SEPTEMBER 2004 NEWSLETTER
Dear Parents/ Guardians,

I want to wish a warm welcome back to everybody. I hope you all enjoyed the summer break and are well prepared for an enjoyable and hardworking term. The boys are looking extremely smart in their new uniforms and have already settled in very well and embarked on their new courses. A very special welcome to our new Junior Infants who are in the expert care of Ms. Devenney and Ms. Beatty. They have taken to big school like ducks to water and I know they will all do very well. A special welcome to new teacher Ms. Grennan. We hope she will be very happy and we wish her every success in her teaching career. We are very sad to say goodbye to Elaine O’Gara who has relocated to Donegal following her marriage. Elaine has given sterling service to our school and we wish her the very best in her new life.

BUILDING IMPROVMENTS Before the summer break, we advised you that a lot of work was to commence in improving various aspects of the school’s infrastructure. As you will have noticed, a lot of building work has been undertaken throughout the school and we are delighted with the progress that was made during the summer. The safety of the children is always top of our list of priorities and so we are particularly pleased that the following has already been achieved:

- Re-wiring of the entire school including installation of new power points and light fittings throughout.
- Re-cabling of the entire school ensuring that all classrooms are fully networked and have full - Broadband capability.
- A new Burglar Alarm has been fitted.
- A new Fire Alarm has been fitted.
- The Heating System has been upgraded ensuring maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
- A new Intercom System has been installed facilitating immediate communication with all parts of the school.
- New Security Handles have been fitted to all external doors.
- Painting of all classrooms and corridors.
- Full wiring for electronic security gates.
- An external lighting system has been installed.

No doubt you and most importantly the children, will also be delighted with the results so far, which are of benefit to us all in improving the school’s environment.

Full planning permission has been granted for the installation of the gates to the front of the school. Work is expected to commence shortly and you will be kept informed of progress on this and all remaining work, as it is completed. The next edition of Foundations Newsletter will provide further detail on the next jobs to be tackled.

The Building Committee would be delighted to hear from people who could give of their services. If you would be able to do so, please contact Dermot Lynch, Principal.


P.E. & GAMES: We are very fortunate here in St. Pius to have the services of a fully qualified P.E. Teacher in the person of Elaine Goddard. Elaine teaches P.E. to all classes and organizes a multitude of extra curricular sporting activities, ably assisted by several members of the teaching staff. This year the teachers involved will be:

GAELIC FOOTBALL - Michael Hayes, Dermot Lynch
HURLING - Michael Hayes, Brenda Dempsey,
OLYMPIC HANDBALL - Mary Kneafsey, Eimear de Brun
BASKETBALL - AnneMarie Elliott, Lorcan Coyle

Furthermore, we have coaching in Hurling for 1st & 2nd class provided by Faughs Hurling Club and Ms. Dempsey and coaching in Cricket for 3rd Class provided by the Irish Cricket Union.

SCHOOL CHOIR: Anne Purcell trains and directs the School Choir and had tremendous success last year, taking 1st Prize at the Annual Inter Schools Music Festival and being invited to open the Cór Fhéile.

PARENTS ASSOCIATION: The Parents Association is a wonderful support to the school. They offer a huge range of extra activities for the children and enrolment for these classes will take place on Saturday 11th September from 9.00 a.m. -11 a.m. in the School Hall. The children have already received a note about this.

UNIFORMS: A uniform sale will be held by O’Sullivan Schoolwear on Saturday 11th September 9.00 a.m. – 10.00 a.m. in the School Hall.

PUPIL UP DATE FORMS: Please find attached Pupil Update Forms and we would ask you to return these as soon as possible. It is essential that we keep our records up to date in order to ensure that we can make contact with you in an emergency.

MILK SCHEME: The Milk Scheme will continue this year. The cost for the year will be €25. An order form will be sent out in the next week and the milk will be available from Monday 27th September. Please ensure that your child wants to take the milk, as last year children who ordered the milk did not actually want it!!

APPOINTMENTS WITH TEACHERS: At the beginning of the school year I would ask you to make an appointment through the office if you wish to speak to your child’s teacher. This allows the teacher to arrange for suitable supervision and planning of class work.

