Newsletter to Parents

12th April 2021.

Dear Parents,

On behalf of everyone at Scoil Íosa, I am delighted to welcome our children back to school for the beginning of Term 3. I would ask that you take note of the following:

Covid19

Unfortunately the Covid19 virus is still very much with us and as such we must continue to be vigilant in doing everything in our power to keep our school Covid free. This means that the present restrictions in operation in school will continue for the remainder of the school year. We thank you most sincerely for your support and cooperation to date. Please continue to wear a mask when in or around the school and most importantly if your children are showing any symptoms consistent with Covid 19, they must be kept at home until they are certified as Covid free. It is only by being vigilant that we can keep the virus from invading our school.

Enrolment of New Junior Infants.

Enrolment of new pupils to the school has been ongoing since February and will shortly come to an end. It is vitally important that all remaining application forms are returned to the school as soon as possible and no later than April 30th. This will allow us to liaise with teachers and to plan placement of children in appropriate classes for the beginning of the 2021/2022 school year.

Ramadan.

We are aware that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began today and on behalf of all our staff we wish our Muslim families Ramadan Kareem. As a number of our pupils may choose to observe the Ramadan fast, we ask that parents are aware that school will be proceeding as normal for the children. In the initial days of the fasting period, the children may feel the effects of not having eaten. In cases where this makes the children feel unwell, we are obliged to send the children home particularly as we are required to be extra vigilant due to Covid prevention measures. In previous years we have made provisions for children who do observe the fasting period including permitting the children to remain indoors at breaktimes. However we are not permitted to do this at present as we are required to have all children out on the playgrounds at break times to allow for airing and ventilation of the classrooms. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and hope that in future years we can revert to our normal procedures.

Return to School.

As per regulations, we are required to collect a declaration from all parents to certify that to the best of their knowledge their children are returning to school free of the Covid19 virus. We ask that parents use the following link and fill in the required details for submission to school. We will text the link to all families as a convenience.

Safe Return to School form – Google Forms

When you click on the link you will be taken to a school form which you should fill in for each child and submit to the school. The process is very simple and self-explanatory. It also cuts out the generation of extra paperwork. Thanks for your attention to this matter.

School Calendar.

The following is the school calendar for the final term of the school year:

Monday April 12th: All classes return to school.

Monday May 3rd: School closed for May Bank Holiday.

May 17th-28th: Standardised maths and language testing (1st-6th Class)

Monday June 7th: School closed for June Bank Holiday

Friday June 25th: Final day of school year. School closes for summer holidays.

 

Notes: 

• Due to the restrictions imposed as a result of Covid19, we will not be permitted to hold our First Communion as scheduled. We hope to reschedule this for early in the new school year.
• School Sports Days and Sixth Class Graduation will proceed in line with restrictions and have not been scheduled as of now. We do hope to be in a position to organise these events in the last weeks of the school year.

 

Contact Details.

We ask that parents ensure that the school is kept up to date with addresses and contact details. It is especially important that we have up to date telephone contact numbers and Email addresses. Please send your email address to the school secretary as soon as possible if you have not already done so. If the contact telephone number changes inform the school immediately.

 

With Thanks,

K. Dennedy