Thursday Newsletter 16/10/25

Dear Parents,

School closure for Inservice on Thursday 4^th December

There will be no school on Thursday 4^th December for staff inservice. The Girls School will also be closed on this day.

Our school is not a polling station

St. Mary’s BNS is not a polling station so our school will open as normal on Friday 24^th October for the Presidential Election.

GOAL Jersey Day – Friday 10^th October

Thanks to everyone who wore their jersey last Friday and donated €2 to GOAL. We managed to raise €832 for this worthy cause.

Junior Infant Applications for September 2026

We are accepting Junior Infant applications for September 2026 from the 1^st October to the 14^th November. Applications can be downloaded from our school website.

Parents’ Association (PA) AGM

Thanks to all the parents who attended our PA AGM on Monday night. Thanks to all the outgoing officials for all their hard work such as Louise Ralph, Lorraine Norry, Cliodhna Carroll and Margaret Brady. We are delighted to welcome our new officials:

We were delighted to welcome our guest speaker, Dr. Joanna Fortune, who is an accredited psychotherapist specialising in the parent-child relationship. Joanna gave some great advice on some more creative discipline. She reminded us that as parents we sometimes need to take time out to self-regulate before we correct our children at home. She advised us to ‘pick our battles’ and to ‘teach the behaviour you would like to see rather than punishing the behaviour you don’t want to see’ and that ‘distraction and redirection’ are key to diffusing situations at home. Joanna also suggested games that siblings could play at home to encourage more teamwork and collaboration.

Garda presentation to boys from fifth and sixth classes on the danger of fireworks during Halloween

Thanks to the local Community Gardaí team who gave a presentation to all the boys from fifth and sixth class about the danger of fireworks.

Bob-a-Job

Thanks to all the boys who worked so hard and raised so much money for our school through our Bob-a-Job fundraiser. This year we plan to use the funds raised to revamp our sports hall with fresh paint, new display boards, new furniture and new sports equipment. The closing date for all cards and money was yesterday and our school secretary set up an online payment link.

It’s no surprise that Lucan is one of the cleanest, tidiest, and most well-run towns in the country when you see the mighty workforce operating out of St. Mary’s!

There isn’t a leaf left blowing in the wind thanks to the sheer determination of Ted Norry (Ms. Killane’s Senior Infants), Rafe Alexander (Ms. Dardis’ Junior Infants), Finn Casey (Ms. Norris’ Second Class), Liam Mansfield (Ms. Staunton’s Fourth Class), Cillian Woods (Ms. Brennan’s Second Class), Darragh Woods (Ms. Geraghty’s Senior Infants) and Eli Ford (Ms. Brennan’s Second Class), who together could sweep the entire Phoenix Park if given half a chance.

Of course, any good clean-up requires proper waste management, and that’s where Leo McBride (Ms. Noonan’s Senior Infants) and David Majaro (Mr. Keegan’s Fifth Class) come rolling in—quite literally—with their bins in tow. Matthew Callaghan (Ms. Joyce’s Junior Infants) not only takes care of the bins but even helps with the shopping, while Daniel Murphy (Ms. Joyce’s Junior Infants) deserves a medal for making sure every last yoghurt pot ends up in the right recycling bin.

Back indoors, the kitchen porters of St. Mary’s are a well-oiled (and well-scrubbed) machine. Kobe Griffiths (Ms. Quinn’s Third Class) seems to do it all—hoovering, dishwashing, bed-making—rumour has it he’s taking bookings for domestic miracles. Dhanvin Karnati and Isaac Premkumar (both from Mr. R. McHugh’s Third Class) are masters of the sink, ensuring dishes gleam brighter than a Lucan sunrise. Meanwhile, the dishwasher dream team—Adam Hosback (Mr. Trainor’s Fifth Class), Donnacha Quinn (Ms. Geraghty’s Senior Infants), Conor Geoghegan (Ms. Killane’s Senior Infants) and Ollie O’Neill (Ms. Quinn’s Third Class) could have an entire restaurant service cleared in record time.

Over in the world of DIY, Oliver Martins (Ms. Kenny’s First Class) and Arthur Martins (Ms. Staunton’s First Class) showcased their engineering brilliance by assembling a shelf. IKEA, take notes as these two are the future of flat-pack innovation.

