Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope all is well with you this fortnight. Our news is as follows:

• Debating: Our school will again this year enter the Primary Debating Festival. I wish to congratulate our young debaters who will represent our school in the competition; Ava Haughan, Alice Beary, Lily Broderick, Róisín Mather, Rosie Ryan, Maria Pop, Clara O’Loughlin, Brooke Redfern, Róise Stenson, Ornaith Manning and Anna Kenna. Tomorrow our team will be proposing the motion that “All children in Ireland should have access to a playground” at our whole school assembly. Our first debate of the Primary Debating Festival will take place in early October. The girls are already busy researching and preparing. We wish them the very best of luck with their future debates and thank their teachers; Ms. Costello, Ms. Banks and Ms. Dillon for volunteering their time to mentor the girls.

• Wellbeing: On Monday, we hosted mindfulness and wellbeing teacher, Úna Curran, who worked with all classes in the school and also worked with the staff. I want to thank Lily Sherlock, one of our 6^th class girls, whose artistic talents made Úna’s trip to our school possible. It was Lily’s prize-money awarded to the school, having come first in an art competition, that allowed us to engage the services of Úna. Our newly-formed Wellbeing Committee met yesterday for the first time and we will hold our first Wellbeing Wednesday next week (Wellbeing Wednesdays will take place on the first Wednesday of every month), on which all classes will focus on the area of wellbeing and homework will be comprised of a wellbeing task only. Ms. De Faoite has also been busy updating our school website with a new Wellbeing Section, which will be further updated with lots of resources for parents and information on the area of wellbeing and resilience-building. We are currently seeking yoga mats for the school. If any family has a yoga mat in good condition that is no longer used, we would be very grateful if you would consider donating it to the school.

• Football and Camogie: Today our U-11 Footballers took on Ballymany N.S. in a closely-matched contest, in which they were narrowly defeated. Well done to the girls who put in a great performance, in what was their first outing this year. Our camogie team look forward to taking part in the Cumann na mBunscol Camogie Blitz in Prosperous on Thursday next.

• National Fitness Day: We are celebrating National Fitness Day at school today, with all children engaging in fun, physical activities throughout the day. I want to thank our PE Co-ordinator, Ms. Rowley for coordinating our involvement in National Fitness Day. Photographs of the events will be available to view on our school website www.bunscoilbhride.ie 

• Uniform: Please ensure that all items of your child’s uniform and coat are clearly labelled with her name.

• Assembly: On Friday, we will hold our whole-school assembly for the month of September. Ms. De Faoite’s Sixth Class and Ms. Ryan’s Junior Infants will lead our assembly and we look forward to coming together as a school community.

• Walk to School Week: National Walk to School Week takes place this year from October 2nd-6th. This week is all about celebrating walking as a positive mode for school journeys. We are asking our students and their families to celebrate with us and try to make this a week to remember. We are aiming to encourage as many students as possible to walk or Park and Stride to school. Walking to school is one of the best ways to start the day with multiple benefits to children’s physical and mental health. It also has a positive impact on academic performance and behaviour with higher levels of concentration and focus. Walk to School Week is also a great opportunity to teach your child about road safety and the Safe Cross Code. 

• Volunteers: We are always looking for volunteer parents to help out in classrooms or to accompany classes on trips / tours. All volunteers coming into the school must be Garda Vetted through the school. The process takes three/four weeks to complete and is relatively straightforward. We would be extremely grateful if you were available and willing to help us out. If you feel you would like to help out at any stage of the year, we would really appreciate it if you phone Catríona in the office and ask her to send you on the vetting forms.

• Oral Language: The theme for the month of October is ‘Listening’. Communication and learning skills grow out of effective listening. Hearing and listening are not the same – listening is an active process of focusing on sound; hearing is passive reception of sound. Listening means focusing on some sounds and “tuning out” others. All classes will be focusing on this theme for the month and we would ask that you support us at home, by encouraging and modelling good listening, asking your child to follow oral instructions, playing auditory listening games and questioning your child often.

• 24-hour Pupil Personal Accident Insurance: For parents who have opted to pay for the 24-hour pupil personal accident insurance, please be advised thatall medical costs associated with an accident involving your child, whether at school or at home is covered by this insurance. It is 24 hour, 7 days a week cover. If you have to take your child to A&E as a result of any accident, the cost will be fully covered. Please just phone the office to let us know and we will send you out the Allianz claim form to be completed.

• Christmas Shoe-Box Appeal: The children will receive a leaflet next week from ‘Team Hope’ detailing the Christmas Shoe-box Appeal. If you wish, you can put together a shoe-box which will benefit needy children around the world (this is optional). Shoe-boxes may be brought in to school on Friday 27^th October only. They will be collected from the school on this day.

• Dangers of the Internet: While the internet is a wonderful resource, I would like to remind you that it can also pose many dangers to your child. While the school has safeguards in place with regard to pupil internet/website access at school, use outside school falls under parental responsibility. Children should never be allowed access to the internet at home without supervision.

• Head Bumps: It is our school policy to phone home when a child bumps her head, however minor.

• Dates for the diary: All dates for the diary this term are available to view on the Aladdin Connect app under ‘Calendar’.

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson

Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope all is well with you this fortnight. Our news is as follows:

• Football & Camogie: I want to thank Mr. O’Sullivan and Ms. Marrinan who have kindly volunteered to coach our football and camogie teams again this year. After-school training for fifth and sixth class pupils recommenced on Tuesday last and will take place every Tuesday from 2.30pm-3.15pm. Our U-11 Football League kicks off next Wednesday, with our girls taking on St. Evin’s N.S., Monasterevin in a home game (time to be confirmed). The Senior Camogie League commences next week also, with our camogie team taking on Gaelscoil Chill Dara in Newbridge on Friday. We wish the girls the very best of luck in both matches.

