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Newsletter

5^th October 2020

Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,

Return to School

Thank you to every single one of you for supporting our procedures for the reopening of the school. The children have been brilliant – adapting to our new procedures with ease and it is great to see them so happy being back at school. Our regular hand-washing and sanitising and keeping our distance continues every day and is starting to feel very ‘normal’ now. But I want to reassure you that we are doing lots more too! There is fabulous learning taking place in every room – the school is a hive of activity each and every day!

We are so grateful for all of the support parents/carers have given us. It has been an anxious and worrying time, and we take very seriously the trust you place in us to keep the children safe when they are with us. Thank you for helping us with our new practices, especially at dropping off and collecting times.

A special welcome to the children and families who are new to our school this year, especially our new Junior Infant children who are settling in so well with Ms Carrick and Ms Conlon. Welcome also to Ms Magner, Ms Kane, Ms Bonner, Leah, Bianca and Devin who have joined our staff team.

I want to thank our staff who have worked so hard to prepare a safe and welcoming environment, have been so creative in their planning to ensure the children’s learning continues to be exciting and engaging (while safe), and have come back to school with smiles, energy and enthusiasm.

Covid-19 Update

Please read this information carefully.

These are the main coronavirus symptoms:

• a high temperature
• a new, continuous cough
• shortness of breath
• the loss or change of their sense of taste or smell

If a parent/carer or child develops one or more of the main coronavirus symptoms described above, you should contact your GP.

If you are sent for testing, all members of your household must stay at home until your test result has come back. Siblings will not be allowed into school IF any member of the household is showing COVID-19 symptoms and awaiting results of a test.

Children may feel unwell, for example with a sore throat, stomach upset or a headache. There may not be a need for testing in these cases, but children may need to stay off and we advise you to seek medical advice through your GP or pharmacist as usual.

Please ensure you notify the school if your child will be absent in the usual ways.

Meet the Teacher

We know it has been particularly hard not having as much contact with your child’s class teacher as usual. At this time of year, we usually invite parents/carers to come into the classroom and have a meeting with your child’s teacher and find out more about their learning. This year, our class teachers are putting together a special online presentation for you. We will post this to the Seesaw Family app for you to view. You can then contact the teacher directly via the app if you have any questions.

At any time, if you have concerns or questions, you can speak to Ms Kelly, Ms Brophy or Sile outside in the morning or afternoon – we are happy to pass on messages to class teachers or answer your questions. You can send messages to teachers directly on Seesaw. Teachers are happy to speak to you on the phone and if necessary, we can arrange online or face-to-face meetings between class teachers and parents.

‘Here We Are’ learning

During September, all the classes read the book ‘Here We Are’ by Oliver Jeffers and completed some beautiful learning to help us come back together and establish our sense of community again. We are looking forward to sharing this learning with you on the website and Seesaw.

‘Books Make Things Better’ launch

Congratulations to the children in 2^nd Class who appeared on RTE’s ‘News2Day’ programme to launch Children’s Books Ireland and Arts Council ‘Books Make Things Better’ campaign. The children shared all the reasons they love to read and we were delighted to receive a special box of books for our school as part of the campaign.

Communion and Confirmation Celebrations

Well done to the children who celebrated their First Holy Communion and Confirmation ceremonies in September. The children waited patiently for their special day! They looked beautiful and the ceremonies went really well. Thank you to the parents/carers who were again, so patient and understanding. Thank you to Ms Yeates, Ms McBride, Ms Staunton and Mr McGuire for supporting the children’s preparation and to Ms Brophy, Fr Pat and Fr Martin for their support on the day.

NEW Special ASD Class

We have opened a new special class for children with autism this year. Ms O’Hare is the teacher of this class, along with two of our Special Needs Assistants, Audrey and Cliodhna. There are six children in the class and they have settled in really well.

We have been lucky to be granted special funding to install a multi-sensory room as part of the new class setup. This is a beautiful new space for children, in any class, who may need some quiet and calm time during the day.

Dropping Off and Collection Times

A special word of thanks to the parents/carers who have to wait patiently for a number of chidren to enter/exit the building each day. We appreciate your patience and goodwill in helping to keep everyone safe.

A reminder to all parents/carers to keep your distance from one another and to wear a face covering, if appropriate, when dropping off or collecting children. There should be 2m distance between all adults.

Keeping up-to-date

Over the coming months, we will all be listening carefully to the advice from the Public Health teams and the Government. This may mean us getting in touch with you at short notice. It is important that we have up to date contact information and that all parents/carers have access to the Aladdin Connect app, the school website and the Seesaw apps – we will communicate all our important messages to you in this way.