The Hoovering Heroes deserve their own fan club, with Khubaib Ahmad (Ms. Noonan’s Senior Infants), Sam Joseph Varghese (Ms. Quinn’s Third Class), and Daniel Majaro (Ms. Deeley’s Fifth Class) all taking on dust and crumbs with Dyson-level dedication. Following closely behind with broom in hand, Daithí Quinn (Mr. Walsh’s Second Class), Max O’Neill (Mr. Walsh’s Second Class), Louis Nestor (Ms Geraghty’s Senior Infants) and Hamza Ahmed Jahanzab (Ms. Brennan’s Second Class) made sure not a speck remained on the floor – so clean you’d nearly take your shoes off before entering!

One man who could easily host his own TV show, “Victor’s Variety Hour,” is Victor Garcia-Dalton (Ms. Joyce’s Junior Infants). From gardening to cooking dinner, baking muffins, making coffee, and even building a tent with his cousins, he’s basically the Bear Grylls of St. Mary’s—only with better muffins. Thomas Cooney (Mr. Clandillon’s sixth class) isn’t too far behind on the cooking stakes too.

The cleanliness continues with Ed Mortimer (Mr. D. McHugh’s Third Class), who has been spotted polishing, dusting, and shining anything that doesn’t move. Harrison O’Connell-Caldwell (Ms. Donnelly’s First Class) took on the windows with such enthusiasm that neighbours reported unusually clear views of Lucan!

Laundry day was a breeze for Ibrahim Hashmi (Ms. Donnelly’s First Class) and the dynamic duo Elliot and Tom Higgins-Portet (Ms. Murphy’s Fourth and Ms. Kenny’s First Classes), who tackled washing, folding and sorting like pros. Rumour has it their wardrobes are colour-coded.

Meanwhile, culinary creativity is alive and well in the kitchens of Lucan, with Liam Hickey (Ms. Killane’s Senior Infants) crafting a jam sandwich so perfect it might feature on MasterChef Junior, and Adam Mulryan (Ms. Deeley’s Fifth Class) making pizza to rival any Italian restaurant on the high street.

Our dog-loving duo Jamie Geoghegan (Mr. D. McHugh’s Third Class) and Rian Gleeson (Ms. Geraghty’s Senior Infants) have been spotted giving their furry friends plenty of exercise around Lucan’s finest parks.

Green fingers seem to run strong in St. Mary’s, with Aaron Kirrane (Mr. D. McHugh’s Third Class), Patrick Conway (Ms. Deeley’s Fifth Class) and Ross Conway (Mr. Keegan’s Fifth Class) tending to their gardens with such care that Monty Don would surely approve. Alex McGuirk (Ms. Killane’s Senior Infants) also deserves a special mention for keeping his fish tank pristine—his goldfish are living the aquatic high life.

Environmental awareness is alive and well too, as Mike McGrath (Ms. Dardis’ Junior Infants) took to Sarsfield Park to clean up litter and make Lucan shine a little brighter.

Hridhay Vinish (Ms. Murphy’s Fourth Class) gets the award for “Most Media-Savvy Helper,” having created a full video compilation of his chores over two weeks. Netflix, keep an eye out!

And finally, the tidy-up team wouldn’t be complete without Isaac McLeod (Ms. Joyce’s Junior Infants), who tidied his toys with military precision, and Patrick Garvey (Ms. Joyce’s Junior Infants), who’s already getting work experience helping out in his dad’s office. Watch this space—future CEOs in training!

All the boys can check out some of these photos on our school Facebook page.

Gaelic Football

Well done to our Junior footballers who will play their last game of the season tomorrow in the Lucan Sarsfields football blitz. Our Junior yesterday against Scoil Maelruain. Thanks to Mr. Shanahan, Mr. Walsh, Mr. R. McHugh, Ms. Deeley, Mr. D. McHugh and Mr. Trainor for all the time they volunteer to train the boys at lunch time and take the boys to the games after school.

Lucan Sarsfields County Finals

Lucan Sarsfield GAA is having a very successful season so far this year. The ladies camogie team have reached the county final which takes place this Friday in Parnell Park at 7.30pm. The minor camogie team are also in the division 1 final.

The senior hurlers have reached the county final for the first time since 2013. They play Na Fianna in the county final on Saturday 25^th October at 7.30pm in Parnell Park under floodlights. The intermediate hurling team have also reached the county final. We have many past pupils involved with both teams and we are very grateful to all the hard work that Mr. Clandillon and Mr. Keegan have done down through the years that have helped this success. Please consider attending these finals to give Lucan Sarsfields the support they need. Tickets can be purchased online. The fixtures again are:

County Senior Camogie Final: Lucan Sarsfields v St. Vincents in Parnell Park on Friday 17^th October at 7.30pm

County Senior Hurling Final: Lucan Sarsfields v Na Fianna in Parnell Park on Saturday 25^th October at 7.30pm

Le dea-ghuí,

Dara Burke, Principal.