26th May 2010
Dear Parents/ Guardians,
Welcome to another school newsletter. We hope everyone is enjoying the good weather at present.
Confirmation and Holy Communion - During the past month we have had two wonderful sacramental celebrations. Our sixth class children received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday the 30th of April and our second class children made their First Holy Communion on the 15th of May. We would like to thank Fr. Joe and all the teachers for their hard work in preparing the children for the events and we say a special thanks to the ladies of the community who helped with tea and sandwiches in the school hall afterwards.
Junior Infant Meeting - The parents of all next year's Junior Infants have been invited to an introductory meeting this Wednesday the 26th of May at 8 p.m. Representatives from the Board of Management, Parents Association and teaching staff will discuss with parents what they can expect for their child in the coming years.
Artist in Residence Programme - The children of 5th class have worked on an art project under the direction of local artist Maura O'Rourke for the past ten weeks. The theme of the project was "Local Flora and Fauna" and the children designed graphics depicting plants and animals of the region. They then printed these images on calendars, cards, t-shirts and a large school mural. They will be presented with their certificates this week. We would like to thank Maura and Ms. Scott for all their hard work in co-ordinating the project. This project was totally funded through the voluntary contribution.
Green Schools Committee - The Green Schools Committee are hard at work at the moment. They had a very successful "Cash for Clobber" day recently raising 145 euro for the school and recycling a great deal of clothes at the same time. The school spring clean is also continuing as each class tidies a certain area of the school once a week to brighten our environment. The committee also visited a local recycling centre recently and took part in a Waste Education Workshop which proved very educational.
Sport - Things are still very busy on the sports front. Our Senior Boys team were very unlucky to lose their final in Parnell Park this month after a fantastic performance. They did so well to reach the final in the first place. Our Cross Country team did very well in their running league this year and came second out of the seventeen schools involved. Well done also to all those involved in the soccer blitz at the moment. There is some great skill on show. Thanks to all the teachers for giving their time to our teams throughout the year.
Buddy Reading - The Buddy Reading Project organized by Ms. Murtagh and Ms MacNamee has been a resounding success. The older children from 5th and 6th class have enjoyed reading with the 1st class children each day while we have noticed hugely positive attitudes towards books among the younger children who love reading for their buddy and hopefully are bringing those positive attitudes to reading home. We certainly intend to continue this programme next year.
School Website- A great deal of our ongoing activities can be viewed on our school website. The most recent pages uploaded onto the site include the football finals, buddy reading, recent art displays and the Waste Education Workshop. All these items can be viewed at www.lusknationalschool.org
Slip, slap, slop - We would like to remind all parents to protect their children from the sunshine. We regularly ask the children to "slip, slap, slop" - slip on a shirt, slap on a hat and slop on some sun cream to ensure they do not suffer from sun burn while in the yard or field. Hopefully I am not tempting fate by suggesting that we might expect some more fine weather over the coming weeks.
Sports Day T We will have a Junior Sports Day and a Senior Sports day on two different dates in early June. These days are weather dependent and we will be in touch with you closer to the dates with more information.
Healthy Eating- Our classes will be involved in a small competition regarding healthy lunches in the coming week. It is fantastic to see how many of our children have a healthy lunch each day and we would like to thank all families who support their children by providing healthy lunches as per our school policy.
Grandparents - Earlier in the year we had a very enjoyable "Grandparents Day" when the grandparents of children in second class visited and shared their experiences of school with their grandchildren. We are now calling on the grandparents in those classes to give us a little more help. We are asking them to visit and help with group reading for thirty minutes a day for two weeks in early June to support our DEAR programme (Drop Everything and Read). I know the children are very much looking forward to the visits. The second class teachers will be in touch next week regarding the programme.
Dates for the Diary -
Staff Meeting - Wednesday 2nd June - Children home at 12.30
School Closed for June Weekend -June 7th/ June 8th
Regards,
Paul Comiskey.
Principal.
Principal: Paul Comiskey, B.Ed., Dip. Ed. Man., M.St.
Deputy Principal: Peggy O'Connor N.T., D.A.I.