School Books and Tracksuits

Thank you to all families who have already paid the €60 for books, copies and school resources. If you have not made this payment, please call into the school office or pay online. We are happy to take money in instalments if this is easier for you.

Tracksuits can be ordered in the office and cost €22 each, or €24 for larger sizes.

Having spent so much money on new uniforms, coats and tracksuits – please make sure your child’s name is clearly marked. Every day we find jumpers with no names and it is a challenge to return it!

Parking and Traffic

The small streets outside the school are very busy before and after school. With lots of very small children, buggies and families coming in and out, I would like to remind all parents/carers to drive slowly and carefully around the school to ensure we keep our children safe.

Where you can – please walk, scoot or cycle to school. If you have to drive, where possible, please park a short distance from the school and walk the rest of the way, rather than pulling up very close to the school entrance.

Secondary School Transfer

Our local secondary schools are reaching out virtually to parents/carers in 5^th and 6^th Class about the choices available for children’s secondary school places. Virtual open days are taking place in secondary schools this month. We encourage you to visit school websites to find out more information. We will send on any information we have too.  Please call Sile for a chat about the options available to your child, if you need to.

Home Learning

We will be setting homework for children on the Seesaw app this year. In some classes, the children will keep their workbooks at home and upload their learning to Seesaw. We want to avoid bringing books in and out of school, so we hope this will work well for everyone. Teachers will also add learning activities to Seesaw for the children to complete.

Attendance and punctuality

This year our top priority is everyone’s health. We thank you all for erring on the side of caution – keeping children home who are unwell, getting GP advice when the symptoms are on the Covid 19 list and observing all the guidelines around isolation etc.

This will mean attendance figures are lower than usual. However if we manage to keep the school open and keep each other well we are doing the right thing.

Please do keep up punctuality and arrive to school on time. Please let us know if your child will not be in school by calling the school office on (01) 8300841, emailing office@stmarysprimaryschool.ie or filling out the absence form on our website.

Dates for your diary

23^rd October – School closes for Mid-Term Holiday

2^nd November – School re-opens at 8.50 a.m.

…and finally…

Updating Information

If your contact information has changed over the summer, please ensure we have your new address, telephone number or other details. This is particularly important if we need to contact you in case of emergency. You can update this information on the Aladdin app yourself, or call the office.

Best wishes,

Éadaoin Kelly

Principal

The Department of Education has shared some helpful advice for parents/carers and children as we prepare for our return to school. Please watch these videos carefully and as always, get in touch with us if you have any questions or queries.

If English is not your first language, there is also guidance available in over 30 languages. Click on the picture and scroll down to find your home language and watch the video.

Advice for Children – Junior Infants – 2nd Class

Advice for Children – 3rd – 6th Class

Information Leaflet for Parents/Carers from the Department of Education

Information Leaflet for Parents/Carers from the HSE

More information from the HSE is available here:

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/40e9c-protecting-your-child-from-coronavirus/

You can also visit the Department of Education’s dedicated ‘Back To School’ website here:

www.gov.ie/backtoschool

Dear parents, carers, staff and friends,

Returning to the School Building

We are really looking forward to seeing you all again on the 1^st September for the start of the new term.

We have been working very hard through the summer to prepare the school building and to create new procedures to keep us all safe as we return. We know you will work with us to ensure the children are happy and safe.

We also know you will have lots of questions! So we are going to try to answer them here. We hope this will help you and your child to feel comfortable about our new way of doing things and to feel ready and confident to return to school soon.

We will also be creating videos for the children which we will put on Seesaw for them in the coming week. It is important that your child watches the video for their class so that they know what to expect and what to do on their first day.

Lots of things will stay the same. Some things will be different, but that’s ok. We will work together and soon the new things will seem normal.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I help my child prepare for school?

We know lots of children (and adults!) will be very happy and excited about returning to school. We know that others may be feeling worried or scared. Some children will have a mixture of all of these feelings and that’s ok too. Reassure your child – all feelings are ok.

Start to get back into a routine – get up a little earlier in the mornings, get dressed and ready for the day. Maybe start going to bed a little earlier.

Stay positive – it helps children and adults to have hope. We can do this together! Remind your child that the adults at school are working hard to get ready, our school will be very clean and all the teachers will be helping everyone to follow the new rules.

