The Savings Scheme began in the school in Mr. Reynolds' Junior Infant class in 1992 after two parents, Maureen Killeen and Tina Kelly, suggested it to him as a practical way of instilling the habit of regular saving in the pupils. An Post was contacted and a meeting of about 30 parents, An Post, Mr. Reynolds and Mr. McGarry was held in Room 1.
A group of trustees was formed to oversee and regulate the scheme.
The trustees were
· Mrs. Maureen Killeen
· Mrs. Tina Kelly
· Mrs. Julie Lillie
· Mr. Harry Reynolds.

The money saved was collected by parents every Friday and lodged with An Post. Money was left lodged until the end of the year and then, to simplify accounting , all saved money was given back to each pupil. The interest accrued from the account was used by the trustees to promote savings in the school. This was done occasionally by having free raffles, awarding "Saver of the Year" awards and "Best Saver in each Standard". Approximately one third of all pupils participated in the scheme.

SUCCESS!!
In December, 1998, St.David's was awarded the accolade of "National Young Savers Award" by An Post in its annual schools awards. At a ceremony in the GPO, Mrs. Killeen and Mr. Reynolds, accompanied by pupils Mark Killeen and Karl Knight, were on hand to accept the award for St. David's, a Certificate, (now on display in the school foyer), and a cheque for £1500. After such a wonderful achievement it was felt that the prize-money should be used in a significant and visible way. The granite entrance stone to the school was partly funded from the prize-money.

A CHANGE
In September, 1999, the school teamed up with the local Coolock-Artane Credit Union and the Savings Scheme began a new adventure. For the savers, the new alliance had many advantages over the link with An Post:
· Each pupil would have his own Credit Union account
· The pupil could make withdrawals as well as lodgements
· The interest on the account went directly to the pupil
· Each saver received £5 / €6.35 on joining the scheme

The Credit Union also made a donation to the school and over the years this has been wisely and visibly spent by purchasing a television and video recorder for each of the four infant rooms.
In order to promote savings, as before, the Credit Union also sponsors free raffles for the pupils at Halloween and Christmas. It also hasn't forgotten the people who make the scheme work, namely, the parents who come in week after week to collect the savings. A generous raffle is held each Christmas for those helping parents. Currently, the burden of collecting the money is ably carried out by the following team of enthusiastic helpers:
· Mary Burford
· Mrs. Buchanan
· Paula Neary
· Angela Wong
· Elizabeth Singleton
· June Knight
· Lorraine Fleming
· Joan Lambe
· Linda Graydon
- new volunteers are welcome!!

THE FUTURE
Every pupil who is accepted into the school is offered the opportunity to join the scheme in September of each year. This year, 2001/2002, all Junior and Senior Infant pupils were invited to join and the vast majority did so. At present 367 pupils have accounts with the Credit Union, which represents 77% of the school numbers.
When a sixth class pupil leaves the school, he can continue with the same account into secondary school, as the scheme is also operational in the local secondary school.
The simple suggestion by Tina and Maureen back in 1992 has become a reality - saving has become a regular and life-long habit for many pupils.