Important Notice to All Parents.

Dear Parents,

As you are probably aware it has been decided that schools will open partially on this Monday for children in Junior Infants, Senior Infants, First Class and Second Class only. This is in line with current public health advice and is contingent on a continued downward trend in the number of daily Covid19 cases. Please note that we are not permitted to accommodate any children outside of the Junior Infants to Second Class cohort until all other classes return to school on March 15th. For children in Third Class, Fourth Class, Fifth Class and Sixth Class the teachers will continue to provide online learning including the Zoom classes as currently scheduled. We realise that for families with children in multiple classes this is not ideal and while we would prefer for all children to return to school we must be mindful of the risks of this happening at this time. It is absolutely vital that the school and our parents work together to ensure that we have a successful return and that we will be able to proceed with a full reopening on March 15th. We ask that in delivering the children to school that you note the following:

Symptoms and Signs of Covid19:

COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Most infected people will develop mild to moderate illness and recover without hospitalization.

Most common symptoms:

fever

dry cough

tiredness

Less common symptoms:

aches and pains

sore throat

diarrhoea

conjunctivitis

headache

loss of taste or smell

a rash on skin, or discolouration of fingers or toes

Serious symptoms:

difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

chest pain or pressure

loss of speech or movement

Seek immediate medical attention if you have serious symptoms. Always call before visiting your doctor or health facility.

• All families must return a HSE ‘Return to Educational Facility Parental Declaration Form’ for each child. This declares that the children are free of infectious disease and that the family has followed all public health guidelines.
• Where possible parents should stay in their cars when dropping off the children. We understand that this may be difficult for parents of younger children and also that some of our parents walk to school with their children. If this is the case parents should not linger around the school grounds or outside of the school and should leave the area immediately once the children have been delivered.
• Masks should be worn at all times in the vicinity of the school.
• We are required to be very strict on implementing Health advice regarding children who show symptoms of the virus in school. It is essential that we have a current up to date contact telephone number for all parents as there will be occasions where we will have to insist that children are taken home from school due to displaying symptoms of Covid19. Please be aware that we are required to have an isolation area for such children until they are collected by parents. To avoid upset or distress in the children we must be able to contact parents or emergency contacts promptly in the event of a child displaying symptoms. Please ensure that the school is informed of any change of address or of telephone number.
• In the event of a child displaying any symptoms of Covid19 or of feeling unwell, they must not come to school.
• Short videos for parents from public health doctors will be circulated to reaffirm the importance of keeping COVID-19 out of education facilities by keeping symptomatic children at home. Parents should err on the side of caution in this respect and follow the school’s sickness policy. Where a child has a pre existing condition such as asthma parents should inform the teacher in writing of this and of symptoms associated with the condition which may be confused with those of Covid 19.
• If for any reason a parent needs to speak with a teacher, this should be done via telephone or via a Zoom conference. Unfortunately we are not permitted to facilitate face to face meetings with staff. 
• Parents must make themselves aware of the symptoms of Covid 19. 
• If a child displays symptoms of Covid 19 at home, all siblings should be kept at home from school.
• In line with public health advice the classroom windows will be kept partially open during times where children are in class and will be fully opened in times where the children are not in class during the school day. To ensure that the proper level of heat is maintained in the classroom the heating thermostats in the classrooms will be adjusted to ensure that the classrooms are kept at a comfortable temperature.

It is incumbent on all of us to make sure that the return to school is a success. We can only achieve this by doing everything in our power to stop the spread of the virus. We implore you to heed all of the above points and to continue to keep your children informed of the importance of washing hands regularly, using hand sanitiser, being aware of proper coughing and sneezing etiquette and of the importance of continuing to reduce contact with other children outside of the school setting. We all want the schools to remain open and to get back to normal as soon as possible. We are lucky that the incidence of Covid19 spread in the school has been zero up to the end of term 1. Lets work together to make sure that we keep our school Covid free.

 

With Thanks

K. Dennedy