Dear Parents / Guardians,
Our Board of Management and School Staff are looking forward to welcoming all our pupils and parents / guardians back to school for the 2020/2021 school year on Thursday, 27th August @ 9.20am. A very special welcome to our Junior Infants who are starting 'big school', Ms. Sheppard (Infant teacher) will be further communicating with our Infant parents later today.
We are satisfied that we have control measures in place to ensure that this will be a safe re-opening. It will take some time for all of us to get used to the “new circumstances” as we become familiar with the new routines and procedures designed to keep everyone safe and to prevent the spread of the virus. There will, undoubtedly, be some unforeseen challenges and we will deal with these as they arise. We are very conscious of the fact that our pupils have not been in school since March and that they are looking forward to coming back to school to meet their friends again. It is our intention to make this return as safe and as stress free as possible, to achieve this we ask for your full support and co-operation in advance.
Our Board of Management has had meetings over the Summer to plan our safe re-opening, we have adopted the guidelines and procedures as set out by the Department Of Education and Skills for Re-opening of Schools. Below please find the main points for your attention:
1. Physical Distancing and Safe School Attendance.
We have upgraded our procedures and routines within the school to ensure that there is as much Physical Distancing as possible in our building. We will apply physical distancing in a practical and sensible way, recognising that the learning environment cannot be dominated by a potentially counterproductive focus on this issue. The DES guidelines state that only children from 3rd-6th class need to physically distance, we have re-configured our Senior classrooms to reflect this. Furthermore, our school yard has been divided into sections to minimise contact between classes during break times.
Our BOM wish to remind parents that if your child is sick, has a cold, cough or flu like symptoms, then she should not be sent to school. Children who display such symptoms in school will be brought to our isolation room and you will be contacted to come and collect your daughter from school ( as per DES directive). It is very important that you inform the school if your contact details have changed over the Summer so that we can make the necessary amendments on our system. Any child who has travelled from countries not on the Green List should not attend school during the 14-day self-isolation period.
2. Hygiene Procedures.
The school has been thoroughly cleaned over the Summer. The BOM has installed sanitising units at the entrance to every classroom and throughout the school building. We have always had paper towels for drying hands in the school. Teachers will make children aware of the proper hygiene procedures regarding hand washing and respiratory etiquette. As per Department guidelines all pupils will have opportunity to wash their hands and sanitise at all the appropriate times during the day. We would be grateful if you could emphasise safe behaviour in this regard to your daughter at home as part of the preparation for returning to school. You are welcome also to put a small facecloth and a small bottle of sanitiser into a freezer bag / lunch box for your daughter's use if you so wish.
We are asking you to explain to your daughter that school stationery eg. pens, pencils, erasers etc. cannot be shared between children for hygiene purposes. Also, please make sure that such items are clearly labelled with your child's name on them to avoid unnecessary confusion.
3. Drop-off and Collection Routines.
When your daughter arrives for school in the mornings she will go around to the back of the school and line up in her designated area in the school yard. The BOM request that parents do not enter the school grounds in the mornings or evenings. Children will be supervised from 9.10am in the school yard, please arrive as near to this time as possible. If it is raining children will go straight to their classrooms. For your own safety you are encouraged not to come within 2m of each other. For our Infant parents Ms. Sheppard (class teacher) will be in contact with you regarding arrangements for Infants.
At collection time at 3pm please collect your daughter without delay and leave the school grounds promptly, in an effort to minimise physical interactions. Children in 1st/2nd class will leave the school first, followed by children in 3rd/4th class and then children in 5th/6th class. (Infants leave at 2pm as normal).
4. School Uniform.
Children wear their school uniform as normal, P.E. uniform when participating in P.E. (your class teacher will inform you re P.E. day for her class). Our uniform can be purchased very reasonably in any of the stores as we do not have a school crest on it. Please refer to 'For Parents' section of our school website - 'Information Booklet For Parents' for more details.
It is not recommended by the HSE that children under the age of 13 wear face masks. Therefore your daughter need not wear a face mask, however if you wish that she does that is fine. Please note that the school will not be responsible for ensuring that she is wearing it properly / keeps it on.
5. Communication with the School.
As already stated, parents are asked not to come into the school grounds / building unless a prior appointment has been made. This is in line with DES guidelines re Covid 19 and also in line with our Child Protection Policy. Our aim is to maximise safety for the whole school community and to minimise potential risks. Your support and co-operation is most welcome, especially at this time. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. If you wish to speak to your class teacher/SEN teacher you can do so by phoning the school or by sending an email. Teachers emails are as follows:
Ms. Sheppard (Infants):
[email protected]
Ms.Pearson(1st/2nd):
[email protected]
Ms. Rohan(3rd/4th):
[email protected]
Ms.Whelan(5th/6th):
[email protected]
Ms. Brereton(SET):
[email protected]
6 Homework
Children will not have homework for the month of September. They will not be bringing home school books, pencil cases, colours etc. once they bring them in on Thursday, their school bag will stay in school. Children will only need to bring one writing copy to school on Thursday, this copy will be used for all subjects, please keep all other copies at home. Also, it is preferable that pencil cases are plastic/ / wipeable, and that children wear crocs / sliders instead of fluffy slippers / indoor shoes. All of these measures will help in infection control.
