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Holy Family National SchoolNewsletter October 2003 |
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| Welcome back after the summer break
to all pupils, even though it seems to all of us that we have been back for an
eternity. We extend a special céad míle fáilte to the new
children in our school and especially to the two classes of Junior Infants who
are joining "big school" for the first time. We hope they have a most pleasant
year. There have been a number of staff changes in Holy Family N.S. this
academic year. Two of last year's teachers, Mr. Sheedy and Ms. O'Dowd have
taken up posts in other parts of the country and we wish them well with their
new staffs and pupils. Ms. Dempsey is on a career break for 1 year and her
class is being taught by Ms. Crookes. We have 3 other new teachers on the
staff-Ms. Delaney, Ms. Brennan and Mr. Cassidy- many of whom are taking up
their first appointment and we wish them well as they start out in their chosen
career. This year sees the introduction of a new subject on the school curriculum for all classes-Science. This will provide us all with a fresh challenge and opportunity. In preparation for this in-service training was provided last year and new Science equipment was purchased during the summer with a grant from the Dept. and supplemented with funds from the Parents' Association. |
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| Music | |
| Last year Mrs.McKeon was appointed by
the Board of Management to take responsibility for music in the school. A
programme of work in music was put in train for each class and percussion
instruments and CD players were purchased. This year further musical equipment
is being purchased and the following events have been organized:
October 14th : Irish Times Music in the Classroom-Helix Theatre - 5th & 6th classes. December 7th: Hallelujah Christmas Concert-Point Depot - 4th & 5th Classes. December 23rd: Christmas Concert-School Hall - All Classes. The trips to The Point and The Helix will be part-funded by The Parents' Association. |
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| Computers | |
| Mr. Manning is ICT co-ordinator
appointed by the Board of Management. He has done tremendous work over the last
4 or 5 years installing appropriate Educational software on computers and
developing our website. Our website address is
http://homepage.eircom.net/~holyfam Ml. McGuane taught computer classes for a number of years in our school and his expertise coupled with his pleasant manner were much admired. Michael is now living in Co. Cavan. This year we have acquired the services of a new computer teacher - Attracta Jacob-and she teaches computer skills to children from 1st to 6th class every Tuesday. There is no cost to chidren - these classes are funded by the Parents' Association. The after school computer club resumes on Tuesday next 7th October immediately after school. At €40.00 for 10 weeks this is good value for money and I understand there are just a few places left. |
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| School Closings 2003-2004 | |
| October mid-term break:
........................ 27th to 31st October Holy Day: .................................................. 8th December Christmas Holidays: ............................... 24th December to 6th January 2004 February mid-term break: ...................... 19th & 20th February St.Patrick's Day: ..................................... 17th, 18th & 19th March Easter Holidays: ........................................ 5th to 16th April May Bank Holiday: ................................... 3rd & 4th May June Bank Holiday: ................................... 4th & 7th June |
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| School Events 2003-2004 | |
| School Book Fair:
....................................... 18th to 25th November
Christmas Fun Day: .................................... 22nd December Parent/Teacher Meetings: ......................... 17th & 18th February Lá Gaelach: ................................................. 16th March 6th Class Retreat: ....................................... 13th May First Holy Communion: ............................... 15th May Confirmation: ................................................. 2nd June Sports Day: .................................................. 18th June School Tours: ............................................... 22nd June |
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| School Uniform | |
| Our new school jumper with crest and
tracksuit has attracted much comment-most of it very positive. As with anything
new being introduced there will always be some teething problems. Some people
have encountered problems with the school jumper. Those problems are currently
being addressed and I hope to have positive news on that matter very shortly.
The number of uniforms and tracksuits which get mixed up and lost is a constant nightmare for us in the school due to lack of labeling. Could I plead with you to put your child's name on jumpers and tracksuits-even marking it with a biro will last for several weeks. A suggestion that came up at our Staff Meeting for tracksuits to be the school uniform for Junior and Senior Infants has some merit and will be discussed with parents over the coming year. In our recent survey a number of other suggestions have been put forward and these also will be considered in due course. |
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| School Rules | |
| As we start off another year there
are a few rules which we ask for your co-operation in implementing.
