22nd November, 2021.
A Thuisti,
Offical Opening of the ‘Hideaway’
We have our official opening of ‘The Hideaway’ this Wednesday. We are inviting a few people to the opening but due to Covid 19 the number of invitees will remain low. We have invited the following – Una Curran (Mindfulness/Wellbeing teacher), Suzanne Jamal ( Councillor), Jacinta Walsh (Louth/Meath Autism Ireland), Bryan Morgan (Total Sensory Solutions), Pauline Kacprzak (Chairperson of Parents’ Association) and Maire Kennedy (Chairperson of Board of Management) The Meath Chronicle will have a person in attendance also to take the formal photographs.
The idea of a Sensory Room was only in its infancy last March. With a lot of collaboration, goodwill, forward thinking and teamwork the project gathered pace and we now have a Sensory Room that the Rathfeigh school community can be proud of. We are confident that the ‘Hideaway’ will benefit the children in Rathfeigh for many, many years to come. We have so many people to thank for the finished product – Nicola (SNA) and Mrs Vaughan for their time and commitment driving the project forward and to Paul (Nicola’s husband) and Joe (Mrs Vaughan’s husband) for giving their time in doing electrical and building work free of charge. Joe, in particular, spent numerous hours building the Sensory Room. We thank them both. We thank Bryan Morgan for his expertise and advice in fitting-out the sensory room and to Ms. Reynolds for her beautiful artwork on the exterior of the room. We thank the Parents’ Association, parents/guardians and the children for the very successful ‘Relay Marathon’. The generosity of everyone in the Rathfeigh school community went way beyond our expectations. Thank you so much. We thank Mrs Vaughan for co-ordinating the official opening and to Nicola for her lovely video compilation of the sensory room.
Covid 19/Teacher Absences
The number of daily Covid 19 cases are at an exceptionally high level. As a school community we have done very well to date in minimising the risks for children and staff while in the school building by having good systems in place ( hand sanitisers, good ventilation, staggered breaks etc.) and with great co-operation from parents/guardians. We remind everyone to be vigilant in relation to Covid 19. Children must not come to school if they are displaying any symptoms of Covid 19. Children with coughs should not be in school. The Department of Education and Skills will have an information letter this week for parents/guardians in relation to close contacts and antigen testing. I will e-mail this to parents/guardians as soon as I receive it.
At the moment all schools are open. Like all schools, we have faced challenges over the last few months due to staffing shortages. Due to the severe lack of substitute teachers it is almost impossible to get a substitute teacher when a teacher is absent. Some schools have had to send classes home because of the unavailability of substitute teachers. With the current high daily case numbers and the introduction of the five day rule for household contacts, there is an increasing likelihood that more classes will be sent home as schools struggle to get substitute teachers for teachers who are sick or isolating. It is, therefore, incumbent on us as parents/guardians not to send our children to school with any symptoms of Covid-19 or any viruses. If teachers pick up a virus of any sort and are absent there is the increasing likelihood of a class being sent home. Hopefully this doesn’t happen in Rathfeigh so we must not take chances in relation to Covid 19. We thank you for your co-operation to date.
Book Fair
We are delighted to have our annual Book Fair last week. It was a great success. A big thanks to Mrs Campbell for co-ordinating the fair and to Nicola for assisting in the recording of books bought by children. The school will get commission from the sale of all books. We had a variety of competitions last week and the following children won free books .Well done to Seán, Eilín , Ada and Flora (Juniors), Camron, Kai, Tomás and Mya (Seniors), Tiernan, Lucia, Noah and Nevaeh (First), Rosie, Sophie, Ella and Donacha (Second) ,Mia, Hayley, Kiera and Nicola (Third), Eve, Stevie, Lucy and Freya (Fourth), Holly, Katelyn, Fionn and Thomas (Fifth), Timmy, Isobel, Chloe and Katelin (Sixth).
Folens Christmas Annuals
The Christmas Annuals were ordered by Helen last Thursday. Hopefully, they will arrive in the next few weeks.
Mindfulness Classes/Christmas Annuals
If you haven’t paid for mindfulness classes (€6.00) and Christmas Annuals (€4.00) please send in money in an envelope by this Wednesday.
Public Information Meeting in RST Centre.
A public information meeting with Councillor Joe Bonner to discuss traffic issues at Swan’s Cross will be held in the RST Centre on Tuesday 23rd November at 8.00p.m. Clr. Bonner has said that he will raise the concerns of the parents/guardians of Rathfeigh National School at the meeting in connection with parking and the speed of traffic passing the school. He hopes that parents/guardians will turn up on the night and he can bring their issues on board and get action from Meath Council. Masks must be worn and contact tracing will be in operation.
Parents’ Association Bake Sale
The Parents’ Association are holding a Bake Sale in Skryne Hall on Sunday December 5th from 9am. to 12noon. Donations of cakes can be dropped off at Rathfeigh school on Saturday 4th from 4-5p.m.
A flyer is attached with more information.
Is mise,
Seamus Tansley.
Priomh Oide.