Lusk National School
Chapel Road, Lusk, Co. Dublin.
Phone 01-8437738
E-mail: luskns.ias@eircom.net
Roll No. 17961E
Feb 2008
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to another newsletter and we hope everyone enjoyed the short mid term break.
Confirmation - Congratulations to all the boys and girls who were confirmed this week in our parish. The children were a credit to themselves and their families. A special word of thanks to Ms. Ni Chonarain and Mr. O'Donnell for preparing the classes so well for the big day and to Ms. Fay for her work with the choir. They sounded beautiful. A special mention must also be given to the ladies who for years now have given of their time to prepare tea and sandwiches for families in the hall after the ceremony. Finally, we should also mention the members of the parish who prepared the church and organised the flowers for the children's big day. It is that type of community support which makes Lusk such a unique place.
ICT Sponsorship - The six new computers sponsored by Lusk Motor Group arrived this week. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Leo Neary and all in Lusk Motors for this support. We now have a very modern computer room which can cater for even our biggest classes. Thanks also to Steve Alien from the Parents Association for giving his time so generously to set up the computer room.
Green Schools - As part of National Tree Week our two fourth classes will take part in a tree planting day in the woods at Turvey Avenue on the 5th of March. This visit has been organised by Fingal County Council. The Green School Committee is also continuing with the WOW project 'Walk on Wednesday'. We would encourage as many children as possible to come to school on foot and Ms. McWalters team is monitoring the numbers to see how we are getting on as we work towards our second green flag.
Enrolment - We would like to express our thanks to the Parents Association for their help during the past month in processing enrolment applications for Junior Infant classes. Places will be allocated by the Board of Management according to the school enrolment policy and we will be in touch with all those who applied in the week beginning Monday, March 30th.
Policies - The new Homework Policy devised by the Board, teachers and Parents Association is now complete and available in the school office. A copy will also be sent to each family in the coming week.
Sport - Well done to the boys of the Junior Gaelic team who played such a stormer against St. Declan's this week. Good luck to all.the boys and girls who's leagues start next month and thanks to all the teachers who gave up their time after school through the winter to prepare the teams.
Parent Teacher Meetings - Parent \teacher meetings will take place on the 11th, 12th and 13th of March. Teachers will send out notes in the coming week regarding suitable times for each family.
Literacy - As we mentioned last month we have purchased a large number of supplementary books to add to the children's reading pleasure. Ms. Murtagh has organised a set of questions to accompany these books which may help parents to guide and support their child's reading. The questions are being sent to all families with children between Senior Infants and Fourth class. We would recommend they are kept in a handy place to use when listening to your child's reading.
National Book week commences next week, March 3rd to 7th. During the week we will receive a visit from Derek Landy, author of the best seller'Skullduggery Pleasant. Derek will speak to the children in the senior classes about his work and the life of an author.
Nutritionist - A nutritionist will visit the children of first and second class in the coming week to speak about healthy lunches and provide samples of healthy eating options. The visit is sponsored by the local Super Valu.
Toys in School -Recently children have begun bringing toys to school to play with in class or the yard. While this is understandable some toys can actually be dangerous if used incorrectly. The children can also be upset if the item gets broken or goes missing. To avoid this we would ask that parents ensure only items necessary for school are put in children's bags.
Parents Association - The Parents Association would like to let people know they have some uniforms in stock at present and are available in the school each Friday morning for those who wish to purchase a new uniform.
Barn Owls - Well done to the boys and girls of Ms. Kelly's fourth class for their Barn Owl project and particularly to Maccullin Skelly for the huge work he put into building a hut for Barn Owls which he entered in a competition for the Late Late Show. Maccullin and Izzy Rowley presented the project to the whole school at assembly recently much to everyone's enjoyment.
Year of the Potato - Trevor Sargent T.D., Minister for Food, visited the school recently to promote the Year of the Potato and encourage us both to grow and consume more potatoes. The children from Mr. Hickey's and Ms. Kelly's classes are currently growing potatoes and these will be transferred to the school garden later in the spring.
Road Safety - There have been some serious incidents regarding road usage outside the school gates in the past month. In one case a child was injured by a car which crossed double yellow lines and mounted the path in order to leave children to school. Ninety nine percent of the school community is extremely supportive regarding the issue of Road Safety outside the school gates. We would once again ask the tiny minority who insist on endangering our children by parking across the school gate or at double yellow lines to refrain from doing so.
We would also ask them to note that one or two families who require particular assistance in the collection of their children have permission to enter the school yard. For this reason our school caretaker. Paul, stays at the gate to allow them easy access. It is unacceptable that he be verbally abused by any member of our community for carrying out such duties.
Regards,
Paul Comiskey.
Principal.
Principal: Paul Comiskey - B.Ed.. Dip. Ed. Man., M.St.
Deputy Principal: Peggy O'Connor - NT.. D.A.I.