• Mercy Day: We will celebrate Mercy Day next Friday, 22^nd September. As Bunscoil Bhríde is a Mercy school, Mercy Day is a very important day in the calendar of our school. We are proud of our strong Mercy tradition and ethos. Children in all classes will learn about Catherine McAuley, the founder of the Mercy order and will hear of how the Mercy Sisters brought education to Rathangan. Fr. Bill will celebrate a mass for the children of Second to Sixth Class to mark Mercy Day at 10am on Friday and we invite you all to attend. The children will sing on our choir, directed by Ms. Rowley, Ms. De Faoite and Ms. Dillon. We might even get the night off homework on the following Monday to celebrate!

• 24-hour Accident Insurance: Tomorrow is the final day for receipt of payment for Allianz Pupil Personal Accident Insurance. This is an optional fee of €10 and provides 24-hour cover for accidents occurring at home or at school. We would strongly recommend that all parents pay this insurance. Many of our parents have benefitted from having the policy in the past. If you ever incur any fees in relation to an accident e.g. fee for a trip to A & E, let us know and we will provide you with the necessary forms to recoup all expenses. Payment can be made via the e-payments system on the Aladdin app (this is a safe and secure means of payment). Let us know today if you are having trouble accessing the e-payments via the app.

• Green Schools: This year our school is working towards its eleventh Green Schools flag. The theme for this flag is Global Citizenship Food and Biodiversity. This theme explores how growing and eating our own food affects our personal health, and how it has knock-on impacts for local and foreign biodiversity. This involves growing and eating food that is produced on the school grounds and teaching children about the global impacts; such as the positive impact that these local actions can have, by interrupting the current global food production system, and the environmental problems associated with it e.g. by reducing the miles that food has travelled, or by avoiding the packaging waste associated with shop-bought foods.  All classes will have the opportunity to explore these important topics throughout the year and also help in growing and maintaining our very own school garden. We are looking forward to meeting all of the new Green Schools representatives next week at the first Green Schools meeting. We are also looking for some parent volunteers to join our committee. Please contact the school office if you are interested in becoming a parent representative. 

• Wellbeing School Improvement Plan: This year we are working on our School Improvement Plan in the area of Wellbeing. We will be introducing Wellbeing Wednesdays on the first Wednesday of every month, during which we will focus on wellbeing activities both at school and at home. We will also have a Wellbeing Committee made up of representatives from all classes from First Class upwards, whose role it will be to promote wellbeing in the school. We are excited to welcome mindfulness and wellbeing teacher, Úna Curran to our school next Monday. Úna will engage all classes in a wellbeing workshop. She will also present a session on wellbeing to the staff in the area of wellbeing.

• Parent Volunteers Wanted: As we are looking at the area of wellbeing this year, we were hoping there may be some parents who might have expertise in the area of yoga, and who would be willing to come in to the school to practise some yoga techniques with some of our classes (subject to Garda Vetting). Please contact the office if you would be interested in volunteering your time.

• National Fitness Day: National Fitness Day will take place on Thursday 28^th September. To celebrate, all children will engage in fun, physical activities throughout the day. Classes will compete against each other in team games. Senior classes will share their dancing skills with junior classes. Photographs of the events will be available to view on our school website www.bunscoilbhride.ie 

• Homework Journals: All children from First to Sixth Class have homework journals this year. Please ensure that you check your daughter’s homework every evening and sign her homework journal. It is only by home and school working together that we can ensure the very best outcomes for all of our pupils.

• Uniform: Please ensure your daughter wears the correct school uniform. Our Uniform Policy can be found on our school website at www.bunscoilbhride.ie  Tracksuits should not be worn on non-P.E. days (2^nd to 6^th classes).

• Code of Behaviour: Our Code of Behaviour is available to view at www.bunscoilbhride.ie . I wish to remind you all that, as stated in our Code, jewellery is not permitted at school (with the exception of small stud earrings at the bottom of each ear and a watch). Children should not come to school wearing hoop earrings / dangly earrings / earrings that are larger than a small stud, which are in breach of the code and pose a health and safety risk. Please ensure that children are wearing the correct uniform and that long hair is tied up. Your cooperation in the implementation of our Code of Behaviour is very much appreciated.

• Party Invitations: As it may not always be possible to invite all children from your child’s class to birthday parties, we would ask that all children refrain from handing out invitations in school. This can instead be done outside of the school, in order to avoid upset to children not invited.

• Student Council: This year’s Student Council is up and running. The first official meeting will be held next Friday.  We look forward to the Council’s valuable contribution throughout the school year.

• Dates for the Diary: Please check out the calendar tab on the Aladdin app. A number of new dates for this term have been added, including our Carol Service, Spooky Walk Day and Parents’ Day. Please continue to keep an eye on the Calendar over the coming weeks as all new dates will be added as new events are confirmed.

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson

Dear Parents / Guardians,

We hope all is well with you this fortnight. Our news is as follows:

• Welcome: Welcome back to all our existing parents. We look forward to meeting with you and working closely with you again during the year ahead. We would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new parents who are joining the Bunscoil Bhríde school community for the first time. We look forward to getting to know you and your child.

