October 2010

FEBRUARY 2011

During the summer some work was done on widening the driveway and entrance to make it safer for all. This was partly funded by a contribution from the Parents’ Council, so many thanks to all who have been involved in fundraising activities throughout last year. Space for parking is still very limited so, in spite of the new entrance, we are not in a position to allow pick up/drop off of students inside school grounds for health & safety reasons.

Data projectors have been installed in all classrooms as a result of a Dept. of Communications & Energy grant to extend the use of broadband which was given to 78 primary & post-primary schools last year. Twenty nine laptops and a laptop-charging trolley were allocated to the school also. In the last few days the DES has announced further funding for all second level schools to enhance ICT provision. We look forward to purchasing extra computer equipment and software with this grant.

Photos from the Day

Swine Flu Instructions

HSE logo HPSC_logo

Frequently asked questions: Influenza (flu) information for parents

Seasonal influenza 2010-2011

Version 1.0 6th January 2011

The following advice is for parents of children in all educational institutions, including crèches, childcare, schools, and third level institutions. Unless otherwise mentioned ‘educational institution’ applies to all of the above.

We are now experiencing our annual flu season and, as had been expected, this year the predominant flu virus is the H1N1 virus also known as swine flu. We are now seeing a major rise in people attending GPs and GP out of hours services with flu like illnesses.

Is influenza dangerous?

Most people infected with the influenza virus have a mild to moderate illness, but some have more severe illness.
What are the symptoms of influenza?
The symptoms of flu include:

Temperature over 38 ºC/100.4 ºF that begins suddenly and some of the following:

Dry cough
Sore throat
Muscle aches and pains
Headache
Runny nose
Severe weakness and fatigue
Vomiting/diarrhoea (in some cases)

What are the differences between influenza and the common cold?
It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between the common cold and flu. The main difference is that the symptoms of influenza come on rapidly and are typically accompanied by muscle aches and a fever. The common cold has a more gradual onset and is associated with a runny nose and sneezing. For a full list of differences between influenza and the common cold, please see the table below.

Symptoms	Influenza	Common Cold
Onset	Sudden	Slow
Fever	Characteristically High (≥38oC or 100oF)	Rare
Headache	Prominent	Rare
General aches and pains	Usual, often severe	Rare
Fatigue, weakness	Can be prolonged for a number of weeks	Quite mild
Extreme exhaustion	Early and prominent	Never
Runny nose	Common	Common
Sneezing	Common	Usual
Sore throat	Common	Common
Cough	Common, can be severe	Mild to moderate, hacking cough
Diarrhoea, vomiting	Sometimes	Not associated with the common cold in adults

How does influenza spread?

Flu virus spreads from person to person mainly through the coughing or sneezing of a sick person. Flu virus may also be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with the virus (for example a tissue or door handle touched by the infected person) and then touches his or her eyes, nose or mouth.

What should I do as a parent?

Two important actions to protect your family

Be aware of the symptoms of flu-like illness and know where to seek medical care. See below.
Teach your children the following good health habits to help stop the spread of germs:
Teach your children to cover their mouth and nose with a paper tissue when coughing or sneezing. If no tissue is available they should cough or sneeze into the inside of their elbow. Be sure to set a good example by doing this yourself.
Teach your children to use a tissue only once and dispose of it quickly and carefully (a dustbin is fine).
Teach your children to wash their hands frequently with soap and water. Be sure to set a good example by doing this yourself. If they do not have access to hand washing facilities give them alcohol hand gel to use.
Teach your children to avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth.
Teach your children to stay at least 1 metre/3 feet away from people who are sick.
Children who are sick should always stay home from the school. If they have influenza they should stay away from the educational institution for 7 days from the onset of symptoms.
Wash hard surfaces such as kitchen worktops, door handles, etc with a normal household cleaner as the virus can live on these surfaces. Do this frequently.

What should I do if my child gets sick?
If your child gets sick with a flu-like illness as described above you should:

Keep your child at home and away from others as much as is possible to avoid spreading infection to others. If they are sick with flu they should stay home for 7 days from the onset of symptoms.
Give your child simple anti-fever medication such as paracetamol or ibuprofen (NB aspirin should NOT be given to children under 16 years of age) and ensure they drink plenty of fluids.
If you think your child needs to see the GP because they have severe symptoms, remember to ring your GP first.

If your child is in a high risk group for complications of flu contact your GP, even if their symptoms are mild (High risk groups include people with: chronic lung, heart, kidney, liver, or neurological disease; immunosuppression (whether caused by disease or treatment); diabetes mellitus; people aged 65 years and older; children <2 years; people on medication for asthma, severely obese people (BMI ≥40), pregnant women and people with haemoglobinopathies)

Teach your child good health habits, as above.
Ensure that all household surfaces that are touched by hands are kept clean, especially bedside tables, surfaces in bathrooms and kitchens and children’s toys. Such surfaces should be wiped regularly with a household disinfectant according to directions on the product label.

Should educational institutions be doing anything to prevent the spread of influenza?

Yes, like parents, educational institutions should encourage and facilitate everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like flu including:

Children should cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. If no tissue is available they should cough or sneeze into the inside of their elbow. Children should use a tissue only once and dispose of it quickly and carefully (a bin is fine). This is known as respiratory etiquette.
Children should wash their hands frequently with soap and water. Where soap and water is not readily available alcohol based hand gel can be used.
Children should avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth.
Wash hard surfaces such as kitchen worktops, door handles, etc frequently with a normal household cleaner as the virus can live on these.

