Welcome Back!

Last Thursday was one very happy day. After our prolonged school closure we finally got to reopen our school to our pupils!

It's been a mammoth task. Alongside all the usual preparation for the year-staff recruitment, new enrolments, and building maintenance - August 2020 brought a whole new raft of issues to ensure the safest possible reopening of our school.

​And thanks to the dedication of our Board of Management, our teachers, SNAs, our cleaning staff and our great school community, we got here!

Welcome back everyone!

In advance of the big day, our staff have thoroughly discussed the Department of Education Covid 19 Response Plan. We all  worked together to ensure our classroom layouts have been reconfigured to maximize social distancing. And children are being encouraged now to keep their distance as much as possible. 

New signage has been placed all around our school and in the school grounds. And the children have been GREAT at following the rules.

We are reminding parents that the rules are for them too! Please keep your 2 metre distance from others when you are on our school grounds. Do NOT stop to talk-just keep moving. 

LOTS of time has been given to revising the rules for handwashing and handsanitizing, along with practising a good cough etiquette.

And every class stay with their own class or bubble for the entire school day. 

Children are discouraged from sharing pencils, erasers and other items and really have roped in well with the new guidelines.

We are really fortunate of course, to have a great new building and spacious play areas which allow for maximum social distancing between classes.
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It hasn't all been plain sailing though... the inclement weather threw in an added challenge on Thursday, traffic was chaotic and there was some confusion as to which child was on which bus. But Friday ran much more smoothly. 

If drivers could exit left only when leaving the school grounds it would be a big help!

The children will be taken inside the basketball court for collection and walked to their designated class station in the court so please do not congregate in front of the school at 2pm or 3pm

But most people have been superb and as keen as we are to keep the rules which help us stay open.

My thanks to those who have advised the school that they are keeping their children out while they safely isolate having returned from a country which is not in the green zone. And my thanks to all for their patience and understanding as we adapt to a whole new way of being as a school.

Please give your son time to settle in. Visitors are not allowed in to meet with anyone without a prior appointment and forgotten items must be left in the Drop Box at the school's front door. 

Most people have managed to adapt to our staggered system of arrival at school. Times are allotted according to the first letter of  surnames;

A-E arriving at 8.50
F-L at 9:00
M-Z at 9:10

Break times have had to be staggered too, to minimize contact between classes in our school yard.

Our Junior Infants have arrived from 10:00-12:00 each morning and will continue to do so until Friday 4th Sept. 

Our pupils have been wonderful. They're here to learn. Let's work together to keep them at school!