Remember the things that help us feel better when we are worried – talk to an adult, share your worries, take a deep breath, do a relaxing activity. Ask questions if you are unsure. Remind your child that when they are back at school, they can speak to their teacher. You or your child can ask questions on Seesaw and we will help to answer any of your worries.

How will you keep my child safe?

The school has been deep cleaned over the summer. We have a new cleaner, Devin, who will work alongside Colm to keep the building clean every day. All our staff will complete Covid-19 induction training before returning to work. All staff will wear masks and visors. Toys and resources will be cleaned regularly. We have clear procedures to ensure cleaning is thorough, especially in high-use areas like toilets and high-touch points like door handles, taps and classroom surfaces.

There will be hand sanitiser at every entrance/exit and in every classroom. Children and adults will wash or sanitise their hands when they arrive, after each break, before/after eating and after using the toilet.

We will practice proper hand-washing techniques with children and teach and remind children to cover their cough or sneeze.

Older children will sit in ‘pods’ or small groups and there will be 1m distance between them. Younger children do not have to be physically distant from one another, but we will also use the ‘pod’ system to help us minimise interactions.

Who will my child’s teacher be?

We have two new teachers joining us this year – Ms Kane and Ms Magner. We also have two new Special Needs Assistants – Bianca and Leah. Ms. Conlon and Mr. Carney are returning from their career breaks. We welcome them all to our community. We are also opening a brand-new special class for children with autism and have a beautiful new multi-sensory room. We will have three small infant classes this year too.

Class Teams for 2020-2021

Last Year                      This Year          New Teacher

——————————— Junior Inf          Ms. Carrick

——————————— Jun/Sen Inf       Ms. Conlon

——————————— Senior Inf          Ms. Kane

——————————— Special Class     Ms. O’Hare

S.Inf. Ms McKelvey        1^st Class             Ms. O’Callaghan

1^st Ms. Lougheed           2^nd Class           Ms. Lougheed

2^nd Ms. McBride            3^rd Class            Mr. Kerr

2^nd Ms. Yeates               3^rd Class            Ms. Yeates

3^rd Ms. Carrick               4^th Class            Ms. Staunton

3^rd Ms. O’Donovan        4^th Class            Ms. McBride

4^th Ms. McCaughey       5^th Class            Ms. Magner

4^th/5^th Ms. Nolan           5^th/6^th Class       Ms. Nolan

5^th Mr. McGuire            6^th Class            Mr. McGuire

SNA Team:

Aoiffe, Audrey, Bianca, Cliodhna, Dolores, James, Leah

Support Team:

Ms. Brophy, Ms. O’Donovan, Ms. Palmer, Ms. Hayes, Ms. Collins, Ms. Kilkenny, Ms. Graham, Ms. McCaughey and Mr. Carney

What time will my child start and finish school?

We will use three different gates at drop-off and collection times to maintain physical distancing. These gates will be colour-coded – red, blue and green.

Each class will have their own start and finish time. We would ask you to make sure you arrive on time as close to this time as possible and go straight to the correct gate. Parents/carers should leave the area as soon as possible and not wait around.

If you have two children and the timings are difficult for you, please arrive at the time allocated to your youngest child. If you have three or more children, we will contact you to make special arrangements with you so that you do not have to wait.

Adults (parents, carers and teachers) must keep 2m distance from one another. Please help us with this. Class teachers will collect children from the gate and go straight to the classroom. Children will be collected from the same gate at home time. We will have coloured markers on the ground to help the children to keep their distance.

We will try these timings for two weeks and review them with your feedback. We will make changes if necessary.

What changes are being made to playtime?

We will have three separate breaks. Each class will have their own play space. The children will play with the children in their class ‘bubble’ and they will not mix with other classes.

We will have two 20 minute breaks to help stagger the breaks evenly over the day for each class. There will be gaps between each break so that classes do not meet on the stairs.

Will there be assembly?

We have a whole-school assembly twice a week to share important messages and good news. While we cannot all meet together in the hall, we will continue to have assembly online – using video chat.

How do I contact school staff?

Parents/carers will not be able to access the school building. We will set up an outdoor office in the morning and at home time so that you can speak to Liz our secretary or Sile, our Home-School-Community Liaison teacher. You will be able to order tracksuits and ask questions from a safe distance.

During school hours, you can contact us by phone on (01) 8300841 or you can email us at any time at office@stmarysprimaryschool.ie. If you want to contact your child’s class teacher, you can use the Seesaw app to send them a message or contact the school office and ask them to call you. We can arrange physically distanced meetings if necessary.

If you need to collect your child early, you can call to the school office. Liz will speak to you on the intercom and ask you to wait outside. She will call your child’s class and your child will come to meet you at the office door.

