Newsletter Thursday 8/12/22
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Walk a Mile with a Christmas smile! As part of our ongoing work regarding the Travel theme as part of our Green Schools programme, we are running our December Walk On Wednesday next Wednesday 14th of December. We are committed to helping the environment and reducing emissions and walking is the most sustainable and healthy way to achieve this. The children can wear their Christmas jumpers on the day of the WOW walk. Grab your Reindeer antlers and Santa hats and join your friends at the Lord Lucan carpark – departing at 8.25am for our Christmas WOW!
Enrolment for junior infants 2023/2024 is open. Please find an expression of interest form on our website www.stthomasjns.com
Parents Association News
We, St. Thomas’ JNS Parents Association would like to thank all the parents, teachers and pupils for the overwhelming support at the recent bake sale and Christmas raffle. It was a huge success and we hope everyone enjoyed the special day as much as we did. The leftover cakes were donated to Lucan homeless donations and will be redistributed locally in Christmas hampers over the coming weeks. As always, we are so grateful for all the help and donations, we receive from the school community. Thank you to all volunteers who kindly gave of their time to help out. Also, well done to all the prize winners!
The class calendars- County Photos came to the school in November and took a class photo. We have used these photos to make a class calendar for every room. They are A3 in size and would be a lovely stocking filler for Grandparents etc. They will be available at reception today and tomorrow at school pick-up times (1.40pm and 2.40pm) for €3.50 each or two for €6.
All fundraising this year is going towards the school’s new sensory room, which will benefit all the children in St Thomas’. Therefore, we welcome and appreciate your continued support.
Special visitor: Finally, we have organized a very special visitor to visit St. Thomas’ JNS on Friday 16th of December and we have lovely gifts for all children.
The school staff would like to thank the PA who kindly decorated the lobby of our school with Christmas decorations and thank you most sincerely to the family who donated the wonderful Christmas tree. It looks fantastic. Míle buíochas!
Christmas Holidays will begin on 21st December @11:50am for infants and 12pm for 1st/2nd classes. The children can wear their Christmas jumpers on the day of the Christmas holidays.
Thank you to Lucan Lions club who makes a donation to the school each year in order to support needy families. Their support is very much appreciated.
Colder weather- a gentle reminder to ensure that all children are well wrapped up with hats, scarves and warm winter coats. Due to increasingly colder conditions and sicknesses circulating, we want to ensure that our pupils remain warm and well. On wet mornings, please take your child's umbrella home with you as we do not have the facility to store them in the school. Dripping brollies also cause a lot of surface water on the corridors which can result in slippages. Thank you for your understanding.
MMR and 4 in 1: injections took place recently for some of our junior infants and will continue on Dec. 15th for the remainder of our junior infant pupils. Only pupils whom we have written consent for will receive the vaccinations.
MS Readathon Thank you to all the second classes for supporting the MS Readathon during the month of November. As well as raising 150 euro, the children enjoyed reading hundreds of books. Congratulations to everyone who took part and keep reading. Thanks to Ms. Sullivan and the PA for all their work supporting the school’s activities for book week.
Moon and Sixpence- visited the school on Dec. 5th and performed a puppet show for our pupils. All children thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of laughs were had!
Christmas Art – Thank you to Angela Baietrau and Ala Parfeni who painted beautiful Christmas scenes on the windows at the front of our school. The Christmas scenes look fantastic and the children love walking past while soaking up the Christmas atmosphere all around.
HSE advice There has been a large increase in general viral infections among children and young people this winter. There have also been recent concerns about iGAS (an invasive Group A Streptococcal infection). It is and also known as Group A Strep. We have seen a significant increase in the usual winter viral infections. This includes an increase in flu. This is because children are mixing together more. In previous years social contact was much reduced. This in turn reduced the rates of routine infection.
Symptoms of viral infections typically include:
- runny or blocked nose
- mild fever
- cough
- lethargy (tiredness)
Many children with viral infections also have a generalised rash. Most children with viral infections can safely be cared for at home. More information can be found at https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/colds-coughs-children/
Group A Strep and related bacterial infections
There have been cases of serious bacterial infections, specifically Group A Strep.
Severe infection is rare. Group A Strep more commonly causes infections such as:
- tonsillitis
- scarlet fever
- skin infections
Ireland has seen cases of more serious infections recently. But so far there has been no increase compared to what we saw before the Covid-19 pandemic. Information about managing illnesses of concern will continue to be updated on hse.ie over coming weeks.
Important messages for families and children regarding any infections:
1) The most important measure is to stay home if you are unwell. Many children might have a runny nose or a slight cough in winter season. However, if a child is feeling unwell they should be at home. For example, they may have:
- fever
- cough, and
- sore throat
They should stay at home until those symptoms have finished. See https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/colds-coughs-children/
Children with symptoms are more likely to spread infections. For example, they may spread flu or bacterial infections. Staying home when unwell will help prevent spread to other children, families and staff.
2) Infection, prevention and control measures- Cover coughs and sneezes and keep hands clean. These measures that we all got used to with Covid-19 are still important. They should be encouraged for everyone. These measures help stop the spread of infection.
3) Vaccination - Making sure your child is up to date on all recommended vaccinations will help stop your child getting an infection and make them less likely to be unwell if they do get an infection. Routine childhood vaccinations protect against many significant viral and bacterial infections. There is no vaccine against many viral illnesses or Strep A.
More information is available at https://www2.hse.ie/babies-children/vaccines-your-child/
Flu vaccine
The nasal spray flu vaccine is available for children aged 2 to 17 years. It helps protect against severe infection with flu and onward spread. See https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/flu/childrens-flu-vaccine/
Many adults are also recommended to have the flu vaccine. More information is available at
www2.hse.ie/conditions/flu/getting-the-vaccine/
Vaccination for Covid-19 is still available. Visit
www2.hse.ie/screening-and-vaccinations/covid-19-vaccine/get-the-vaccine/children/
The most important ways to prevent the spread of all infections are:
- making sure anyone unwell stays at home
- children and adults are up to date with their recommended vaccines, including flu 4.
If you are concerned your child may be unwell, please check hse.ie. There is information on coughs, colds, fever, rashes and symptoms of concern. There is advice on when to contact your GP or go to a hospital emergency department. https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/colds-coughs-children/
Míle buíochas,
Teresa Moynihan
Principal