1) The staff car park is for staff cars only. In the interests of children's safety it is not to be used for dropping off and collecting children. 2) If you have to drop a lunch or book to your child during the day please leave it at reception and it will be delivered to your child with minimum disruption to the class. 3) School starts at 9.00a.m. When the children are taken in work starts immediately. Please ensure that your child arrives on time. Parents collecting their children from the Infant classes at 1.45p.m. are asked to do so punctually as the Infant teachers are often required to mind other classes. It is understandable that from time to time a parent will get caught in traffic but persistent lateness is inexcusable and does cause considerable disruption. 4) If the morning is wet please time your child's departure from home so that they arrive in school at 9.00 a.m. If they have to be dropped off earlier encourage them to use the school shelter. 5) Homework is an essential part of school life and has many merits. The following is a rough estimate of the maximum time which your child should spend on his/her assigned homework:
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| School Activities | |
The following is a rough summary of
the various activities that are taking place each week either during school
time or after school:
One of our biggest problems organizing matches or trips away from the school is the cost of transport. The cost of busses increased last year by 25% and this year by a further 25%. A short trip as far as Tallaght or Clondalkin can cost about €200.00. This year we had to seriously consider withdrawing teams from the Primary School Football Leagues because of transport costs. Most parents, understandably so, are now reluctant to bring children other than their own in cars because they have to comply with new laws regarding seat belts, front-seat passengers and resultant penalty points for non-compliance. We are deeply indebted therefore to that parent, who wishes to remain anonymous, who very generously organized a sponsor to cover the cost of transport for the boys and girls teams. Míle buíochas. |
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| New Board Of Management | |
| The outgoing Board Of Management has
completed its three year term of office and a new Board must be established by
November 15th 2003 to serve a 4 year term of office. I would like to pay tribute to the outgoing Board for their time, commitment and enthusiasm over the last 3 years. Normally two or three meetings were held each term which were conducted in a constructive, business like manner and devoid of rancour. The members were enthusiastic workers for the betterment of the school and its children and none more so than the outgoing Chairperson, Mary Rooney. The new Board will consist of:
A general meeting of parents will be held in the School Hall on Thursday 23rd October where the outgoing Chairperson, Mary Rooney will oversee the election of the two parents representatives onto the new Board Of Management. The outgoing officers of the Parents' Association will give an account of their activities over the last 3 years term of office and a new committee will be formed. Anybody who has links with this school, no matter how tenuous, over the last number of years will be aware of the fantastic work which has been done by The Parents' Association. You may have noticed in this newsletter alone the number of events that are funded or part-funded by The Parents' Association and I find words inadequate to describe my appreciation of the work they have done. No job was too big or too small-a quick phone call drew an immediate response. In my opinion our reputation as a school in this community is greatly enhanced by the activities of that small band of parents who have worked tirelessly over the last 5 or 6 years. However, while I hope that many of the outgoing committee will stay on, it is time for others to take up the baton and carry on the good work. Every family should be represented at the meeting on the 23rd October - I will give you more details nearer the date. |
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| School Books | |
| You as parents do not need to be reminded how expensive school books have become. We as a staff are very conscious of this when we are choosing books for classes each year but very often our hands are tied because the book companies design books in such a way that they have to be written on and so increase their sales. For our part we do not let children write on books or workbooks unless it is absolutely necessary. Last year and again this year we have bought a number of books per class which children can share-at no cost to parents. These are kept in the class and can be used year after year e.g. Religion books, Atlases, English Resource books. We will try and extend this practice over the coming years. Funds for those books come from the small profit (10%) that we make on selling school books-which would otherwise go to the bookshops even though it entails a lot of extra work over the summer months. You as parents can help to minimize costs by covering books and encouraging your children to take good care of them. | |
| Art & Craft Money | |
| Art and Craft money that is collected goes directly to the teachers to purchase materials for the year. This is never enough and so the Board Of Management each year make a donation to the staff to help defray costs. We are also indebted to one particular parent who keeps us supplied with suitable paper for Art & Craft. Thank you, Mark. | |
| Stationery | |
| Each child is asked to pay €7.00 for Stationery each year. Last year total income yielded €1519.00 - everybody paid their dues. Total expenditure was €2125.45. Again the shortfall was made up from profit from the sale of books. The biggest expenditure is photocopying worksheets for children, purchasing paper and laminating sheets and sending notes home to parents. | |
| Education Welfare Act 2000 | |
| This Act which was passed by the
Oireachtas in July 2000 came into effect on 1st July 2002 and it has many
implications for parents, teachers and Boards of Management.
Essentially the Education Welfare Act is about promoting school attendance and it replaces the School Attendance Act of 1926. Under the act a parent is obliged to send his/her child between the ages of 6 and 16 to a recognized school. The school in turn is duty bound to register all children attending. The parent is obliged to inform the child's teacher of the reason for any absence during the school year. The reason for the absence should be in writing because if the child is absent for more than 20 days the Principal is obliged to inform the NEWB of this and to supply it with all notes received concerning the child's absence. The Welfare Officer is then duty bound to contact the parents of the child/children in question. To date we have not received any information or guidelines from the Department on the implementation of the Act and therefore we are asking parents: A . To provide the class teacher with a written note giving the reason for a child's absence. B. Not to ring the school informing us that the child will be absent or the reason for an absence. It must be in writing. C. To be aware of the 20 day rule because a quick glance through our records show that a significant number of children were absent for more than 20 days in recent years. This in particular applies to parents who take their children away on holidays during the school term-a practice which we never condoned because it disrupts the child's education. Remember that I, as Principal, am required by law to report all absences in a school year in excess of 20 days. |
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| Children's Book Festival 2003 | |
| The Children's Book Festival is a two
week long nation-wide celebration of reading and books with an emphasis on FUN.
It runs from 16th to 31st October. During those two weeks we have arranged
visits to Tallaght Library for children in 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes to meet
well known children's authors. Tuesday October 14: Rang I - Éanna Ní Lamhna Wednesday October 15: Rang 2 - Roger McGough Wednesday October 22: Rang 3 - Toby Kinsella. |
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| Golf Classic | |
| The Golf Classic, which was held in Citywest in June, was an outstanding success, both socially and financially. Profit from the day was in excess of € 15,000.00. All funds were lodged in The Parents' Association A/C and will be used to fund Music and Computer classes and to purchase Educational materials. | |
| Other Newsletters: | April 1997 | |
| October 1997 | ||
| March 1998 | ||
| April 1999 | ||
| October 1999 | ||
| November 1999 | ||
| November 2000 | ||
| October 2001 | ||
| November 2002 |
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