• Aladdin Connect: All new parents have been sent the link to download the Aladdin Connect app. Please ensure you have downloaded the app to your device. Please note that it is possible for both parents to download the app (where applicable). All communication from the school will be sent via the app. We ask that all parents check the information recorded about your child on the app and make any necessary changes. Please ensure that there are at least two emergency contacts listed for your child. Please phone the office immediately if you are having any issues downloading or accessing the Aladdin Connect app.

• New Junior Infants: We were delighted to welcome our fabulous 40 Junior Infant girls to our school yesterday. They are a super group and have settled in so well in the two days they have been with us. We’re really excited to get to know them and see them grow and develop. County Photos have been booked to take photographs of our Junior Infants on Friday 20^th October.

• Home-School Partnership: We strongly value thesupport of parents inhelping us to realise the potential of each and every child in our care. In order for us to achieve this goal, it is vital that parents work alongside the teachers and help to support the work being done at school. Checking and signing your child’s homework journal, regularly listening to reading, checking sounds/tables etc. and most importantly, speaking positively to your child about school and its importance will be of enormous benefit to your child. We recommend that you take a look at the “Help My Kid Learn” website www.helpmykidlearn.ie, developed by the National Adult Literacy Agency for parents of children aged 0 – 12 years. The purpose of the website is to provide fun activities that parents can do with their children, to develop their literacy and numeracy skills. In an effort to get to know your child, all teachers will be distributing a short questionnaire about your child in an effort to gain a head-start in getting to know her. Should you have any queries about your child’s progress or any concern or query during the year, please do not hesitate to contact the school to arrange an appointment with your child’s teacher. We look forward to developing a strong partnership in your child’s education.   

• Late Arrivals/Early Departures: For health and safety reasons, should a child need to leave the school building during the day for any reason, e.g. dentist, medical appointments, etc., or should a child arrive late to school, this must be recorded on Aladdin. It is possible for parents to inform us on the Aladdin app that your child will be arriving late to school / picked up early from school. Our secretary, Catríona will be recording late arrivals / early departures on Aladdin. The reason for the late arrival / early departure must also be recorded – please inform Catríona when you phone the school. We would ask that children are only taken out of school early if absolutely necessary. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

• Absences: Under the Education Welfare Act 2000, where a child is absent from school on a school day, the parents must notify the school of the reasons for such absence. We require parents to record the reason for the absence on the Aladdin app. You will receive a push notification when your child is marked absent at school. You will then be prompted to input the reason for the absence. We are required under the Act to notify Túsla of any child being absent for 20 days or more. Our student administration system (Aladdin) automatically sends texts to parents reminding them of this when a child reaches both 10 and 15 days of cumulative absences.

• Coming to school: Our school starts at 8.50am. You are asked to drop your child(ren) to school as close to 8.50am as possible. We will open the school gate and provide supervision for children at 8.40am. The church carpark is a public place and it is not safe to drop children off out there before the school gate is opened at 8.40am.

• Medicines: No medicinesare allowed at school. If your child has a medical condition for which medicine/inhaler etc. must be administered, please contact the school, as Board of Management approval must be granted for this. Please see our administration of medication policy at www.bunscoilbhride.ie for more information.

• Cuts: We will routinely apply plasters to cuts. It is the responsibility of parents to notify the school in writing (for the attention of the Principal) if they do not wish for plasters to be applied to their child (e.g. if the child is allergic to plasters).

• Correct Footwear: Please ensure your child comes to school wearing footwear that is suitable for running. Converse / canvas shoes are not permitted at school.

• NUT ALLERGIES: We have a number of children in the school with severe nut allergies. Children are therefore not allowed to bring nuts or any products containing nuts into the school. This includes peanut butter, chocolate spreads etc. We ask parents to be vigilant in this regard, as any contact with nuts for these children can be potentially lethal.

• Infant Induction Meeting: Our Junior Infant teachers, Ms. Ryan and Ms. Gleeson will hold a short meeting with parents of the new Junior Infants on Tuesday 12th September at 11am in the school. The purpose of the meeting is to inform parents of the teaching approaches that will be used and the content that will be taught in Junior Infants. This will give parents the opportunity to meet with Ms. Ryan and Ms. Gleeson, voice any questions they may have and get some ideas as to how they can support their child’s learning at home. We strongly encourage all parents to attend the meeting if at all possible, or to have some member of the child’s family attend. Home-time forJunior Infant pupils willmove to the permanent time of 1.30pm from the following day; Wednesday 13^th September.

• Parents of Infant children: As you can imagine, teachers have to be extremely cautious at the gate when releasing children into the care of adults. If your child is being collected at 12pm / 1.30pm by another adult that is not you, or by the crèche, please send a message to your child’s teacher (this can be done by clicking ‘Send Notice’ on the Aladdin app).

• New staff: I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new staff members; Ms. Dawn Freeborn (Special Education Teacher), Ms. Aileen Broe (Bluebells Class Teacher) and Leanne Moore (Special Needs Assistant). We are also delighted to welcome back Mary Behan (Special Needs Assistant), Ms. Janet Geraghty (4^th Class Teacher) and Ms. Aileen Kelly (Bluebells Class Teacher), who return to our staff for this school year. We will also be joined two days per week this term by both Ms. Michelle Flynn and Ms. Linda Kelly (Special Education Teachers). Our full staff list can be found on our school website www.bunscoilbhride.ie

• Allianz 24-hour Pupil Personal Accident Insurance: On Monday next all children will bring home a sheet detailing the optional 24-hour pupil insurance scheme. This insurance provides cover for any medical or dental costs arising from an accident in or out of school during the year e.g. in the event of your child having to attend A&E due to an accident, the attendance fee is fully covered (24 hours a day, 365 days a year) – please phone the office for the claim form. Please note that if you wish to avail of the Allianz 24-hour Pupil Personal Accident Insurance, you must complete and return the slip at the bottom of the sheet that the children will bring home on Monday (one sheet must be completed for each child) and the €10 fee per child must be paid via the Aladdin Connect app (or link that will be sent to all parents on Monday) by Friday 15^th September.

