January 26th 2009
Dear Parents/ Guardians,
Welcome to another school newsletter and Happy New Year to everyone in our school community. As you will see below there is an awful lot going on in the school at the moment. We have some very special events coming up in the coming weeks and also huge number of ongoing activities in different curricular areas.
Confirmation – We are very much looking forward to the visit of Bishop Field for our celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation on February 4th. This is one of the biggest days of the school year and we hope the boys and girls thoroughly enjoy the occasion. As part of their preparation the sixth classes are going on a retreat to the Emmaus Centre in Swords on Wednesday the 28th of January. Thanks very much to Ms. Fay and the school choir for their hard work preparing for the celebration and thanks also to the ladies of the community who come to the school to do the tea and sandwiches for the day.
Policies - Two school policies have been reviewed this month. The staff and Parents Association have reviewed the Special Needs policy and the Child Protection policy. Drafts of these policies were presented to the Board of Management for their signature and are now available from the school office.
Enrolment – 2009/2010 – Applications for enrolment are still being accepted for the coming year. We would hope to inform parents of new infants regarding placement by mid-March. Enrolment packs are available from Pearl in the school office.
School Kitchen – Another project being funded through the subscription is the re-vamp of the servery beside the school hall to install a new kitchen. This would allow further class groups to take part in cookery classes with the parents and also facilitates the learning support and language support teams to take part in practical lessons. Thanks very much to the Parents Association for organizing this upgrade.
Rainbows – Over twenty children are taking part in the Rainbows classes being conducted by seven of our teachers who trained as facilitators. This is a really worthwhile programme that we believe will greatly benefit the children.
Drumming Workshop – The Drumming Workshops held last month were such a hit with the children that we decided to bring the instructor back so all the classes could have a session. He returned for two days on Monday and Tuesday of last week for lessons with Junior Infants, Senior Infants, 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th classes. The children loved him but my ears are still ringing in the office.
Basketball – We have a very prestigious basketball coach coming to do a ten week session with our two fourth classes. These sessions will take place after school and are not compulsory but we expect that the children will thoroughly enjoy them. The majority of the cost is being borne by the school with the children paying a small amount.
Soccer – Well done to our fourth class soccer team who performed so well in their indoor school blitz this month in Donabate.
Artist in Residence – Ms. Scott has organized a visiting artist to come and work with our two fifth classes this term. The artist will meet with the teachers and students to agree on a project for each class over a series of weeks. This project is being funded through the voluntary subscription.
Quiz – This year the Credit Union School Quiz will take place in the school hall on Saturday the 31st of January. We would like to wish our teams the best of luck and thanks to Ms. Rochford for preparing them so well. Thanks also to Rush and Lusk Credit Union for donating 1,000 euro to the school ICT fund. It will be put to great use.
Science – The scientists from anyone4science are coming to the school for three days this week. All the children from 1st to 6th class will take part in practical experiments on the theme of ‘Forces and Weight’ in their classrooms and should really enjoy themselves.
Dates for the Diary
Tues 27th – Thurs 29th January – anyone4science
Wed 4th February – Confirmation Celebration
Mon 16th – Fri 20th Feb – Mid-Term Break
Regards,
Paul Comiskey.
Principal.
Principal: Paul Comiskey, B.Ed., Dip. Ed. Man., M.St.
Deputy Principal: Geraldine OÕRourke Š N.T., H.Dip.
