'stranger'. It's important to stress that most strangers are nice people and that we sometimes rely on strangers in times of trouble but that, at the same time, there are rules children should always use with strangers.

Ask your child what he or she would do in different situations with strangers, such as if a stranger asks your child for directions or offers your child a lift. Stress that it's not rude to refuse to talk to strangers if your child feels unsafe. Discuss with your child the general rules: say 'No' - get away and tell.

Please click link below to see pictutes of 3 children from Ms Kilcommins' class who ran a fundraiser to donate money to The Parents Association for The Hallow'een Room.Congratulations to Freya, Martyna & Carla. 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/131823121@N07/34D7D9

Contrary to some media report interpretation, our school building is not listed as one that may have Fire Standard Isues. 

Please click link to view photos of 1916 Flag Presentation 

https://flickr.com/photos/131823121@N07/sets/72157659266701995

Dear Parents,

Sadly,  Mr Martin Kavanagh has retired from the position of Principal effective 31/8/2015.We wish him every good fortune in the next chapter of his life and thank him most profoundly for all his hard work with us since October 2009.

We are delighted to announce that a current member of staff, Ms Vivienne Bourke, has been invited by the Board of Management to take over as Principal of Saint Lukes NS on 1/9/2015.We wish her all the best in her new position. 

Additional Uniform

Fitting & Sale Date

Monday 29^th  June 2015

 1.30pm - 3.30pm

Venue – School Gym

The “Schoolwearhouse” are the official suppliers of the school uniform

Please see us dancing a flash mob dance during Multicultural day 2015 !

https://vimeo.com/127197330

Mr Neary

Please see pictures of our Senior Basketball Team at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght. Many thanks to the teachers involved in ther initiative.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/131823121@N07/DS7QF2

Mr Neary

We are delighted to announce the start of the school garden project at the front of the school ! Please be patient as the bike shed is out of bounds for the moment!

Mr Neary

Please see updated pics of Morton Stadium at

https://flic.kr/s/aHskcb4jAY

Dear Parent,

Please see link below to follow a blog written by some of our students! Many thanks to Ms Whitney who organised the venture !

Mr Neary

https://stlukesstudents.wordpress.com/

https://www.flickr.com/gp/131823121@N07/2RxSd4 Communion pics!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/131823121@N07/iH5Q7p Our Garden !

https://flic.kr/s/aHskcb4jAY Morton Stadium

https://www.flickr.com/gp/131823121@N07/aa3p8Q Confirmation pics !

https://www.flickr.com/gp/131823121@N07/440Cr1 Multicultural Day Saint Luke's NS May 2015

Dear Parents,

A quick reminder that the school will close for a school holiday tomorrow Friday 29/5/2015 and reopen on Monday 8/6/2015 at 0900.

The school has decided to support a fundraiser for Dylan Finglas, a child who lives in Tyrrelstown. The child's father, Alan, will address the children at assemblies on friday morning.please see link to video below.

https://youtu.be/DZaz_mDCTtI

Junior Infant Application & Registration

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Applications for Junior Infants classes are in process for the academic year 2015-2016. This application process is for pupils who will commence in Junior Infants in September 2015.

We request that all parents with children who have not applied for an application form to enrol in St Luke’s N.S. and who wish to be considered for a place in the school would do so immediately. Application does not guarantee a place. Early application is advisable.

Please contact the school secretary, 01 8856015, and complete the Pupil Application and Registration Form as soon as possible.

It is urgent that the Application and Registration form be completed at the latest by Friday 29^th May 2015.

Is Mise Le Meas,

___________________

Mairtín Ó Caomhánaigh

Príomhoide