Saint Luke’s N. S.
Tyrrelstown
Dublin 15.
Newsletter January 2016

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 2016. We are delighted to announce the arrival of Monsignor Eoin Tynne to the school and parish. Monsignor Tynne has taken up his new role at St. Luke the Evangelist Church. We welcome him, congratulate him and wish him every success in his new role. Father Seamus has been unwell lately and we send him our best wishes for a speedy recovery. Please keep Father Seamus and Monsignor Eoin Tynne in your prayers. It is a very difficult and challenging role that they do, and they dedicate themselves to the community whole heartedly.

Thank you
We wish to extend our gratitude to all of the parents who helped us before the Christmas holidays with the Christmas room and the school disco. 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 environment in the school.

New Enrolments at St. Luke’s
If you have a child who will be four years of age this 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.

Catholic Schools Week
Catholic Schools Week 2016 will run from the 31st January - 6th February. The theme for this year is “Catholic Schools: Challenged to Proclaim God’s Mercy.” On Wednesday 3rd 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 29th February 2016 with the NCSE. We would need to have all up to date paperwork submitted in advance of the deadline.

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.

Lunch Boxes
We are a Green Flag school here at St. Luke’s and we are extremely proud of our ‘green’ achievement. We would ask that all parents ensure that their child uses a lunch box every day for their food. Any food not eaten, or any food wrappers will be returned home in the lunch box at the end of the day.

Hand Washing Routines
We would like to remind parents to speak with their child about good hand washing routines. A good hand washing routine can stop the spread of infection in the Winter months. Some of the common infections we can help prevent by regular hand washing include: Colds and flu, runny noses and chest infections, many tummy bugs that cause diarrhoea and vomiting, MRSA, eye infections like conjunctivitis, food related bugs that can be spread when cooking or barbecuing food.
Many of these infections are common in children, so parents and teachers should make sure that children wash their hands regularly.

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 6th 2016: First day of second term.
January 31st – February 6th 2016: Catholic schools week.
February 15th – February 19th 2016: Closed for mid-term break.
March 17th – April 1st 2016: Closed for Easter holidays.
April 21st 2016: Sacrament of Confirmation.
May 2nd 2016: Closed for bank holiday.
May 7th 2016: Sacrament of Holy Communion.
June 6th – June 10th 2016: Closed for mid-term break.
June 30th 2016: Last day of term.

Kind regards

Vivienne Bourke

Principal

 Please see link to Picture Collage of the Christmas Concerts in St Lukes NS December 2015. Many thanks to Ms Clare Clifford for shooting the events & compiling the collage.

https://vimeo.com/150166786

Mr Neary

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Seasons Greetings

The festive season is truly upon us. Here at St. Luke’s we can feel the excitement building amongst the children and the staff.   It is so nice to see that the true spirit of Christmas is alive and well in the children.  They have been busy coming up with charitable ideas to help others in the community.  Please speak to your child about the true meaning of Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus and the joy of the Holy Family.    Children may enjoy visiting the Moving Crib on Parnell StreetinDublin.  It is a Nativity Play told through handcrafted moving figures,which is a longstanding Christmas tradition in many homes.  Admission is free.

Dublin Bus Art Competition

Sarah Geraghty, a 5^th Class student in Mr. Mc Keown’s class,  has won the Dublin Bus 2016 Calendar Art Competition.   Her picture will feature in the 2016 Dublin Bus Calendar.  We are so proud of Sarah for her efforts and congratulate her on her success. As a result of her win, every child will receive a free calendar and Dublin Bus has agreed to lay on two free buses to help with school tours throughout the year.  Thank you Sarah!

Sam visit to St. Lukes

On Monday 30^th November we were thrilled to welcome the Sam Maguire Cup to St. Lukes. The children gathered in the hall for the huge celebration ofDublin’s All Ireland football win.   Ciaran Kilkenny brought Sam, made a speech and took some photos with St. Luke’s GAA team.   He gave every child a postcard featuring the 2015 Dublin Football team. Photos are on the school website.   It was a great occasion.

New Parent Nominees on the St. Lukes BOM

We are delighted to announce that we have two fantastic parent nominees on the new St. Luke’s Board of Management. Mary Egan and Dare Adetuberu have agreed to volunteer on the board. They have taken to their roles with great energy and are already helping with a number of school projects.   We welcome them and are grateful for their support.

Cyberbullying awareness

Children face tremendous challenges when trying to ascertain appropriate internet etiquette.  One of the tools we have as parents and educators is to inform and train children about appropriate internet usage on social media sites and applications.  The school has taken the initiative of bringing the Community Gardai from Blanchardstown to the school for training on safe internet usage.  The training will take place for senior classes in mid December and will be followed by a parents training course in Spring 2016. Please ensure that you are always aware of what your child is doing on the internet.  Be conscious of what sites they are visiting when they are on their phones, Ipads and laptops.

Fit Steps Classes

Sandra Molloy has kindly volunteered to teach Fit Steps dance classes to the children during their PE time.  Fit Steps is a dance class like Strictly Come Dancing. The children have really enjoyed Sandra’s classes so far.  We would like to thank Sandra for giving her time to the school.  The classes have been a tremendous asset to the children.

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. 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)

Santa visit to the school

Santa will visit the school on Friday 18^th December. Children may wear their own clothes that day. We would ask any parents who have some free time on Thursday 17^th at 7pm to come to the school to help the Parents Association to set up the Christmas room.

Disco run by the Parents Association

The Parents Association will run two discos for the children on Friday 18^th December in the school hall.  The first disco will be for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd classes and will run from 3pm until 4pm.  The second disco will be for 4^th, 5^th and 6^th classes and will run from 4:15pm until 5:30pm.  The admission charge will be five euro. Each child will receive a goody bag and all proceeds will go to the Parents Association.

Money for Maths Resources

We would like to thank all of the parents and students for their donations on non-uniform days this year.  We have managed to raise money for the Dylan Finglas charity and for vital Maths resources for the school. Numeracy will be the focus of the School Improvement Plan going forward and we will continue to purchase maths resources for use in all classes throughout the school.  These resources will enable children to have fun with numeracy in a practical, hands-on manner.

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.

Dates for your diary

December 15^th: School Christmas Concerts

December 17^th: Parents Association need help setting up Christmas room 7pm.

December 18^th: Santa visits the school

December 18^th: Disco in the school hall

December 22^nd: Last day of term.

January 6^th: School Re-opens.

Kind regards

Vivienne Bourke

Principal

Please see links to The Irish Tricolour presentation in St Lukes NS

https://vimeo.com/147712390

https://vimeo.com/147712655

Please see link to video of Sam in Saint Lukes NS below

https://vimeo.com/147826319

Please see link below to see progress of new Le Cheile Secondary School

https://www.flickr.com/gp/131823121@N07/75Ly05

Please follow link to see pics of Sam in our school !!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/131823121@N07/eZ3uc8

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

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

Please see link to Video clip of tour of Croke Park

https://vimeo.com/145629767

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