November 2021 Newsletter
We hope everyone had a great midterm break and children enjoyed their week off school. Please be mindful of Covid symptoms over the coming days especially if your children have been mixing with other children during the break. If your child is displaying any Covid symptoms including cough, runny noses etc., please keep them off school until they have been tested. It is so important that we detect positive Covid cases as early as possible to stop onward transmission in the school.
Cash for Clobber
Our annual Cash for Clobber clothes collection takes place this Wednesday. All unwanted clothes, bed linen, towels, shoes (paired) may be left into school on Tuesday evening or on Wednesday morning. Last year this clothes collection raised €416 which went towards buying resources for the classrooms.
Book Bills
Many thanks to all who have paid their book rental bill for this year. Some bills are still outstanding and we’d appreciate if they could be paid as soon as possible either online using the school’s bank account details or by cheque.
Football with Euan
All children thoroughly enjoyed the sessions with Euan before midterm. It was great to see our artificial grass being used during these sessions – Euan complimented the school on this great facility. PE continues on Fridays this term and pupils must wear their tracksuits and runners on Fridays.
Primary Language Curriculum
School will be closed on Friday 12th November for Primary Language Curriculum training for staff.
Photographer
The photographer will be in school on Wednesday 10th November. He will take photos of family groups, 6th class, Junior Infants and the whole school. If you require a photo of a child individually i.e. not with brothers/sisters please let us know in advance. Full school uniform must be worn for school photographs.
Parent Teacher Meetings
Parent teacher meetings will take place by phone again this year. You will receive an email from your child’s class teacher in relation to a suitable time for phone calls to take place. It is hoped to have these meetings at some stage between Monday 29th November and Friday 10th December. Phone calls will take place outside of school hours. Each pupil will be allocated 10 minutes which must be strictly adhered to in order that other parents are not left waiting for their call.
Covid Updates
As you are aware the HSE decided to stop contract tracing in schools last month. This meant that if a child in school tested positive for Covid 19 no follow up took place by the HSE. Parents will be made aware if there is a positive case in the school and asked to be vigilant for signs and symptoms of Covid in their own children. There has been a lot of discussion in the media over the last week regarding this as there appears to have been an increase in the number of positive cases in this age group. We await further guidelines from the HSE/Department of Education this week regarding contact tracing of primary school children.
Return to School Forms
Each time a child is off school, be it for a day or two or a school holiday parents are expected to complete the return to school form. The link for the form was sent by text to all families last week. The same link can be used each time you need to complete the form. If you need the link sent again please email the school and this will be sent to you. Please inform the school by email/phone call if your child is absent from school giving the reason for the absence. This is particularly important this year with children being off with colds, coughs etc. If we do not receive an email/phone call your child’s absence is recorded as unexplained. If a child misses 20 days a report is sent to Tusla.
Coats/Warm Clothes
Please ensure all children have coats in school each day. Classrooms must have the correct level of ventilation as guided by the CO² monitors in each room. This results in windows being kept open as much as possible. The classrooms get cold and pupils are encouraged to keep their coats on inside if they wish.
Staff
Congratulations to Ms Brown who got engaged over the midterm break. We wish her and her fiancé every happiness as they prepare for their wedding. We also wish Mrs Boyle and her family every best wish as they look forward to the arrival of a new baby in January. Mrs Boyle will commence maternity leave on 6th January. We are very pleased that Ms McCarney will be covering Mrs Boyle’s maternity leave in the Junior Classroom. Ms McCarney is working as SET (Special Education Teacher) for the month of November while Mrs Patton is taking parental leave.
Advance Notice
School closes at 12.00 on Wednesday 22nd December for Christmas holidays, and reopens on Thursday 6th January 2022.