Return To School Protocols

We are delighted to have our Junior Infants, Senior Infants, First and Second class pupils returning to school this Monday March 1^st. Pupils in 3^rd-6^th classes will have to wait two weeks longer and will be due to return on March 15^th. When the school closed for the Christmas holidays on December 22^nd very few people envisaged us being off school for so long. The children have engaged well with remote learning and they have been very resilient but nothing replaces the school environment for learning and for social interaction. We are really looking forward to seeing them on Monday and I’m sure they will be delighted returning to school and seeing their friends. The children in 3^rd-6^th will be continuing with remote learning until they are due to return to school on March 15^th. Their timetable which can be seen below has been altered so as to facilitate parents/guardians collecting their children from school. This “new” timetable will be in place starting this Monday March 1^st.

Although some classes are returning to school this Monday the number of Covid-19 cases in the country still remains extremely high. The new variants associated with Covid-19 means we are still dealing with a highly infectious and life-threatening disease. As a result we have to be even more vigilant than ever before. The following guidelines from the Department of Education and Science must be enforced rigidly to ensure that nobody in the school community contracts the virus.

1. The school will open at 8.50am this Monday March 1^st. The school bus will be operating. Children and parents/guardians must not enter the school grounds until the school door is open.
2. Parents/Guardians must fill out the attached “Return to Educational Facility Declaration Form” for their children returning to school on March 1st and e-mail to the school ([email protected]) before this Saturday February 27^th please. If you experience difficulties regarding the uploading of this form please e-mail the school immediately. Children can’t attend school until this form is returned to the school. NO EXCEPTIONS.

3. Parents/guardians must not congregate at or near the school. Communication with the school must take place by phone or e-mail.
4. Parents/guardians must not send their children to school if they are experiencing any symptoms whatsoever of Covid-19. If you are unsure whether your child has symptoms of Covid-19 please keep your child at home and contact a GP immediately. Do not contact the school. We are not GP’s!
5. Do not send children to school if they are close contacts of a person with Covid-19, are awaiting a test or are experiencing symptoms of Covid-19.
6. Do not send pupils to school if they are identified by the HSE as a close contact of a confirmed case of Covid-19 or if they live with someone who has symptoms of the virus.
7. Do not send pupils to school if they have travelled outside of Ireland. If you have travelled abroad you are advised to consult and follow the latest Government advice in relation to foreign travel.  
8. Parents/guardians are advised to co-operate with any public health officials and the school for contact tracing purposes and follow any public health advice in the event of an outbreak in the school.
9. Children must sanitise their hands when entering and exiting vehicles and when entering and exiting the school building.
10. Children must not share books and personal belongings with other children. Sharing food is not allowed in any circumstances. The children’s books must be sanitised before returning to school.
11. The children must bring their coats to school – for outdoor play and for wearing indoors if the classroom gets a little cold due to increased ventilation.

We did very well not to have any Covid-19 cases in the school last year. If we religiously adhere to the above guidelines we will increase our chances significantly of not contracting the virus. We can’t take any chances with this very contagious virus. If we can get to Easter without any cases of the virus in the school then we will be able to approach the final term of the school year with more hope and confidence.

Remote learning with the pupils in 3^rd-6^th classes will continue from March 1^st until they are due to return to school on March 15^th. The timetable has been altered a little to facilitate parents/guardians who need to collect their children from school. This timetable will operate from March 1^st.

Mrs.Campbell (Learning Support) will be returning to school on March 1^st. She will be conducting classes with children in Juniors-Second classes who need extra support in English and maths. She will be contacting the parents/guardians of the children in 3^rd-6^th class (who receive extra support) on Monday to make alternative arrangements for Zoom classes while these children are not in school. Mrs Campbell won’t be conducting Zoom classes this Monday for the children receiving extra support in 3^rd-6^th classes.

We are really looking forward to the school opening on Monday and we look forward to having four uninterrupted weeks in school before the Easter holidays.

The school will be closed on March 17^th for St.Patrick’s Day.

Seamus Tansley (Principal)