ATTENDANCE: Could I remind you to be diligent about your child’s attendance. The National Education Welfare Board must be notified if any child is absent for more than twenty days in any school year.


CONTRIBUTIONS:
Thank you to those of you who have sent in your voluntary contribution already and could this be a subtle reminder to those who have not. This money is essential to supplement the Capitation Grant from the Department of Education. The subscription of €90 to the school covers the following costs:

P.E. (full time teacher) - €40
Insurance Cover - € 7
Stationary - €7.50
Library Books & Homework Journal- € 5
Assessment Tests - € 3
Arts & Crafts - €15
Photocopying, Reports & General Admin. - €7.50
Miscellaneous - € 5

Practically all of these charges are for items which are purchased by the school on behalf of all the children. The P.E. and Insurance cover have to be voluntary by their nature, but we decided many years ago to provide a full time P.E. service and more recently to provide 24-hour insurance cover for all the children. We hope that these initiatives will be supported by all. There is no shame or stigma in having temporary difficulty with domestic finances and should any costs due to the school provide a difficulty for anybody, please approach the Principal. The situation will be dealt with sensitively and discreetly.

TRAFFIC: The traffic outside the school has become a considerable problem. Car parking in the area is causing serious difficulty for our neighbours and calls have been received from irate people, who have been blocked into their houses and who have phoned the Gardaí. We would ask you to consider this when parking your car. We would also ask you to be aware of pedestrians and to avoid obstructing the pathways. There is a possibility that more children living near the school could walk to school and with cycle lanes, cycling to school is an option that could be explored. Please examine the map accompanying this newsletter. It is a system devised by the P.A. to alleviate traffic problems and we would ask you all to adhere strictly to it. Please ensure that there is no traffic in the yard while school is in progress. Cars, bicycles and scooters could be the cause of serious accidents as the yard is very confined and there are lots of nooks and crannies from which children may emerge without warning.

RELIGION IN SERVICE: Ms. De Brun and Mr. Réamonn will be attending an In-Service Course on Alive O 6 Series organized by the Diocesan Advisors for Religious Education on Monday, 20th September. Unfortunately the Department of Education has made no arrangement for substitute cover. If children from these classes attend school on that day, we will make alternative arrangements for them. There will be other In Service Courses during the year and we will inform you when we are notified by the Department of Education & Science.

SPANISH: Spanish is being taught by Elisa Dempsey to the fifth and sixth class boys and they are enjoying the experience enormously. We have a number of Spanish Students in the school for the term and they are enjoying their stay. If there are any families interested in hosting a student please contact Niall in Rockbrook International @ 493 6692.



SCHOOL CALENDER

Staff Meeting – Friday 24th September – School Closes at 12 o’clock

Mid Term Break – School Closed Friday 22nd October (normal time) and reopens Tuesday 2nd November at 9.00 a.m.

Thursday & Friday November 18th and 19th – School Closed at 1.45 p.m. for Parent/Teacher Meetings

Wednesday 8th December – Church Holiday – School Closed

Christmas Holidays – Wednesday 22nd December – School Closes at 12 o’clock Re-opens Monday 10th January at 9.00 a.m.


Wishing everybody a happy, healthy and hardworking term.

Guím gach rath agus beannacht ar na daltaí, na múinteoirí, na tuismitheoirí agus gach éinne a bhfuil baint acu ag an scoil. Táim cinnte go mbeidh bliain thar barr againn go léir.

Go n-éirí go geal le gach éinne.

Dermot Lynch,
PRINCIPAL. B.N.S.



SUPERVISION OF PUPILS

SCHOOL HOURS - Our School opens at 9.00 am to receive children. No responsibility is accepted for pupils arriving before this time. Break Times are 10.45 a.m. – 11.00 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. – 1.00 p.m. Classes end each day at 1.45 p.m. (Junior & Senior Infants) and 2.45 p.m. (1st to 6th Classes). The school cannot accept responsibility for children after 2.45 p.m.

SECURITY – In an effort to improve security and to safe guard your children’s welfare, I would ask you to ensure that in the event of you having to take your child out of school during school hours, you would inform the teacher of this. We would also ask all visitors to report to the Secretary’s Office in the first instance and indeed if you want to speak to a teacher, we would appreciate you making a prior appointment.

No cars allowed in the school yard at anytime.