Monday 17 August 2020

Back to School Procedures

We are asking all parents & staff to please read these procedures carefully. Please talk to your child/ren about the following too.


Please also familiarise yourself with the Response Plan that’s on our website.

We need your on-going support to do everything that is reasonably practicable to minimise the risk of the virus being brought into our school. We all have a part to play in this together.

All of the staff here in St. Patrick's N.S are really looking forward to welcoming back the children on August 31st & meeting our in-coming junior infants. 

Kind regards

Trevor Larke


Arrival/Break times/Dismissal (These procedures may be revised as necessary)

Children must not be dropped off to the school yard any earlier than 9.10 a.m. As in previous years, the school yard will be supervised between 9.10 a.m. & 9.20 a.m. We are asking everybody to please respect this request.

Children will go to their own sections of the yard in the morning time (they will be shown this on the first day of school) 

On the first morning of our return to school, August 31st, we are asking all children to go straight to their own teacher who will be in a marked area of the yard.

Junior Infant Parents only: on the first morning of school, please have your child at the school gate @ 9.00 a.m. where your child’s teacher, Ms. Keane, will greet him/her & bring them to their classroom.

If it’s raining lightly, children will remain in the yard in the morning, so please ensure that your child comes to school with their school coat. If it’s raining heavily, children will no longer be able to huddle under our shelter & will go straight to their classrooms.

The yard & pitches will be divided between our three groups. The Vestry has kindly agreed to let us have use of the Diocesan car park on wet days (excluding Fridays when the market is in the Diocesan hall)

Children are not to bring their own footballs/sports equipment or toys to school please. Each group will have their own separate sport's equipment bag which will stay in their own classrooms.

At 2 p.m. (after the initial settling in period of two weeks when junior infants will go home @ 12.30p.m.) junior & senior infants will be walked to the school gate by their teacher, Ms. Keane.

At 3 p.m., children will line up in four groups. Groups 1 & 2 will be the children travelling by bus, group 3 will be the children who walk/cycle to school (& similar to the official guidelines, we encourage as many children to walk/cycle to school as possible) & group 4 will be children who are collected by their parents. Please do not congregate at the gate & please encourage your child (most likely the older children) to walk directly to their car/parent. Please stand beside your car, so staff & your child can see you.

As I’m sure you know, children can no longer be left to play in the Diocesan car park & to play on our lovely climbable trees after school!

The carpark can be extremely busy with the market on Fridays, so please park elsewhere if possible.

 

Handwashing/Sanitising

We have installed 4 external & 6 internal hand sanitisers. Hot water is available in our classrooms

Children will wash/sanitise hands:

  • Before entering their classroom on arrival at school
  • After using the bathroom
  • Before & after eating
  • Before coming in from the yard after being outside
  • When they cough or sneeze
  • Before & after using toys/equipment etc


Homework/Uniforms/Personal belongings

We will not be setting written homework for the first month of school (this will be reviewed)

To give you time to wash your child’s uniform as required, we are asking all children to wear the full school uniform on Monday, Wednesdays & Fridays.

The full school tracksuit is to be worn on Tuesdays & Thursdays.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO LABEL ALL YOUR CHILD’S PERSONAL BELONGINGS. SCHOOL UNIFORM & TRACKSUIT MUST BE LABELED.

We are asking all children to have two pencil cases/two sets of stationery – one for home & the other for school. Stationery will be provided for school use for all children on the first day.

Junior room – please have your child practise opening/closing/taking on & off their shoes as the junior room do not wear shoes in class. Please also have your child practise opening/closing lunchboxes etc.

Please ensure that your child has easy to open & close items in their lunch box.

 

Suspected Case

Please see previous message re. sending children to school when sick.

We have (in accordance with guidelines) set up an isolation room in the school – our disabled access toilet in the new extension.

You will be contacted if your child is showing any symptoms of the virus. 

The H.S.E will determine the course of action thereafter.

Please let us know if your contact details have changed over the summer.

 

Queries

If you wish to speak with your child’s teacher, it will be prior appointment only.

Parents are not to walk beyond the school gate.

Please contact the school on 046 9431892 with queries.

Teacher’s Emails:

tlarke@stpatricksnstrim.com

akeane@stpatricksnstrim.com

katiemag95@gmail.com