• Headlice: Please check your child(ren)’s hair on a regular basis for headlice, treat where necessary and please inform the school if you have found headlice in your child’s hair so that we can inform the parents of the other children in the class. Long hair must be tied up in school. With all parents following the regular checking routine, we will hopefully minimise the chance of children in the school getting headlice.

• Tin Whistle classes: All children from Third to Sixth Class will begin tin whistles lessons next week. Please ensure your daughter has her D tin whistle at school every day. We would ask you to encourage your child to practise regularly at home.

• Oral Language: The theme for the month of September is ‘Sentence Structure and Tenses’. All classes will be focusing on this theme for the month and we would ask that you support us at home, by encouraging and modelling use of full sentences and correct tenses.

• Google Suite for Education: All our senior children (third to sixth class) use Google Suite for Education (Google Classroom / Drive / Docs / Slides etc.). While our existing fourth to sixth class pupils already have their login details, our third class and children who have just joined fourth to sixth class will be given login details in the coming days, following the granting of consent by parents on the Aladdin app (only for pupils who have not yet been assigned Google logins).  Please ensure that you have ticked any permissions pertaining to your child on the Aladdin app (under ‘Permissions’).

• Parking: I am aware that there are lots of new parents using the church carpark to drop-off / collect children. Please see the plan of the church carpark attached which highlights the rules for the safe use of the carpark at school drop-off / pick-up times. Please share this information with anyone who drops off / collects your child. Parents are asked not to park in the yellow boxes, in the wheelchair parking spaces or between the wheelchair parking spaces. Parking is in a single row alongside the Noone Engineering wall and in THREE ROWS along the middle white lines. There should be absolutely NO DRIVING AROUND THE CHURCH. Let’s keep everyone safe! Also, let’s all remember we are a Green School (with ten Green Flags!). If at all possible, we would encourage as many families as possible to leave the car at home and children to walk or cycle to school.

• School website: Please check out our school website www.bunscoilbhride.ie. It contains lots of information about what’s going on at Bunscoil Bhríde and lots of photos of the events that take place. Photos of the new classes will be added shortly. Teachers will also shortly begin updating their class blogs (located under the ‘Our Classes’ tab on the homepage.

• After-School Providers: Currently, three after-school providers hire facilities in our school for the purpose of providing after-school activities to children; Barbara Lynch (Story Club for Infants), Creative Keyboards (keyboard lessons) and Linda Grogan Art Classes. All afterschool providers are private businesses and, as such, are separate entities to the school. Children attending such afterschool activities are in the care of the individual proprietor, while in attendance at such activities. All communication in relation to pupils’ participation in these afterschool activities such be directly to the specific provider and not through the school.

• Dates for the Diary: We look forward to a very busy, productive and exciting year at Bunscoil Bhríde. Please keep an eye on the Calendar tab on Aladdin over the coming weeks as we will be adding important upcoming events.

Kind regards,

Maria Rogerson

We were delighted to extend a warm welcome back to our school on Tuesday 7th June to our four past pupils who were recently crowned Kildare All-Ireland U-14 Football Champions. Aoibheann Mahon, Amy Jones, Caoimhe Mahon and Emily Conlan visited the school with their cups on Tuesday and they were greeted with lots of fanfare. We are so very proud of the girls. They are wonderful role models for all of our pupils, who aspire to excel in the area of sport and in particular Gaelic football. Well done ladies! May we have many more such celebrations ahead of us!

Dear Parents / Guardians,

I hope you and your families are all well at this time. Please find attached a really important document – our Bunscoil Bhríde Covid-19 Response Plan. It is vital that all parents / guardians read this document and familiarise themselves with its content. This plan maps out how we will safely return to school and what daily life in our school will look like.

A tremendous amount of work has gone in to this document and has involved input from the staff, Parents’ Association and Board of Management, all of whom I wish to thank.

I am acutely aware of the fact that parents have lots of questions / concerns at this time and I hope that this document will provide clarity to you all. I know parents may be particularly anxious about the formation of our class pods. I want to assure you all that teachers will make every effort to keep children with their friends. While all classes will be seated in pods within their classrooms, they will be treated as a class bubble and will be able to play together on the yard as a whole class. In addition to this, there will contacts between pupils outside of school, that as a school, we can’t control e.g. child-minders, the creche, cousins, the bus children, neighbours etc. We can only control for contact within the school. As such, individual requests for who children are seated with or placed with within pods cannot be facilitated. 

As you will see from the document, there is a lot of specific detail within the Plan and a lot of new procedures, which we are asking you to adhere to. There will be some aspects of the Plan that may not suit every family. This is the price we are asking you all, staff included, to pay for the safe re-opening of our school. Our collective goal is to get the school opened and to keep it opened, and to keep our entire school community safe in the process. We are all in this fight together. We must protect each other. We are asking you to be flexible and patient with us as we try to implement all aspects of the Plan to the best of our ability. We cannot do this without your support and cooperation. 

The entire staff and I are so looking forward to the school re-opening and having children learning in their classrooms with their friends again.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the summer holidays.

