Dear Parents,

As the term progresses I wish to thank you for your positive engagement with the schools arrangements with regards to Covid 19 safeguarding. As with all provisions in the school the aim of our Covid policy is to ensure the safety of children, teachers, Special Needs Assistants, School secretary and all other individuals directly involved in the school on a day to day basis. We have endeavoured at all times to be consistent in our management of the pandemic and thank parents who have been understanding and cooperation on the rare occasions where we have had to request that a pupil is taken home. The regulations may change from time to time and where this does occur we will keep parents informed as to how this will affect the provisions in place in school. Therefore I would be grateful if you could read and note the following:

Green List/ Self Isolation Requirements.

The Green list is a list of countries where persons visiting Ireland from these countries or those returning to Ireland from these countries are NOT required to self-isolate. Currently these countries are Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. If you travel to any other country you must isolate for two weeks on your return without exception. In situations where the school authorities are made aware of a parent or member of the school community who is not following these guidelines, we are obliged to report this to the relevant authorities as this could possibly impact on child welfare and safety of all of our school community. We ask that you inform us where you or any member of your household intend to travel to a non-green list country as your final destination and that you ensure that the guidelines regarding self-isolation are strictly observed. Many may think that they feel fine and have no symptoms of Covid19 but may be asymptomatic and as a consequence highly infectious. We have a duty to protect all children and their families. Bear in mind that we have children among our school community who will have parents/grandparents/relatives at home who are considered to be high risk. We must work together to prevent the spread of Covid19. Please note that the green list may be revised and reviewed by the NPHET on a weekly basis.

Access to School.

Unfortunately access to the school building is severely restricted and is permitted for essential personnel only. Masks or Visors must be worn at all times when entering the school building. Entry is by the front door only and only in exceptional instances and strictly by appointment can parents, company representatives or delivery personnel come beyond the lobby area. From Monday next all visitors will be required to provide a signature and a contact number as part of the contact tracing requirements when collecting pupils from school. Please use the sanitisers provided at all times.

Online Learning Platforms.

While further school closures are unlikely we must nevertheless make provisions for such an eventuality. As such we have adopted two distinct platforms by which classroom content will be delivered to the children. Children from Junior Infants to Third class will use the ‘SEESAW’ platform. This will allow teachers to upload video, voice instructions and all schoolwork for the children. We earnestly request that all parents return the signed slips to the school as soon as possible. Senior classes from 4th-6th class will use the Google Classroom platform which will allow interactive participation to occur in the unlikely event of another lockdown being ordered. It is worth noting that in the recent lockdowns in Dublin, Kildare, Laois and Offaly, schools have not been closed. The most likely scenario whereby schools may be affected is in the case of a positive Covid diagnosis. In such cases to date with one exception, only the affected class has been isolated.

Contact Information.

Thanks to all parents who have returned email addresses to Carmel. We are collecting these with a view to reducing the amount of paper used in the school. In future we intend that all newsletters and communication by the school to parents will be via email or text. Newsletters will also be uploaded to our school website (www.iosaballyhaunis.com) where the content can be translated to a language of choice by utilising the Google translate tool on the webpage.

We also must have accurate and up to date mobile numbers on file as this is essential as a means of contact with our parents in an emergency situation. Please ensure that where a phone number has changed we are informed immediately. Where numbers are incorrect this will show up on our texting system.

Head lice/Impetigo

In an era where we have become consumed to some degree with our mechanisms to control the spread of Covid19 we must remember that head lice, impetigo and the ‘usual’ school ailments have not disappeared. We ask that you remain vigilant and check your children regularly for signs of both conditions and treat as appropriate.

Finally, we thank you once again for your continued assistance and cooperation in these rather peculiar times. Please keep children at home if they display more than one symptoms of the Covid19 virus. If in any doubt call your doctor for advice and act accordingly. If a child requires a Covid test, they must stay at home until the results are returned and may come to school only when there is a negative test result. We are all in this together and it is only by observing the guidelines around hand hygiene, coughing and sneezing etiquette and observing social distancing where possible that we can control the Virus’ spread. The whole draconian management of this is not what we would wish for but is something we must do.

With Thanks,

K Dennedy