Christmas 2010

Sacred Heart School will be closed today 22nd and tommorrow 23rd December due to the bad weather. We regret that the school had to take this action but conditions worsened yesterday and the health and safety of all is of paramount importance. School re-opens on January 10th 2011. We wish all our Children, Parents/Guardians, Teachers, SNAs, Cleaners, Bean an Tí, Lollipop Ladies, Secretary and Caretaker and all in the school community a very happy and peaceful Christmas. I hope all families got the school newsletter. Our date for Confirmation in 2011 is March and Bishop Raymond Fields will officiate. Communions will be on May 28th at 10 a.m. and 12 a.m. and not April as mistakenly published in the newsletter.

Bugsy Malone, the musical, will be our next major undertaking in February 2011. This is a major project and we need the support of the whole school community. Tickets, Tshirts, caps etc. will be on sale in the school early in the New Year.

Happy New Year to all

School return

It is hard to believe that the summer is almost over and that all the boys and girls will be returning to school next Tuesday 31st August. This is a stressful time for families and I hope that you have managed to source books uniforms etc for the new school year. The school is open for enquiries this week.

Major refurbishment work has taken place in the school over the holidays. All toilets, wash basins, floor coverings, sink units and presses have been replaced in the old section of the building. New tiling and painting has been completed also. The whole school has been wired for internet access, which will be available in all rooms of the school from mid September. 10 new white board projectors will also be installed over the coming weeks.

These projects have all been funded by the Department of Education and Skills at an approximate cost of just over €200,000. Last year's roof replacement cost €270,000. This represents a considerable investment in our children's education and makes our school one of the best equipped in the country.....nothing less than our children deserve.

A special welcome to the boys and girls who are joining Junior Infant classes this year. I hope they will settle in well and we wish our 6th classes the very best as they enter second level for the first time.

Sad Week

The Easter holiday period has been marked by unspeakable tragedy with the violent death of our past pupil Toyosi Shitt-abe. On behalf of the school community I offer our deepest sympathy and support for the Shittabe family and in particular to Kafila Shade and Khalido Abayome, Toyosi's sister and brother who are still with us in the school. Toyoshi is remembered as a lively boy and a keen sportsman. He was our player of the year in 2005/2006. This senseless death reminds us all how fragile life is and how we must at all times respect one another and treat each one in our community with kindness and compassion. The untimely death of Mrs Cahill, Lauren's (6th Class) has heightened our sense of loss and grief in the community and we send our sympathy and support to Lauren, Robert and all the Cahill family.

Easter News and more...

As the Easter holidays approach, we congratulate the boys and girls from 6th classes on their confirmation on March 12th. They all were a credit to their parents and families. Thank you to you the parents for the way in which you prepared the children for the big day and of course to their teachers, Mr Sullivan, Mr Lyons, Ms Barry and Ms Kennedy. Thanks also to Mrs Kitt and Mrs Mooney who work with the classes and to Ms Desmond, who did great work with the choir which sang beautifully accompanied by Mr Culligan on violin and Ms McEntee on the organ. We thank Sr Claire , Clinton and of course Fr. George for their work with the boys and girls. Because these important milestones in the children's lives pass so smoothly on the day we often are unaware of the work and effort behind the scenes to ensure that they are respectful, prayerful and memorable for all.

Thank you to our quiz teams and Ms Connell who took part in the Credit Union Quiz and the National parents' Council recently.

The school Green Team was awarded its 3rd Green Flag. This is a wonderful achievement for the school and underlines our commitment to a greener environment. There has been some slippage on the litter scene recently and we are now embarking on a drive to reduce the number of black bags we use by asking the children not to bring in any litter with them and whatever wrappers etc they have to bring them home. W hope to reduce our waste collection charges by 50% this year.

The "Huntstown Hunnies", our school staff ladies team had a magnificent win in the ladies soccer blitz in Limerick recently. Well done to all of them and to Mr McDevitt their coach.

Ms Fitzgerald and Ms Lee ably represented the school last Sunday with their two acts in the schools' variety concert in the gym. Well done to the boys and girls in those acts.

On thespian matters, break a leg to Mr Sullivan in his lead role in the teachers' annual musical "Beauty and the Beast" in Belvedere College from 13 to 17th April.

Best wishes to Ms Scannell on her marriage to John on 10th April. Congratulations to Ms Desmond on her recent engagement.

Communion dates May 8th and May 15th at 11a.m.

