Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to our newsletter for the month of May.

Green Schools – Last month we filled you in on all the work carried out by the Green Schools committee this year. We are delighted to announce that following our recent assessment by the Environmental Officer of Fingal County Council we have been awarded our second Green Flag awarded for work involving energy conservation. This flag was presented to Ms. McWalter and student representatives Joanne Harold and Niamh Bradshaw at a reception in Dublin during the month. We will have a flag raising ceremony in the month of June. Congratulations to Ms. McWalter and everyone on the Green Schools Committee on this wonderful achievement.

Art Display – As you know our children have many talents. This month we are displaying a sample of art work from every child in the school on our school walls, over five hundred and eighty pieces of work. The art will be on display in the corridors and in the school hall and parents are welcome to come in on Wednesday the 28th, Thursday the 29th and Friday the 30th of May each afternoon to admire the work. Thanks to Ms. Scott and all the teachers for their effort in organising the display and to the ladies from the Stitching and Sewing club for their generous donation to the event.

Meeting for Parents of Incoming Junior Infants – A meeting for parents of all children enrolling in Junior Infants this September will take place in the school hall on Wednesday June the 4th at 8.00. This meeting will provide an opportunity for parents to meet the Chairperson of the Board, Principal, members of the teaching staff who will work with Junior Infants and members of the Parents Association in our school. Parents will also be presented with our new information booklet filling them in on ‘how we do things around here’ and giving some useful tips in preparing their child for the big day.

First Holy Communion – Congratulations to all the boys and girls who made their First Holy Communion in the past month. It was a most enjoyable day for all concerned and the children were a credit to themselves and their families. Thanks to the Ladies Committee for their hard work in preparing tea and sandwiches for everyone.

Book Fair – The Book Fair took place in our school in the past week. The school received over five hundred books to add to our libraries following the event. We would like to thank Ms. Murtagh for all her hard work organising the event and the members of the Parents Association who gave so much help during the week.

Sport – Hard luck to the both the Boys and Girls Senior Football teams who both lost semi-finals of the school leagues in the past week. They did very well to get to that stage of the competition and were very unlucky to lose out by the kick of a ball in each match. Best of luck to the girls basketball team who have matches lined up in the coming weeks and to all our athletes who are participating in the Santry events in June. Thanks to all the teachers for giving their time to prepare the teams in all of these activities.

Book Rental – The Book Rental scheme organised within our school allows families in our school to make substantial savings each year. In most classes books which can be re-used from year to year are rented while those which must be filled in by the children are bought. In the coming year we will be adding to the numbers of books rented for each class. This will increase the variety of work the children are offered and also allow teachers to choose from a menu of activities when tackling topics. Obviously this means an increase in the rental fee to cover the huge outlay to the school in buying the books. However the scheme is still very good value to our families. Below is an example of the savings in a variety of classes between purchasing and renting the books in the coming year.

Class Purchase Cost Rental Cost

Junior Infants 18.50 euro 8 euro

2nd Class 32.05 euro 13 euro

4th Class 91.55 euro 30 euro

6th Class 97.10 euro 32 euro

The Book List will also include items such as art and craft money, lists of pens and copies etc which will be required. I would like to say a sincere thank you to Pearl, Catherine and Donna for all their hard work in organising this service which is of such great benefit to the community.

Approaching Children – Here in Lusk N.S. we have a very pro-active behaviour policy which encourages respectful behaviour towards everyone in the school community. Where a parent has concerns regarding behaviour within school they make an appointment with the class teacher in the first instance to discuss the matter. For obvious reasons parents should not approach the children of other families regarding any such incident.

Policies – Three further organisational policies have been ratified by the Board of Management in the past month. The Child Protection Policy, Health and Safety Policy and Administration of Medicines Policy are available in the school office and will also be placed on the school website once this is up and running.

Community Garda – The three second classes had a visit from the Community Garda in the past month. She discussed issues such as road safety and dealing with strangers. It was a very useful visit for those involved.

Dates for the Diary – School is closed on Monday the 2nd and Tuesday the 3rd of June for the Bank Holiday.

– There will be a staff meeting on Wednesday June the 4th. Children will go home at 12.30.

- We have been directed to by the Electoral Commission to close the school on Thursday the 12th of June to facilitate the Referendum on the Lisbon treaty.

Regards,

Paul Comiskey.

Principal.

Principal: Paul Comiskey, B.Ed., Dip. Ed. Man., M.St.

Deputy Principal: Peggy O'Connor N.T. D.A.I..