Dear Parents,
On behalf of all the staff and Board of Management of Clonmoney NS, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you, and especially all our pupils back to school. I think this year, more than ever, there is a genuine excitement and joy to getting back into the classroom. Although we did continued our learning remotely via the use of ICT & G Suite, I think we are all delighted to being able to interact with one another again. A huge part of school life is very much social and developing a sense of identity and of our community, this is best achieved within the confines of our school grounds that we are very proud of.
I would also however, like to acknowledge that the world we live in and our school community is a very different place to what it was before March 12th. We all need to play our part in ensuring our school is a safe place for all. We have followed best practice advice provided by NPHET and the Department of Education and Skills and the details on these measures are contained in our Response Plan. I have attached this again for you convenience. We know we can count on the support and goodwill of parents/guardians as we all adapt to the new systems and procedures.
Arrival & Dismissal Arrangements:
Arrival Time
8.30 a.m. – 8.40 a.m.
Pupils with surnames A-L to be dropped at school
8.40 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.
Pupils with surnames M-Z be dropped at the school
- Junior Infants will start at 9:30 am on Monday 31st August
- Please do not drop off any pupil before 8.30 a.m.
Dismissal Time
12:00
Junior Infants will finish at 12:00 until Friday 11th September. (1:20pm from Monday 14th Sept.)
1:30pm
Seniors go home.
2:25-2:35pm
All classes from 1st – 6th will finish, starting with 1st class and proceeding chronologically up to 5th/6th
- Pupils will be escorted to the exit points by their class teacher
- All infant classes parents/guardians must wear a mask/face covering & observe social distancing protocols when entering school grounds to collect their child.
We want to ensure an orderly flow of pupils from entry through the school gate all the way to their respective classrooms. It is important that we avoid a rush of children at any one time, either in the morning or afternoon times. We should not see any parents or children lining up, or congregating at the gate, before their assigned times.
Yard & Break Time Arrangements:
Generally speaking, the objective is to limit contact and sharing of common facilities between people in different class bubbles (and Pods within those Class Bubbles) as much as possible, rather than to avoid all contact between Pods which will not always be possible. The aim of the system within the building is that each class bubble will mix only with their own class from arrival at school in the morning until departure at the end of the school day. Each class bubble will be designated to play to an assigned area of the playground and can interact in with children from other pods here. At the end of break times children will be required to stop and freeze on the spot and then stand in proximity to the other pupils of their pod. The teacher on duty will then direct them to walk back to their class, maintaining distancing. Before re-entering the building, all pupils will use automatic, non-touch sanitizer station.
Coats/Jackets: We strongly suggest that all children dress appropriately for school this term. It is absolutely essential that all pupils have a waterproof rain jacket with a hood because if it does rain during break and we have to go inside, this must still be done in an orderly, methodological way as outlined above. This is also the case for home time.
Homework:
As mentioned in our previous bulletin, homework assignments will be reduced and focused on learning & reading for September to reduce books transitioning from home to school. In general, only copies and lunches will go home in each pupils’ bag. We are also reducing any potential contamination by asking that children take home their lunch leftovers such as banana skins, apple cores etc. in their lunch bags.
Extra-Curricular Activities:
All extra-curricular activities and after school programmes will be postponed until further notice.
Code of Behaviour
It has been necessary to amend our Code of Behaviour to provide for sanction should a pupil persistently fail to comply with the School’s Covid-19 control measures. We have a duty of care towards both our pupils and staff and therefore, we must ensure that pupils comply with these measures. The following statement has been added to the policy and it is taken that all parents accept this clause:
“The Board of Management has, under guidance from the Department of Education, implemented a number of measures intended to control the spread of Covid-19. These measures are detailed in the school’s response plan and the Covid-19 risk assessment.
- All pupils are required to comply with any Covid-19 control measures that the school has in place.
- These measures may change from time to time, according to advice received from the Department of Education and the public health authorities.
- Any changes will be communicated to parents.
- Pupils will be supported in adhering to the measures by their class teachers and other school personnel.
- Pupils who persistently fail to comply with the measures may be subject to disciplinary action under this policy”
We look forward to seeing all our pupils back on Monday morning and hope that the term ahead will be a very positive one for all. I thank you most sincerely, for your continued support and patience. As always, we look forward to working with all parents in partnership, in delivering the best educational experience to all our pupils in the year ahead. If you have any queries or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Le gach dea-ghuí,
David McCormack
Príomhoide.