Chocolate Heaven Day was a great success. The Parents' Association was overwhelmed by the response from families to its appeal for cakes etc. The parents' association do great work in the school not only fund raising but also in making Confirmation and Communion Days memorable by catering for the families in the school. This year's committee is doing trojan work for the school and keeping up a very important tradition of parental involvement in the school.

Uniforms/make up/earrings/tracksuits/shoes.... Parents are reminded to check the school policy regarding all these items. The vast majority of boys and girls adhere to the rules which are in place for very good reasons and as a result of long experience and consultation. Please ensure that your child is properly attired for school in the mornings.

The school staff will be making decisions soon regarding school tours next term. Because of cutbacks in schools and the fact that the school was not allowed replace the teacher with responsibility for this area, we may not be in a position to organise tours this year. The INTO has also instructed members that they cannot take on another teacher's responsibilities.

The Dragon Club awards will take place in the school on April 15th and all parents involved are invited to the atrium at 10'oclock for the event.

We have lots of football teams, soccer teams both boys and girls involved in games after school and on your behalf I thank all the dedicated teachers who give freely of their time for these activities. We also have hurling teams in training for next year. Our teachers also look after athletics teams and rugby coaching. Well done to all.

Our enrolment days went well. To date we have 103 places allocated. There are some places still available, so if anyone has forgotten to enrol they should do so as soon as possible.

The new roof on the old school will be completed during Easter. Thank you for your cooperation during the works. Over €230,000 will be spent on the completed project which is provided by the Department of Education and Science.

Initial steps have been taken to set up a student council in the school. More details later.

Have a very Happy Easter.

Enrolment/Frames/Bebo/Staff Meeting/Mid-Term

Enrolment will take place on 9th 10th and 11th of February in the school from10 a.m. to 12 a.m. . It is important that each application is accompanied by original birth cert and copy of same, original baptismal cert and copy of same, child's PPS number and two recent utility bills (2 months) with confirmation of the parents'/guardians' address.

A number of children were disappointed that the stock of recording frames on sale by the The Parents' Association ran out before Christmas. The Parents' Association has managed to acquire more frames and will be selling them in the school in conjunction with the enrolments on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday of next week.

A staff meeting will take place on Wednesday next from 12.30 to 2.30. During the meeting, the school staff will be receiving training on child protection issues which all school staff must undergo under the provisions of the Education Act regarding child protection.

Ceremony of Light for children for Confirmation will take place on Tuesday at 7.30p.m in the church. It is very important that all children for Confirmation and their parents/guardians attend.

I have written to parents/guardians of 6th class boys and girls advising them to monitor their child's activities on Bebo. Some parents have made the school aware that unkind and inappropriate messages are being posted on the Bebo site. Access to Bebo on the school site is blocked as part of the school's responsible use of internet policy. These reported postings are being made from children's home or from whatever other sites they have access to. I accept the school has no jurisdiction over these matters but if such actions affect a child's school attendance, their academic performance or their relationships within the school school it is of serious concern.

Mid-term break takes place February 15th to 19th. School re-opens on Monday 22nd February.

Catholic Schools' Week/Text a parent/Senior Infants/brown envelopes/Parents' association

To mark Catholic schools' week a service will be held in the Church on Monday next February 1st St. Brigid's Day. The theme of the week is "A light for every generation" A number of activities are planned for the week including the making of St. Brigid's crosses, some project work on St Blaise and research around grandparents.

Ms Scannell and Ms Brogan will have to move from their classrooms with senior Infants from next Tuesday morning to the Gym to facilitate the replacement of the roof of their classrooms. Parents might consider adding a layer of clothing to the children as the heating in the hall may not be as effective as in the classrooms.

Text-a-parent: At this stage 95% of parents have provided a family contact number to facilitate better communications with families in the event of there being a need to contact families urgently for some unforeseen reason.

Thanks to the Parents' Association for its work in fund raising before Christmas and for the provision of two white board for our school. If you have not returned the brown envelope with a donation to the school you might do so as soon as possible.

Roof/swine 'flu/ enrolment/Haiti/parking

Thank you to all for your cooperation with our roof replacement arrangements. Classes will be disrupted over the coming days as the work progresses. We hope to keep this disruption to a minimum. The workmen will be here over the weekend in an effort to keep the inconvenience to a minimum. Work will continue during the mid-term break also.The swine flu vaccine programme will be completed today. Any child who has missed out and wishes to have the vaccine must contact their local GP. Thank you to all those who helped out in the coordination of the work.Enrolment will take place on 9th 10th and 11th of February in the school. It is important that each application is accompanied by original birth cert and copy of same, original baptismal cert and copy of same, child's PPS number and two recent utility bills (2 months) with confirmation of the parents'/guardians' address.Congratulations to the children and teachers who undertook the fund raising for Haiti last Friday. Almost €2500 was collected in the cake sale. Thanks to all the parents and teachers and school staff for your wonderful cooking.By now you are aware that the Gardaí are clamping down on illegal parking outside the school in the mornings and evenings. The purpose of this is to ensure the safety of your children and the school supports this initiative. I appreciate that there are many families who have to drive their children to school but I'm sure many others could consider walking the short distance especially on fine mornings. A bit of extra exercise will do only good for the children!