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Maria Rogerson

Plan for the safe re-opening of Bunscoil Bhríde

THE FOLLOWING IS SUBLECT TO CHANGE BASED ON CURRENT HEALTH AND SAFETY ADVICE RELATING TO COVID-19

Underlying Principles

• The school has a responsibility to make every effort to ensure the safety, health and well-being of all members of our school community – children, parents and staff. This plan has been formulated to better ensure that the school can exercise that duty of care.

• Assuming it is in keeping with public health advice and guidelines issued by the Department of Education and Skills, it is preferable for all children to return to school for all five days of the school week and for a full school day. This plan has been formulated to achieve that aim.

• It is not possible to eliminate the risk of infection. However, with the co-operation of all members of our school community, it is possible to minimise the risk of the virus being introduced to school and the consequent risk of its spread.

• As well as co-operation, the flexibility and goodwill of all will be required to ensure the plan can be implemented. We are all in this together!

Overview

We will operate a class bubble system, with each class acting as a separate ‘bubble’ and we will ensure that there is as little contact as possible between class bubbles. The children in the Bluebells Class will be part of the class bubbles of their respective mainstream classes.  Within the bubbles, children will be organised into ‘pods’. The pods within those class bubbles is an additional measure, to limit the extent of close contact within the class bubble. A pod is a group of children who will sit together and who will stay in their pod while within the school building. There will be four children (five when the numbers dictate) in each of our pods. Our teachers know all the children in the school and are aware of the friendships within the classes. Every effort possible will be made to keep children with friends within their pod.

We will endeavour to limit interaction within classrooms, to limit contact between class groups and to limit the sharing of common facilities.

While we will all be delighted to see each other again, handshaking and hugging will not be allowed.

Two entry exit points to the school

To facilitate social distancing we have established two distinct entry / exit points to the school. A new gate has been instated (Gate A) and the door facing the church at the gable end of the new extension (Door B) will be made accessible through an exterior mechanism. This effectively creates two Routes – Route A and Route B into and out of our school. Route A and Route B will be separated by a barrier. The following classes will use the route as highlighted below:

Route A	Route B
Room	Class	Room	Class
1	Junior Infants – Ms. Ryan	2	Junior & Senior Infants – Ms. Feeney
5	Senior Infants & 1st Class – Ms. McEvoy	3	2nd Class – Ms. Kelly
6	3rd Class – Ms. Gorman	4	1st Class – Ms. Fahy
7	6th Class – Ms. Ruttledge	8	4th Class – Mr. O’Sullivan
11	3rd & 4th Class – Ms. Coughlan	9	5th Class – Ms. Collum
12	5th & 6th Class – Ms. De Faoite	10	2nd Class – Ms. Millane
13	Bluebells Class – Ms. Rowley

Operation of Route A and Route B ensure that children will never meet on the corridor / stairs during entry / exit of the school.

Staggered start and finish times

We will operate staggered start and finish times, by dividing the school into two cohorts; Cohort 1 and Cohort 2.

Cohort 1	Cohort 2
Room	Class	Room	Class
3	2nd Class – Ms. Kelly	1	Junior Infants – Ms. Ryan
4	1st Class – Ms. Fahy	2	Junior & Senior Infants – Ms. Feeney
6	3rd Class – Ms. Gorman	5	Senior Infants & 1st Class – Ms. McEvoy
7	6th Class – Ms. Ruttledge	8	4th Class – Mr. O’Sullivan
9	5th Class – Ms. Collum	10	2nd Class – Ms. Millane
12	5th & 6th Class – Ms. De Faoite	11	3rd & 4th Class – Ms. Coughlan
		13	Bluebells Class – Ms. Rowley

* Each cohort is comprised of three classes using Route A and three classes using Route B, and three classes from upstairs and three classes from downstairs (no children will meet along the corridor / stairs at any point)

Arrival Times

Arrival window	Category of Parents
8.40am – 8.50am	Parents with one child only who is in Cohort 1
8.45am – 8.55am	Parents / childminders dropping off two or more children who belong to both Cohort 1 and Cohort 2
8.50am – 9.00am	Parents with one child only who is in Cohort 2

Parents / childminders with two or more children all from Cohort 1 can drop off between 8.40am and 8.55am.

Parents / childminders with two or more children all from Cohort 2 can drop off between 8.45am and 9.00am.

As children from both cohorts travel on the buses, they will arrive as normal and proceed to their classrooms through their own designated route.

Children will come straight through their designated gate and designated door (see Routes above). They will hand-sanitise upon entry to the school (5 hand-sanitise dispensers located inside each of the entry doors spaced 1m apart). Children go directly to their classrooms where they will be met by their teacher.

There will be no use of the yard in the morning. We are asking parents to drop and go at their designated time (as detailed above). Please do not arrive before this time and please do not congregate or allow your child(ren) to congregate outside the gate. If your child(ren) is / are walking / cycling to school they should not arrive before their designated time. Social distancing should be maintained outside the school gate at all times. We are all in this together and we are appealing for your co-operation to ensure the safety of all of our school community.

Home / Collection Time

There will be special arrangements in place for the Junior Infants for the first two weeks. They will go home at 12pm from 1^st September to 14^th September inclusive. From 15^th September the times below will apply to Junior Infants.

All Junior & Senior Infant pupils	1.30pm
Cohort 1	2.20pm
Cohort 2	2.30pm

Class teachers will bring their classes to their designated gate at the above times.

Please maintain social distancing while waiting for your daughter(s) at the school gate. Where possible, we would encourage that children walk/cycle to school.