What should my child wear to school?

Your child should wear their school uniform or school tracksuit each day. These should be washed on a high heat at least once a week. This is in line with current public health advice.

What if my child is sick?

Your child should stay at home if they are sick – no exceptions. You know how hard we work to keep our attendance rates high, but this year is different. We need children (and adults) to stay at home if they are unwell to keep everyone else safe.

If your child has a high temperature, a new cough, breathing difficulties or loss of taste or smell – these are symptoms of Covid-19. You should contact your GP immediately and your child should not attend school.

What if my child gets sick at school?

If a child is unwell at school, we will call you straight away and ask you to collect them immediately. Your child will be brought to a safe designated area to wait until you arrive. Please make sure we have up-to-date emergency contact information for you so that we can get in touch quickly. If we call you, it is very important that you come to collect your child without delay.

What if a person at the school is diagnosed with Covid-19?

We will be doing everything we can to make sure this doesn’t happen. We will work very closely with the HSE if a person at school is diagnosed with Covid-19. The public health authorities will take the lead if there is a diagnosed case. We will provide all contact tracing information and will keep you informed.

I have been outside of Ireland on holiday. Can my child return to school?

You must follow the Government advice and stay at home (quarantine) for 14 days after your return from holiday. We know you want your child to return to school, but they cannot come until the 14 days are completed. This is to keep everyone safe.

How will things look in the classroom?

In the classroom, lots of things will look the same. Children will sit in small groups called ‘pods’. They will stay in their seats a little bit more than usual and will not share pencils or crayons with their friends. We will be wiping things down regularly, including copy and book covers, iPads, writing materials, etc.

Each child will have their own special folder on their desk (we will give this to them). This will have everything they need for the day.

Will my child have homework?

We will not be giving homework for the first few weeks. After that, your child’s teacher will let you know how homework will work in their class. We will be using Seesaw and sending tasks home once a week, rather than every day to reduce the amount of books and copies coming into school each day.

My child usually works with a support teacher or SNA. Will this still happen?

Yes, children who receive extra support from adults will continue to get this support. Extra care will be taken with physical distancing and hygiene. Support teachers will continue to work with children in their classrooms too, with all the safety measures in place.

Will the children be going on visits outside school?

We love going on visits! But for now, we will be focused on getting our new routines and procedures in place in school. We will not be taking the children outside the school site for the first few weeks and will review this towards the end of September.

Will my child wear a mask?

No. Masks are not recommended for children under 13. Our staff will wear masks and face visors. 

What about breakfast club?

We cannot run breakfast club in one room because of physical distancing and our staggered starts. We will provide toast and fruit to each class as they arrive so children can eat before they start their learning.

What will my child eat?

Our school meals programme for lunch will run as normal. Each child will have their own lunch bag labelled with their name and their individual food items inside. All safety precautions are taken with food preparation. Children will be asked to take their lunch waste home as before.

What about after-school clubs?

Unfortunately, to limit contact between classes, we will not be running any after-school clubs for the first few weeks. We will look at this again before the end of September and if we can find a way to run clubs safely, we will let you know.

Where does my child leave their mobile phone?

If your child walks home alone and needs a mobile phone for safety reasons, they should bring a plastic bag with their name on it to put their phone inside. Class teachers will look after mobile phones during the school day.

Do I need to buy anything for my child’s return to school?

No, nothing extra. We will provide the children with everything they need in class. Each child will have their own folder with their own copy, pencils, crayons, etc. They will not share these with others. We ask for you to buy their school uniform and tracksuit and to pay the €60 for books and resources. We will do the rest!

I have more questions. Who do I ask?

The school office will re-open on Monday, 24^th August so you can call us then on (01) 8300841 or email us at office@stmarysprimaryschool.ie. You can contact Sile, our Home-School-Community Liaison teacher on her mobile – (085) 1035456.

You can also contact Ms. Kelly or your child’s class teacher through the Seesaw app.

Dates for your diary

1^st September – Back to school

26^th – 30^th October – Mid-Term Break

…and finally…

Let’s all work together – we can do this! If you are worried – get in touch, talk to us and we will do our best to reassure you and answer your questions. Enjoy the last few days of the holiday together and we will see you very soon.

Our detailed planning documents are available below if you want any further information.

Best wishes,

Éadaoin Kelly

Principal

Dear Parents/Carers,

We hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the summer break. We are working hard to get ready for our re-opening on Tuesday, 1 September 2020 for all children. Our thanks again for all of your support in the months we were closed. The children did a fantastic job learning from home with your help, and we are very proud of how well our school community kept going in very challenging circumstances.