Swine 'Flu Vaccine

Parents,

The swine flue vaccination of children aged 5 to 18 will be available in the school on Monday and Tuesday next 25th and 26th January. Only children whose parents have completed and returned the consent forms will be considered for the vaccine. Please ensure that you have returned a completed consent form to the class teacher. Spare forms are available from the school secretary should you require them.

Please note the following from the letter received by the school from the HSE:
“On the day of vaccinations we recommend that students ensure they have eaten breakfast and any appropriate meals, this lessens the risk of fainting during vaccinations. In addition they should wear loose clothing to facilitate vaccination in the upper arm”.
Due to the volume of work to be achieved it will not be possible for the HSE to actively follow up students who are absent on the day of the vaccination or where vaccination is deferred because the student is unwell. These students should be brought by their parents to the mass vaccination clinics”.

The vaccination will take place in school hall where facilities will be in place for the HSE team. We understand that there will be approx 8 doctors present. From the information we have received the administration of the vaccime will be a very operation. The time-table in latest news section is a rough guide as it is not possible to give exact times for specific classes.

Please note that no child will be vaccinated unless the consent and treatment form is returned fully completed and signed.

Thank you.

Seán Ó Díomasaigh
Príomhoide

Swine 'Flu

Timetable for Vaccination on 25/26th January will be sent home to parents and posted here later today Thursday 21 January.

Please support our Cake Sale Fundraiser for Haiti tomorrow 22nd January.

Swine 'Flu Vaccination

The Swine 'Flu Vaccine will be available in the school hall on Monday 25th January and Tuesday 26th January. If you want your child to avail of this fre service you must have completed the consent form and returned it to the school. Some forms are still available at the school if you have mislaid the one provided by the school two weeks ago.

Thank you for your cooperation with the new temporary arrangements for entering and exiting the school while the new roof work is being put in place.

New Roof/Swine Flu/ Party Food

Work on replacing old roof will commence tomorrow. There will be some disruption and new arrangements for children entering and exiting the school. Details have been sent to parents of children who will be effected by the changes.

We are still awaiting dates for Swine Flu' Vaccination. It has been very difficult to get any information from the HSE but we will let you know as soon as we have dates.

Of late there have been requests from parents to distribute party food for birthdays etc in the school. The school will not accept party food, cakes, presents for distribution to children on health and safety grounds.

New Year

Welcome back to all our children and happy New Year to all. Thank you for your cooperation last week during the very severe weather. We decided to open on Tuesday as the weather improved dramatically on Monday but we realise it was difficult for many of you in the surrounding estates. On balance we think we made the correct decision. Families will have received a letter this week about the text-a-parent initiative we hope to launch shortly. It is important that each family fills out this form including an up to date mobile number for the family and returns it to the school immediately. The parents' association is supporting this venture as a further way of improving communications between school and families.

Confirmation will be on Friday March 12 at 11 a.m.

The swine flu vaccine was due to be beginning on Monday next but with the late opening it has been postponed. We are trying to get a new start up date for this programme and will let you know the details.
Work will commence shortly on the replacement of the old school roof. This will cause some disruption to parents and children. We appeal to all to be vigilant as you enter the school and respect the signs.

School Opening

School will reopen tomorrow 12th January at 8.50 a.m. We look forward to seeing you all back in the morning as the snow has thawed considerably over the last 24 hours. However it will be wet under foot, so be careful and ensure you have suitable footwear and clothing. It is important also that it be emphasised to all children to be careful not to throw snowballs as snow may contain stones or pebbles.

School Closure Update

A very happy New Year to all our Parents and children. You will be aware by now that the Minister for Education and Science has announced that all schools will be closed on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday of next week due to the extreme weather conditions. We are aware that this will create some hardship for families but the safety of children and parents is of paramount importance. Please keep up to date with developments through the school website on which we will post any new information. The Swine Flu' vaccination programme is due to commence on January 18th and hopefully the late opening will not effect these arrangements. Thank you.

School Closure

The school will remain closed on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th January due to the severe weather conditions. Please visit the website for updates over the weekend.