Dear Parents,

As the term moves along I would like to bring the following to your attention:

Parent Teacher Meetings.

We have scheduled parent/teacher meetings for Thursday 25th and Friday 26th November. For practical reasons we have taken the decision to hold face to face meetings with parents where possible and are taking every precaution to do this in as safe a manner as is possible. All parents will be contacted with an allotted time for their consultation before the end of the week. In cases where any parent feels reluctant to attend the allocated meeting, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher and a telephone consultation can be arranged at the same time. In this event, please send in a contact number and the teacher will call you. Likewise if the allocated time or day does not suit, please contact the teacher and an alternative mutually convenient time will be arranged.

In order to facilitate the meetings, the children will finish school at 12:00 p.m. on the 25th and 26th. Please arrange for collection at this time.

When attending for your child’s/children’s meeting, please note the following:

• Parents should remain in cars/outside of the school building until 2 minutes before the meeting time. Parents may bring a friend to translate.
• There should be no waiting in the corridors prior to the scheduled meeting if possible. There will be no chairs in the corridors to facilitate waiting.
• Meetings should be kept strictly to the ten minutes allocated time. If any more time is needed, a further meeting should be scheduled at a mutually convenient time.
• Parents should leave the building once their meetings are completed.
• Masks must be worn at all times by teachers and by parents. Each teacher will have spare masks in case parents do not have one. In cases where parents have a medical reason for being unable to wear a mask, the parent/teacher meetings should be conducted by telephone call. Please inform your child’s teacher if this is the case.
• Meetings will be socially distanced with at least two metres between the teacher and the parent.
• To ensure adequate ventilation, classroom doors may be open during the meeting.

We apologise if any of these restrictions cause inconvenience but we are obliged to make every effort to ensure that our school remains a Covid free zone. We thank you in advance for your continued cooperation.

Healthy Eating Policy.

Children should not take crisps, sweets or fizzy drinks to school as part of their daily lunch. This is in accordance with the agreed healthy eating policy in the school. Treats should only be included on Fridays. Otherwise healthy lunches should consist of a sandwich, a piece of fruit, water and possibly granola bars or similar. High sugar fruit juices, nutella or similar and sweets should not be included as a matter of course.

Covid 19.

Thankfully we seem to have remained free of Covid19 at present. This is as a direct result of the vigilance shown by staff and parents alike. It is vitally important that we continue to err on the side of caution when children are showing any symptoms of the virus. It is expected that there will be widespread antigen testing introduced over the next couple of weeks. We strongly advise that where children are showing any symptoms of the virus parents should use antigen tests as a matter of routine and that this should commence immediately. It is likely that there will be a surge in demand for the test kits over the next couple of weeks which will make them difficult to source. To address this, it is advisable that families should ensure that they have testing kits available at all times. We have

received no practical guidance from the health authorities to date. Therefore we have no idea as to whether kits will be provided to schools. Unfortunately we are required to send children home immediately if they are displaying symptoms consistent with Covid19 and are fully aware that in virtually all cases the symptoms are also those of seasonal colds. We are also acutely aware that a child being sent home is a source of inconvenience and annoyance to parents but it is a matter beyond our control. Carrying out a simple antigen test will allow children to return to school once the school has been informed in writing/by email that the parents have tested the child and that a negative test has been returned.

Party Invitations

Please note that the school policy on distributing invitations to children’s birthday parties is that, we cannot allow this. We fully accept that many parents may have limitations on the numbers which they can invite but as a school we have to be mindful of situations where children may feel excluded by not receiving an invitation. Where a child takes treats to school, all children in the class should be included. We thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Inclement Weather.

As we move into the winter season it is essential that the children are warmly clothed when coming to school. This should include a warm coat/jacket and hats, scarves and gloves on occasion. While the school is more than adequately heated, we are required to keep classroom windows partially opened in order to ensure that the rooms are kept appropriately ventilated as a control mechanism around the spread of Covid19. As the colder weather approaches, it is inevitable that some children may feel cold in the classroom and as such they will be permitted to wear their coats should this be the case.

Calendar Dates.

· Thursday 25th & Friday 26th November: Parent Teacher Meetings

· Wednesday 22nd December: Final day of Term. School closes at 12p.m.

· Thursday 6th January: School reopens for Term 2.

· Friday 18th February: School Closes for Mid Term break.

· Thursday 17th & Friday 18th March: School Closed for St. Patrick’s Day.

· Friday 8th April: Final Day of Term 2

Note:

· There may be an additional Bank Holiday in February but as yet this has not been confirmed.

· First Holy Communion has been provisionally scheduled for Saturday May 14th 2022.

With Thanks

K. Dennedy