All children going home by bus will be supervised in their bubbles until their bus is due to depart.

Staggered Breaks

We will operate staggered breaks to allow for segregation of the class bubbles on the yards.

Cohort 1	Cohort 2
Small break	10.40am – 10.50am	Small Break	11.00am – 11.10am
Big Break	12.15pm – 12.45pm	Big Break	12.45pm – 1.15pm

There will be six classes out on the two yards at each of the breaks, with separate sections marked out for each class bubble. Four classes will use the large yard to the rear of the school and two classes will use the Newtown Yard (newly-tarred yard). Floor Signs will be sprayed onto the tarmac in the areas where children line up after breaks to facilitate social distancing.

The DES Covid-19 guidelines state that the risk of transmission from contact with outside surfaces or play areas is low.

All classes will get an extra 10 minutes (outside of break tines) active free play under the supervision of their teacher using the whole yard each day. The DES guidelines highlight the importance of physical exercise and we are eager to facilitate this.

Staff / Staff-Room

All staff members must return the completed the Covid-19 Return to Work Form at least three days prior to returning to the school. All staff members must have completed Induction Training in Covid-19, provided by the DES prior to returning to the school.

All staff members should maintain a physical distance of 2 metres when they are not engaged in teaching e.g. when arriving to school and using the staffroom.

Staff meetings will be held remotely or in small groups to facilitate physical distancing.

There will be strict social distancing of 2 metres in place in the staffroom. To facilitate this, the staffroom accommodation has been limited to seven staff members at any one time, with the furniture replaced to allow for social distancing. All tables and chairs will be sanitised after each member of staff finishes his / her break. The fabric chairs have been replaced by plastic chairs to facilitate this. Three stations for eating of lunch have also been set up in the Drama Room, for staff members who wish to eat there.

Cleaning

We will have access to six extra cleaning hours per day. We will have three cleaners on site every evening, each with responsibility for a designated area of the building. We will also have a cleaner on site for one hour in the afternoons to clean and sanitise the staffroom and sanitise frequently-touched surfaces (banisters on stairs / door

handles). All cleaners will be provided with a cleaning schedule as per the DES guidelines and all cleaning

procedures as outlined will be adhered to. Cleaning staff will be provided with training prior to commencing in September.

All staff will have access to cleaning products and will be required to maintain cleanliness of their own work area. Staff should thoroughly clean and disinfect their work area before and after use each day. All cleaning materials stored in classrooms will be stored out of the reach of children.

The school have purchased a Fogging Device which will be used to sanitise all PE equipment and shared teaching resources on a daily basis.

Waste will be collected regularly from the offices, classrooms and other areas within the school.

Hand Hygiene

We have installed 79 hand-sanitiser dispensers throughout the school. There will be three hand-sanitising stations in every classroom and two in each of the Special Education Rooms. All other rooms and areas of the corridors will have dispensers. There will be five dispensers at each of the entry points to the school, positioned 1 metre apart.

All sinks in the school have hot water and access to foam soap and hand towel dispensers have been installed beside every sink in the school, including all sinks in toilets and classrooms.

A further hand-sanitiser pump will be positioned on each teacher’s desk for use before and after copy-correcting.

As children will have so much access to hand-sanitiser inside the classroom and outside, there is no requirement for your daughter to bring hand-sanitiser to school.

We ask you to ensure you are practising good hand hygiene at home with your daughter and that she is aware of the correct hand-washing techniques and practises them frequently at home. Hand-washing / sanitising will happen very regularly throughout the school day, as recommended in the DES guidelines.

Classroom Layouts

Maintaining physical distancing in the school environment is recommended as one of the key control measures to minimize the risk of the introduction and spread of COVID-19. The desks in all classrooms will be organised into pods, seating four children (five where the class numbers dictate). There will be a minimum of 1 metre distance between each pod. 

Sharing educational material between Pods will be avoided where possible.

Team Teaching / Special Education Teachers (SETs) / Special Needs Assistants (SNAs)

In line with our Special Education Policy, learning support will be provided by a blended approach of in-class support and withdrawal. The provision of support will be organised to ensure that movement between bubbles is as limited as possible for SETs. Each of our twelve class bubbles will be paired with one of our four SETs, who will only interact with children in these specific bubbles.

Where a support teacher / SNA is working alongside the class teacher in a classroom, both members of staff must be mindful of maintaining social distance from one another.

Where children receive support in one of the SET rooms, social distancing of 1 metre will be maintained between each child in the group.

The tables and chairs in the SET rooms will be wiped down with disinfectant spray in between different pupils or small groups attending.

Uniforms / P.E.

All classes from Junior Infants to 1^st Class will wear the school tracksuit only this year. Classes from 2^nd to 6^th will have PE on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please see table below for correct uniform to be worn on each day for pupils from 2^nd to 6^th classes.

Day	Uniform
Monday	School Uniform
Tuesday	School Tracksuit
Wednesday	School Uniform
Thursday	School Tracksuit
Friday	School Uniform

There is no guidance or advice to say that school uniforms or tracksuits should be washed every day and this is not practical for most families. However, for the families who wish to wash every day, the uniform arrangements outlined above allow for this.

School uniform / tracksuit should only be worn by children while at school. We are appealing to all parents to ensure that school uniforms / tracksuits are taken off straight after the child arrives home after school for the day. They should not be worn in after-school facilities, shops, during after-school activities etc.

P.E. will be taught outside as much as possible. All PE equipment will be sanitised after use by a class before being returned to the PE equipment room.

