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Holy Family National School,

                                                                        Rathmore

                                                                                 Co. Kerry.

                                                   Tel. No:  (064) 7758492   /   Mobile: (086) 1806018

                                                               e-mail: hfnsrathmorekerry@gmail.com

                                                                             hfnsrathmorekerry blog

                                                                                                                          

27th August, 2021

                                                                                                    

Dear Parent(s),

 

We are really looking forward to welcoming the children back to school on Monday 30th August.

All information that we have in relation to re-opening the school safely is on the School blog. Again, all guidelines are coming from the Department’s Covid 19 Response plan and below are some of Holy Family National School’s arrangements for the coming year which you will note are very similar to last year.

 

Drop off and Collection Routines:

The Board of Management, the In-School Management Team and the staff have been working to ensure a safe return to school for all.  It would be helpful if you reminded your child(ren) of the following prior to re-opening.

·        Children are to be dropped off in the set down area in the morning where staff will be available to direct them to the correct entrance.

·        We ask that children are dropped off between 8.55 a.m. and 9.10 a.m. Children should not be dropped to the school before these times.

·        The following are the entrance and exit doors for each class:

o   Both Junior Infants classes - Front Door

o   Senior Infants- Staff Door (On the left of the building near the staff car park)

o   First Class- Staff  Door (On the left of the building near the staff car park)

o   Second Class- Front Door

o   Third Class- Front Door

o   Fourth Class- Back Door  (Follow the footpath beside the staff door to the rear entrance)

o   Fifth Class- Back Door  (Follow the footpath beside the staff door to the rear entrance)

o   Sixth Class- Staff Door (Follow the footpath beside the staff door to the rear entrance)

 

·        Parents who wish to accompany infants to their assigned door should park in the lower car park.

·        Parents are to treat the roundabout as a drop off area only and should not obstruct traffic by leaving their vehicles.

·        Parents are asked to maintain a distance of 2m from other people at all times while in the school grounds.

Home time collection:

·        Both Junior Infants classes will always be collected at the front door at 1.50pm. (Collection time for the first two weeks is 12 noon).

·        Senior Infants will go home at 1.50 pm as usual. Children will be brought to the staff entrance where their parents can collect them.

·        For Junior and Senior Infant collection time parents will be asked to form socially distanced queues using the queuing system provided.

·        Fourth, fifth and Sixth classes will exit via the rear entrance under the supervision of their teachers and proceed in their class bubble to their transport.

·        Second and Third classes will exit via the front entrance under the supervision of their teachers and proceed in their class bubble to their transport.

·        All lines will be supervised by staff until they reach the lower car park to maintain social distancing.

·        In the interest of health and safety children should not congregate in the car park.

Break Times for Pupils:

·        We will not stagger our break times as we have sufficient play areas for our eight classroom bubbles.  Both Junior Infants groups will be together.

·        All areas of the school playground will be used at break times with children playing with their own class bubble in designated areas.

School Uniform:

Our normal school crested uniform is still required. Some parents were concerned that uniforms and track suits might have to be washed every day but Department guidelines do not state this.  However, as our tracksuit legs are worn with our school jumpers, should you wish to purchase additional generic navy tops (unlabeled, round neck sweatshirts - available from numerous outlets in the area) these can be worn with the school crested tracksuit on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to allow for additional washing if you wish. Please see an example of these on the school blog. The school uniform should be worn to school only and taken off in the evening immediately after school. Lighter raincoat style jackets that can be stored in the pupil’s bags should be worn as cloakroom areas are normally very congested.

Children should have a separate pencil case for home and school and lunch boxes and drink bottles should be washed daily.

 

Hand Washing and Using Hand Sanitiser:

·        Hand washing, use of hand sanitiser and coughing etiquette are key elements of keeping safe. It would be beneficial if you could go through the procedures of these with your children. Please see the HSE links on the school blog for more information on hand hygiene, hand sanitising and respiratory etiquette.

·        Teachers will also highlight and go through procedures for hand washing, hand sanitising and respiratory etiquette in school. Hand sanitisers are installed at each entry point and in each classroom and paper towels for drying hands are available in all classrooms. Pedal bins have been placed in each classroom for waste paper.

·        Children will be asked to use hand sanitiser on entering the school in the morning. There are hand sanitiser dispensers at all entrance doors. Children will also use hand sanitiser when entering the school after breaks. There are signs in each toilet in each classroom encouraging hand washing. Paper towels are available outside the bathrooms. Hand washing and hand sanitising before and after eating will also be a part of our daily routine.

·        Children will be encouraged to wash their hands at the following times:

·        before and after eating food

·        after coughing or sneezing

·        after using the toilet

·        where hands are dirty

·        before and after being on public transport

·        before leaving home

·        when arriving/leaving the school /other sites

·        after touching potentially contaminated surfaces

·        if in contact with someone displaying any COVID-19 symptoms

 

Movement within the school:

·        There is signage from the Department of Education that encourages social distancing throughout the building.

Parents who need to come into the school for any reason:

·        All visitors including parents will have to make a prior appointment before entering the school premises. This can be arranged by contacting the school office by phone or email. All adults who enter will have to fill out a contact tracing form which will be available from the office. All adults must wear a mask and use hand sanitiser when entering the school.

Cleaning:

·        Extra cleaning resources are in place. Classrooms, tables, chairs, door handles etc. will be cleaned each evening after school as per Department Guidelines.

Parent Contact:

·        In order to ensure that the school remains open in these difficult circumstances, it is imperative that parents do not send children to school if they are showing symptoms of any illness whatsoever. We have created an isolation room in the school, as well as a sick bay in each classroom. These areas should only be used in the event of a pupil developing symptoms. Any child who is sick will have to be sent home immediately as outlined in Covid 19 Guidelines. In addition, children should also not attend school if they have been identified by the HSE as a contact for a person with COVID-19 and to follow the HSE advice on restriction of movement.

·        It is vital that parents/guardians are contactable at all times throughout the school day in case of children becoming ill.

·        All our procedures are under constant review so there may be updates or changes to any of the above and we would appreciate your patience as we navigate this process. We will text you to notify you of any updates which will be available on the school blog. Thank you for your continued co-operation.

·        We would ask that children do not bring any additional equipment to school such as footballs, toys, hand sanitisier, etc.

·        For payments of Book Rental for each child and Photocopying Arts/Crafts for each family we would appreciate it if you could use your debit/credit card for these payments.  Each family will receive on Friday August 27th 2 payment requests – one for Book Rental for each child and one for Photocopying Arts/Crafts for each family.  If the purchase of books/materials/uniform causes financial difficulty for any family, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  Next week we will send you a payment request for Pupil Personal Accident Insurance should you wish to purchase for your child(ren).

·        Return to Education Facility Parental Declaration form is on the blog and it would be good practice if parents filled in this each time your child is absent.  Please complete this form for your child(ren) on their return next Monday. 

·        Government advice on travel can be found on www.gov.ie   The page is regularly updated. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to check the advice in relation to the restrictions that are in place and act accordingly.  Please exercise caution if in any doubt or contact the school.

 

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

 

Paul Horan

Principal.