Educational institutions should put up posters on respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene and ensure that children have access to suitable hand washing facilities. Posters can be found on the HPSC website as indicated below.

Is there a vaccine against seasonal influenza?

A vaccine is an injection which prevents a person getting a particular disease. It works by strengthening the body’s immune system. The vaccine must be given before the person is infected with the disease.
The flu vaccine for the 2010-2011 influenza season covers the strains of flu that are currently known to be circulating in Ireland, including pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (swine flu) which is the predominant strain of influenza circulating at present. Vaccination is recommended for people at high risk of complications.

Who are the high risk groups that should receive seasonal influenza vaccine?

1.All those 65 years and older.
2. Adults and children over 6 months of age with any of the following: chronic illness requiring regular follow up (e.g. chronic respiratory disease including cystic fibrosis, moderate or severe asthma, chronic heart disease, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, chronic neurological disease, diabetes mellitus, haemoglobinopathies, chronic renal disease, chronic liver disease, chronic neurological disease including multiple sclerosis, hereditary and degenerative disorders of the central nervous system etc).
3. Pregnant women and women up to 6 weeks post birth who are not in a medically at risk group and who have not already received pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccine (can be given at any stage of pregnancy). Pregnant women in medical risk groups should receive this year’s seasonal influenza vaccine whether or not they received pandemic influenza vaccine.
4. Those who are immunosuppressed due to disease or treatment including those with missing or non-functioning spleens.
5. Children and teenagers on long-term aspirin therapy.
6. Children with any condition (e.g. cognitive dysfunction, spinal cord injury, seizure disorder, or other neuromuscular disorder) that can compromise respiratory function, especially those attending special schools/ day centres.
7. Those with morbid obesity i.e. Body Mass Index ≥ 40.
8. Residents of nursing homes, old peoples’ homes and other long stay facilities.
9. Healthcare staff including those on clinical placement. All pregnant health care workers should be encouraged to get the seasonal flu vaccine (even if they received the pandemic vaccine last year).
10. Carers who have direct patient contact.

Are there medicines to treat influenza?

Yes, there are medicines known as anti-virals that can be used to treat flu. However, as most cases of influenza will be mild, anti-viral treatment will only be necessary in a small proportion of cases. Doctors will assess each case but the following groups are the ones most likely to require treatment with anti-virals:
• Patients who appear to have severe symptoms or
• Patients who are in defined high risk groups as above.

Further information

Posters:
http://www.ndsc.ie/hpsc/A-Z/Gastroenteric/Handwashing/Posters/
http://www.hpsc.ie/hpsc/A-Z/Respiratory/Influenza/SeasonalInfluenza/Infectioncontroladvice/File,3599,en.pdf

Guidance on seasonal influenza:
http://www.hpsc.ie/hpsc/A-Z/Respiratory/Influenza/SeasonalInfluenza/

FEBRUARY 2011

On February 1st, as has been the tradition in St. Mary's for many years, the First Years had their retreat. The day began with an Assembly which included a presentation of the history of St. Brigid and her contribution to the Irish people. Following this all were dispatched to classrooms for various activities such as sacred dance, art and creativity and meditation. Then at mid-day all First years returned to the Assembly hall for the traiditonal making of St. Brigid's crosses. Following lunch, the meitheal team had a session with each of their classes and the day concluded with Mass in the Assembly Hall.

First years making St. Brigid's crosses on 1st February 2011

75th Anniversary

In September 2011, St. Mary's will celebrate its 75th anniversary. Keep an eye on the website for details of the celebrations and how all staff, parents and pupils past and present can get involved.

…the road I’m travelling....

Dear Past-Pupil

We hope this finds you thriving and in good health.
As you may know, St Mary’s is celebrating its 75th Birthday this year and we are looking for you! We have a project ‘the road I’m travelling’ in which we invite past-pupils, such as yourself, to tell us what you’ve been up to since you left St Mary’s. Maybe you went on to 3rd level education or went on to manage/set up your own business; maybe you work in a bank and in your free time captain a soccer team; or maybe you went to live with a nomadic tribe in the desert! Whatever you’ve done in your working life and/or in your recreational life, we would love to hear about it.
What happens to this information? Imagine an A4 sheet of paper. On it would be i) a (current) photo of yourself ii) the years you were at school (eg 1993-1997) iii) your name as it was known at that time and iv) a short biog (no more than a third of the page) about your life since leaving school starting with the words (or something similar) ‘After being at St Mary’s, I……’. In case the biog is too long some editing on our part may be needed.

The resulting sheet would be framed and, along with 75 others, displayed around the school.
Can you help us? We would love it if you could as we believe the achievements of our past-pupils should be celebrated. And they may indeed act as a source of motivation to our currents students!
If you can find the time to assemble the above materials, please email them, if at all possible, to celebration75mannion@gmail.com. Hard copy is fine but it is much easier to assemble the page if sent via email.

Thank you very much for your time. Drop by the school during the year and you might see yourself up on the wall or in our ‘the road I’m travelling’ book in the Library. We look forward to seeing you!
With every good wish
Máire Mannion

APRIL 2011

FASHION SHOW

ST MARY'S ANNUAL FASHION SHOW TAKES PLACE IN KILLASHEE HOUSE HOTEL ON FRIDAY 8TH APRIL.