Our Board of Management and School Staff are looking forward to welcoming all our pupils and parents / guardians back to school for the 2020/2021 school year on Thursday, 27th August @ 9.20am. A very special welcome to our Junior Infants who are starting 'big school', Ms. Sheppard (Infant teacher) will be further communicating with our Infant parents later today.
We are satisfied that we have control measures in place to ensure that this will be a safe re-opening. It will take some time for all of us to get used to the “new circumstances” as we become familiar with the new routines and procedures designed to keep everyone safe and to prevent the spread of the virus. There will, undoubtedly, be some unforeseen challenges and we will deal with these as they arise. We are very conscious of the fact that our pupils have not been in school since March and that they are looking forward to coming back to school to meet their friends again. It is our intention to make this return as safe and as stress free as possible, to achieve this we ask for your full support and co-operation in advance.
Our Board of Management has had meetings over the Summer to plan our safe re-opening, we have adopted the guidelines and procedures as set out by the Department Of Education and Skills for Re-opening of Schools. Below please find the main points for your attention:
1. Physical Distancing and Safe School Attendance.
We have upgraded our procedures and routines within the school to ensure that there is as much Physical Distancing as possible in our building. We will apply physical distancing in a practical and sensible way, recognising that the learning environment cannot be dominated by a potentially counterproductive focus on this issue. The DES guidelines state that only children from 3rd-6th class need to physically distance, we have re-configured our Senior classrooms to reflect this. Furthermore, our school yard has been divided into sections to minimise contact between classes during break times.
Our BOM wish to remind parents that if your child is sick, has a cold, cough or flu like symptoms, then she should not be sent to school. Children who display such symptoms in school will be brought to our isolation room and you will be contacted to come and collect your daughter from school ( as per DES directive). It is very important that you inform the school if your contact details have changed over the Summer so that we can make the necessary amendments on our system. Any child who has travelled from countries not on the Green List should not attend school during the 14-day self-isolation period.
2. Hygiene Procedures.
The school has been thoroughly cleaned over the Summer. The BOM has installed sanitising units at the entrance to every classroom and throughout the school building. We have always had paper towels for drying hands in the school. Teachers will make children aware of the proper hygiene procedures regarding hand washing and respiratory etiquette. As per Department guidelines all pupils will have opportunity to wash their hands and sanitise at all the appropriate times during the day. We would be grateful if you could emphasise safe behaviour in this regard to your daughter at home as part of the preparation for returning to school. You are welcome also to put a small facecloth and a small bottle of sanitiser into a freezer bag / lunch box for your daughter's use if you so wish.
We are asking you to explain to your daughter that school stationery eg. pens, pencils, erasers etc. cannot be shared between children for hygiene purposes. Also, please make sure that such items are clearly labelled with your child's name on them to avoid unnecessary confusion.
3. Drop-off and Collection Routines.
When your daughter arrives for school in the mornings she will go around to the back of the school and line up in her designated area in the school yard. The BOM request that parents do not enter the school grounds in the mornings or evenings. Children will be supervised from 9.10am in the school yard, please arrive as near to this time as possible. If it is raining children will go straight to their classrooms. For your own safety you are encouraged not to come within 2m of each other. For our Infant parents Ms. Sheppard (class teacher) will be in contact with you regarding arrangements for Infants.
At collection time at 3pm please collect your daughter without delay and leave the school grounds promptly, in an effort to minimise physical interactions. Children in 1st/2nd class will leave the school first, followed by children in 3rd/4th class and then children in 5th/6th class. (Infants leave at 2pm as normal).
4. School Uniform.
Children wear their school uniform as normal, P.E. uniform when participating in P.E. (your class teacher will inform you re P.E. day for her class). Our uniform can be purchased very reasonably in any of the stores as we do not have a school crest on it. Please refer to 'For Parents' section of our school website - 'Information Booklet For Parents' for more details.
It is not recommended by the HSE that children under the age of 13 wear face masks. Therefore your daughter need not wear a face mask, however if you wish that she does that is fine. Please note that the school will not be responsible for ensuring that she is wearing it properly / keeps it on.
5. Communication with the School.
As already stated, parents are asked not to come into the school grounds / building unless a prior appointment has been made. This is in line with DES guidelines re Covid 19 and also in line with our Child Protection Policy. Our aim is to maximise safety for the whole school community and to minimise potential risks. Your support and co-operation is most welcome, especially at this time. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. If you wish to speak to your class teacher/SEN teacher you can do so by phoning the school or by sending an email. Teachers emails are as follows:
Ms. Sheppard (Infants):
[email protected]
Ms.Pearson(1st/2nd):
[email protected]
Ms. Rohan(3rd/4th):
[email protected]
Ms.Whelan(5th/6th):
[email protected]
Ms. Brereton(SET):
[email protected]
6 Homework
Children will not have homework for the month of September. They will not be bringing home school books, pencil cases, colours etc. once they bring them in on Thursday, their school bag will stay in school. Children will only need to bring one writing copy to school on Thursday, this copy will be used for all subjects, please keep all other copies at home. Also, it is preferable that pencil cases are plastic/ / wipeable, and that children wear crocs / sliders instead of fluffy slippers / indoor shoes. All of these measures will help in infection control.
des_covid19_response_plan_for_the_safe_and_sustinable_reopening_of_primary_and_special_schools.pdf |