7th September, 2020.
A Thuisti,
First Communion
The pupils in Third Class will receive their First Communion and First Confession this Saturday September 12th at 11.00a.m. in Rathfeigh Church. It will be held outdoors. Only immediate family members are allowed to attend. Each family in attendance will be seated in a ‘pod’.
In the event of inclement weather the ceremony will be held in the church. If this happens only parents/guardians and the child receiving First Communion can be in attendance as we are strictly limited to forty people in total inside the church.
Due to restrictions there will be a few changes compared to previous years but I have no doubt the occasion will be no less memorable.
- Communion practices will take place in the school hall during the week. We won’t be travelling down to the church for practices.
- The photographer isn’t allowed to take a class photograph. However, individual and family photographs will be taking place at the school hall at designated times. Parents/guardians must remain in their cars until their designated time.
- Senan McGrath will be doing a DVD of the First Communion if there are sufficient families interested. Please ring the school tomorrow. If there is insufficient interest it may have to be cancelled. The cost is €20.00.
- Due to restrictions the usual food and refreshments in the school hall has been cancelled. However, on Monday after the First Communion we will have refreshments for all the Third Class pupils.
- The First Communion Booklet will be similar to previous years. We thank Helen for all her work getting the booklet ready. Each family will receive two First Communion Booklets.
- Ms. Reynolds will be giving on ‘up-to-date’ note to parents/guardians regarding the First Communion later in the week.
Covid – 19
I must compliment all the children for adapting so well to the new regulations in the school. They are getting on very positively with their school work despite restrictions to their movements in the school. We all hope they keep up this positivity. A big thanks also to all the staff for working so hard under difficult circumstances.
A number of schools around the country have closed unsurprisingly due to cases of Covid-19. All schools, big or small, are susceptible to these closures. If there is a positive case in the future in our school we will be taking advice from the
HSE before a class grouping or the whole school is closed. We will inform parents/guardians as promptly as we can by text-a-parent. In the meantime please adhere to the advice of the HSE in relation to not sending your child to school. These are when a child has:
- A temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or more. Please check your child’s temperature daily before coming to school.
- Any other common symptoms of coronavirus such as a new cough, loss or changed sense of smell, shortness of breath.
- Been in close contact with someone who is unwell and may have coronavirus.
- Been living with someone who is unwell and may have coronavirus.
Please do not contact the school when deciding whether to send your child to school or not. We are not G.P.’s. Please ring your G.P. for advice. Also, if you contact the school saying your child is getting a coronavirus test as a precaution please inform us when the result of the test is known in writing.
Online Learning
Schools closing on March 12th last was a shock to the education system nationwide in primary and secondary schools. It’s something we hadn’t experienced before. Teachers, children and parents/guardians had to adapt to a new type of learning. This was made all the more difficult with many parents/guardians working from home and families having to share devices (laptops, ipads, iphones etc). During the lockdown we communicated very regularly through the school website and text-a-parent giving information on interesting and educational websites, NCSE resources for parents/guardians, art competitions, RST Newsletters, Agreed Reports from the Board of Management, new policies etc.
Teachers engaged with pupils through Edmodo and Zoom, and Mrs Campbell had Zoom sessions with children she had timetabled throughout the year. Most children engaged positively with the school work uploading work daily to Edmodo and by participating in the Zoom sessions. We always encourage feedback from parents/guardians so we would love to get your feedback on the online learning during lockdown. Please e-mail the school – (New e-mail [email protected]).
Is mise,
Seamus Tansley
Priomh Oide.