This week, the Government have released new guidelines for schools to help us plan for all of the children and staff to return safely. A letter from Minister for Education, Norma Foley, to all parents/carers is below.

Our staff team will be working very hard to create new procedures and to ensure all the guidelines we have been given are followed. The children’s safety, and that of our staff, is of paramount importance and will always be at the forefront of our decision making.

We will carefully plan teaching and learning to give children time and space to re-adjust to being at school. We will find out where they are with their learning and give them all the support they need to find their next steps and move forward quickly.

We will continue to support all children with regular hand-washing and promote good hand hygiene and sneezing/coughing into the elbow.

For children who missed their Confirmation and Communion, we will be re-scheduling these very special days in September and October. We will be in touch with families about this in the coming weeks.

For new Junior Infant children, we have special welcome packs ready to send to you in the next few weeks. Junior Infant children will initially come to school just for an hour or two for the first few days to help them settle into a new environment. We will write separately to new parents/carers about these arrangements soon.

Some of the practical things we are doing to get ready for re-opening include:

• Securing additional cleaning services for during the school day
• Purchasing additional cleaning equipment and materials, including hand sanitisers for every room and each entry/exit point
• Ensuring cleaning and hygiene procedures are robust and well-communicated
• Ensuring that there is adequate space in classrooms, especially in 3rd – 6th Class so that children can maintain physical distancing
• Arranging class groupings into bubbles and creating small-group ‘pods’ within each class to support physical distancing
• Creating procedures for children to enter and exit the building safely, including staggering start and finish times so that each class can enter the building through a separate gate, door and staircase, where possible.
• Creating procedures for breaks and lunches so that children have enough space in the playground to keep their distance from children who are not in their class
• Creating procedures for children or adults who may become unwell during the school day
• Changing our existing teaching practices to ensure resources and toys are not shared between pods of children and increasing our cleaning regimes for these items.

We will be asking all parents/carers to remain outside of the school building when we return and to maintain a 2m distance from one another and staff at drop-off and collection times. We will work hard to keep communications clear and regular.

We will ask all families to ensure they follow HSE guidelines, particularly about quarantining if you have been away over the summer. Think carefully about your journey to school and how to do that safely. Walking or cycling are great options, if you can.

We will ask all children and staff to remain at home if they are unwell or show any symptoms of Covid-19. We need to work together to ensure we all stay safe and that schools can open and stay open for children this year.

Watch our video below and follow the links for more information from the Government. We will be in touch with each family closer to opening time in September with more detailed information.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, you can contact Ms. Kelly directly by email – principal@stmarysprimaryschool.ie.

We look forward to seeing you in September!

We have been enjoying our weekly Praise assemblies from the comfort of our couches over the last few months. But nonetheless, every week on Friday, we took some time, as we always do, to share all the good news from our school community.

Today, was our last day of term and so we had a very special Praise assembly – LIVE on Google Meet. Children and families from across the school came together with our staff to celebrate our achievements this year. We watched our Yellow Flag be raised and said our final thanks and goodbyes to 6th Class.

Then we watched a video of our 2019-2020 highlights – take a look!

Earlier this academic year, we were awarded the Yellow Flag for our work on inclusion and diversity.

This video explains what makes us a Yellow Flag school.

Ms. Nolan, who led our Yellow Flag team, and Ms. Kelly, our Principal, proudly raised our Yellow Flag in June 2020 and shared the video with all our children at our final whole-school assembly of the year – live on Google Meet! We are so proud of this great achievement for our school.

We didn’t have a chance to say goodbye in person to 6th Class, so the rest of the children decided to surprise them with a very special song for their graduation. Filmed on phones and devices from bedrooms and living rooms all over Dublin – we are so proud of the song they sing.

We had a wonderful online graduation with 6th Class and their families this afternoon. The children designed beautiful graduation caps, dressed up, had balloons and posters and all the staff joined them to celebrate. Here’s a snippet of our trip down memory lane…

This group have been outstanding leaders in our school. They have led our Green Schools team, led inclusion and diversity in our Yellow Flag team, been Play Leaders for Active Schools, been Young Interpreters, Anti-Bullying Ambassadors, Friendship Keepers and more!

They are scientists, geographers, historians, mathematicians, singers, dancers, musicians, explorers, team players, creators, inventors – talents that we know they will continue to develop in the years ahead. We are so proud #Classof2020 – go forth – be great!