Date 24th April 2008
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to our newsletter for the month of April.
Greenschools – Green Action Week took place this month when all children were involved in Green School Activities. Junior classes carried out experiments regarding saving energy while senior classes composed raps which would become part of our school code. The whole school community also took part in an April Spring Clean during the month. This was followed on Monday the 21st of April by a visit from representatives of Fingal County Council who assessed the schools application for a second green flag for energy conservation. The Green School committee made a presentation regarding their activities throughout the year and the different methods in which we are saving energy within the school community, for example recycling of batteries, switching off lights and appliances when not necessary, walking to school when possible and so on. The students who made the presentation were a credit to themselves and testament to the hard work of Ms. McWalter and the other staff members on the committee.
Budding Artists – Well done to Luke Kiernan and Sean Naughton in Ms. McCarthy’s Senior Infants Class who were recently awarded merit awards in the National Siamsa Christmas Art Competition.
Road Safety - We had a visit from the Road Safety Officer in Fingal County Council in the past month. He spoke to all the children in the senior end of the school regarding road safety. It was an extremely useful visit. Parents of a certain generation will remember the Safe Cross Code. The basic code remains the same so it may be very worthwhile to have a chat at home with your child and go through the code with them.
Irish Guide Dog Association – Early in the month we had a wonderful visit from Tom and Breda, two representatives of the association, with their guidedogs Sarge and Eunice. They spoke to the children in fifth and sixth class about the challenges facing the visually impaired in Ireland and the wonderful work done by the Guide Dog Association of Ireland. It was a very rewarding visit for all concerned. Many thanks to the Parents Association for organising the visit.
Sport – Well done to all the boys and girls representing the school in the Fingal Leagues at present. There have been some great displays and we can look forward to exciting days ahead. This month also saw the start of our first ever school basketball team. The girls have been training very hard for their upcoming matches. Thanks to all the teachers involved in these sports for giving so freely of their time.
First Penance – The children of second class celebrated their First Penance early this month. Well done to one and all involved. Thanks must go to the school choir for their beautiful singing during the ceremony and to their teachers for the preparation of the children.
Renovations – New floors have been laid in two classrooms in the past month as part of our ongoing work to improve the school environment.
Photos – The Board of Management are preparing to launch a new school website. Items for inclusion on the site will include ongoing activities in the school, upcoming events, school policies and newsletters. We would hope to display photographs of children taking part in school activities on the site in the same manner that we display school photo’s on the school walls. If any parent would prefer that their child not be included in such photographs please contact the school secretary at 8437738.
Parents Association – The Parents Association have a number of this years tracksuits on sale at present. Next years tracksuit is slightly altered to include the new school crest. However the present tracksuit will be perfectly acceptable for the foreseeable future. There will be no need for parents to replace tracksuits which are still in good condition.
Voluntary Subscription – Over the past few years the Parents Association have collected the voluntary subscription on behalf of the school. This is a huge amount of work and we are very grateful to them. Recently there has been much publicity in the media regarding the underfunding of schools. In an ideal world the Department of Education would pay for all school expenses. Unfortunately in reality this is not the case. This is where the voluntary subscription is so important. The subscription is used in many ways such as school transport for sport, the visit of guest speakers such as Astronomy Ireland, the Armagh Planetarium, visiting authors, visits by the Gardai mounted police or motorcycle division, visits by different associations such as the Irish Guide Dog Association or Fingal County Council. We would like to thank all those parents who have contributed in the past for their support.
Regards,
Paul Comiskey.
Principal.
Principal: Paul Comiskey, B.Ed., Dip. Ed. Man., M.St.
Deputy Principal: Peggy O'Connor N.T. D.A.I..