IT equipment

Timetables will be drawn up for use of the Chromebooks and iPads. All surfaces of the Chromebooks and iPads will be wiped down with disinfectant wipes after use, before being return to the charging trolley.

Teaching Resources / Toys

All shared toys / teaching resources will be sterilised after use by each pod, before being put away. The fogging device can be used for this purpose. Alternatively, all teachers have a supply of Milton in their rooms. Soft / fabric toys have been removed from all rooms.

Personal Equipment

Children will use their own books, pens, pencils etc. and should not share with other pupils. All children should have one pencil-case ONLY, containing limited, basic, necessary stationery. We would ask that no paraphernalia e.g. ‘fluffy bits’ attached to bags / pencil-cases / pencils etc. be brought to school. Every item within the schoolbag and the pencil-case should be clearly labelled with the child’s name. Pencil-cases will be retained in school. The only items within the school-bag to go between home and school will be the lunch-box and drinks bottle.

Book rental books will be labelled with your child’s name in advance of being distributed. Books for each pod will be stored together and kept separate from the books of other pods.

Lunches and Drinks

All lunch-boxes and drinks should be clearly labelled with your child’s name. We are asking parents to make sure that their children bring their lunches and drinks to school to avoid adults having to come to the school during the day. Please remind your children not to share their food or drinks with any other children.

Children will eat their lunches at their desks, as per our usual practice.

Coats

We will refrain from our practice of hanging all coats together in classrooms. Children will be asked to place their coat into their school-bag, while in the classroom. Coats that are wet will be hung, with an effort made to ensure that they are not in contact with coats of children who are in a different pod.

Music

Usually the Board of Management fund tin whistle lessons with Annette Randles for classes for the first term annually. The DES guidelines refer to a greater risk posed by the playing of wind instruments. For that reason, we will not be using the tin whistle at school this year. Tin whistles should be kept at home and we would ask parents to encourage the children to practise their playing at home.

Corridors and Stairs

The DES guidelines state that briefly passing someone in a hall is very unlikely to contribute significantly to the spread of infection if people do not have physical contact and avoid informal group discussions. We are fortunate in that we have wide corridors (nearly 2 metres). We will walk in single file on the right-hand side of the corridors and stairs. Vinyl directional arrows will be attached to the corridors and stairs to highlight this rule.

Door and Windows

Where practical, all internal doors will be left open to minimise hand contact with common surfaces. To ensure classrooms are well-ventilated, windows will be kept open as often as possible.

Office

We have a contactless payment system in place through our pupil administration system, Aladdin. This is entirely secure. We are appealing to parents to protect our staff by using Aladdin online e-payments, rather than sending cash into school. The e-payment link has been sent to all parents and we ask that payment is made in advance of 1^st September. Please note that this payment for this year includes the 24-Hour Pupil Personal Accident Insurance Cover. Please email the school if you are experiencing financial difficulties and I will get in contact with you in confidence.

Children will not be sent to the Secretary’s / Principal’s Offices to deliver messages.

As far as possible, staff members should not enter the Office area and should only speak with the secretary / Principal at the Reception area.

Photocopying

Any staff member who uses the photocopier should hand-sanitise before and after use. Hand-sanitiser dispensers are located next to each of the photocopiers.

After-school activities

While the importance of after-school activities for children is recognised and we are eager to resume the programme of after-school activities in our school, we feel at the moment our focus should be wholly on the safe re-opening of the school – getting the children back to school and keeping the school open. We are concerned that it would be very difficult for after-school providers to maintain our class bubbles, and the fact that most of them may be travelling between a number of schools or coming from other settings, potentially exposes our school to extra risk of infection.

The Lunch Bag Delivery Service

The Lunch Bag Delivery Service will be cancelled for this year, due to concerns in relation to the handling of the crates / the lunch-bags and the fact that the delivery driver would be travelling to a number of different schools, increasing our risk of infection.

Library

Our Library will be out of use this year, as its use by all of the different class bubbles, would pose too much of a risk and undermine the integrity of our bubbles. We recognise the importance of reading and want to ensure that the children always have a library book to read. To this end, all teachers will be provided with a large box, into which he / she will place 50 books selected specifically for his/her class, to be stored in each classroom. Children will choose books to take home from this selection. When a book is returned to school, it will be placed out of use for a period of 72 hours (recommended in the DES guidelines), before being safely returned to the library box. Children should all bring a large ziplock bag, marked with their name to school, in which they will carry their library book into and out of school (to protect the book in the event of bag spillages!).

Substitute Teachers and SNAs

A copy of this Covid Plan will be provided to all substitute teachers and SNAs working in the school. Substitutes will be required to complete a Return to Work Form before they enter a classroom and will be asked to confirm that they have engaged in the online Induction training provided by the DES.

Visitors to the School

Visits to the school will be kept to a minimum, must be absolutely necessary, and be by prior arrangement /

appointment. Visitors must wear a face covering, hand-sanitise on entry to the school and maintain social

distancing at all times.

Parent / Teacher Meetings

Parent / Teacher Meetings may take place via phone consultation in the first instance. Zoom calls will be used if either the parent or the teacher feel that this platform is more appropriate in the particular circumstance. We will re-assess this procedure as the weeks progress.

Collection of Children during the School Day

Children should only be collected early if absolutely necessary.

If an adult has to collect a child during the course of the school day, the following arrangements will apply:

• When the adult arrives at the school, they should either phone the office or use the intercom at the front door of the school to alert the office that they have arrived
• The child will be brought from their class to the adult by a member of staff
• The child’s early departure will be recorded on Aladdin by the Secretary
• No adult should enter the school building, unless invited to do so

A Perspex screen has been installed at the Secretary’s hatch to provide protection.

Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Appropriate PPE will be available for dealing with suspected Covid-19 cases, intimate care needs and first aid. Where staff provide healthcare to children with medical needs / first aid to children they will apply standard precautions as per usual.

Staff will wear face coverings. All staff have been provided with a supply of surgical grade (EN14683) face-masks. Staff in the ASD class have been provided with KN95 masks. Visors have also been made available to all staff.

The children are not required to wear masks / face coverings, as recommended by the DES guidelines. However if parents want their child to wear a mask, we will not stop them, but we will not take any responsibility for monitoring their safe, correct use. It is important to note that the DES guidelines state that it is not appropriate for children under the age of 13 to wear a face mask.

Teaching and Learning

As a staff, we are very aware that the children have been away from school since March 12^th. We appreciate the

time and effort that went into Home Learning, and we recognise the challenges that Home Learning presented for all families.

Each child will be in a different place in relation to her learning, and we wish to assure you that the teachers will take that into consideration when planning for Teaching and Learning during the 2020/2021 school year.

The Department of Education and Skills has published Curriculum Guidelines for us, and we ask you to trust our experience and professional expertise as we work with all the children during the return to school.

Homework

Our focus in the first half term will be on resettling the children back to school, re-establishing relationships and promoting wellbeing. We will be giving a very limited amount of homework to all classes, which will consist mainly of reading, spellings and tables. No books / copies will travel between home and school, with the exception of the homework diary (1^st – 6^th classes) and library book.

All homework will be put up on the following platforms:

Junior Infants – 3^rd class: Seesaw app

4^th class to 6^th class: Google Classroom

The purpose of using Seesaw and Google Classroom is to allow both pupils and parents to become familiar with / re-familiarise themselves with these platforms. Homework will also be recorded in the homework diary. Your child will be the only person to touch her diary while at school and it will be only taken out of the bag for the purposes of recording the homework.

Dealing with a suspected case of Covid-19

Pupils / staff members should not attend school if displaying any symptoms of Covid-19 https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/symptoms.html. If a pupil displays symptoms of Covid-19 while in the building, the following are the procedures will be implemented:

• Parents/guardians will be contacted immediately
• The child will be accompanied to the designated isolation area (the Servery) by a member of staff. The staff member will remain at least 2 metres away from the symptomatic child and will also make sure that others maintain a distance of at least 2 metres from the symptomatic child at all times
• A mask will be provided for the child presenting with symptoms, if one is available. She should wear the mask if in a common area with other people or while exiting the premises
• An assessment will be made as to whether the child who is displaying symptoms can immediately be brought home by parents and call their doctor and continue self-isolation at home
• The school will facilitate the child presenting with symptoms to remain in isolation, if they cannot immediately go home, and will assist them by calling their GP.

• The child presenting with symptoms should be advised to cover her mouth and nose with the disposable tissue provided when she coughs or sneezes and to put the tissue in the waste bag provided
• If the child is well enough to go home, the school will arrange for them to be transported home by a family member, as soon as possible, and advise them to inform their GP by phone of their symptoms. Public transport of any kind should not be used.
• If they are too unwell to go home or advice is required, the school will contact 999 or 112 and inform them that the sick child is a Covid-19 suspect.
• Arrangements will be made for appropriate cleaning of the isolation area and work areas involved.

The HSE will inform any staff/parents who have come into close contact with a diagnosed case via the contact tracing process. The HSE will contact all relevant persons where a diagnosis of COVID-19 is made. The instructions of the HSE should be followed.

Staff members who are symptomatic should immediately inform the Principal/Deputy Principal and go to the isolation area. If the staff member is well enough to go home, arrangements will be made for them to be transported home either alone or by a family member (as appropriate), as soon as possible.

Children who should not attend school

If your child is in one of the following categories, they should not attend school:

• Children who have been diagnosed with Covid-19
• Children who have been in close contact with a person who has been diagnosed with Covid-19
• Children who have a suspected case of Covid-19 and the outcome of the test is pending
• Children who have been in contact with a person who has a suspected case of Covid-19 and the outcome of the test is pending
• Children with underlying health conditions who have been directed by a medical professional not to attend school
• Children who have returned home after travelling abroad and must self-isolate for a period of 14 days
• Children who are generally unwell

Supporting the Learning of Children who Cannot Attend School

If a child is not able to attend school for an extended period of time, the class teacher (and/or the Special Education Teacher, where relevant) will provide work to support the child’s learning at home and this will be shared with parents/guardians. All teachers will share a braod overview of their fortnightly learning objectives for each curricular areas to parents via Seesaw (junior classes) or Google Classroom (senior classes).

We use the Aladdin Connect app to communicate with parents. Please ensure that you have downloaded the Aladdin Connect app (new parents of our school will be given details of this app and how to download it during the first week in September). Please check into the app and ensure that you have provided at least two emergency contact numbers for us to phone in the event of us not being able to get in contact with you. Please note these two contact numbers should be numbers of people other than you, the parents. You can add / edit these numbers within the app. You can also update your contact information (phone number / email address) within the app. We recommend that both parents download the app. Please contact us if you are having difficulty with this so that we can assist you.

In the event that the school or parts of the school have to close due to HSE advice, we will facilitate Home Learning through use of the Seesaw app for Junior Infants to 3^rd class and Google Classroom for 4^th to 6^th classes. The teachers will make use of these platforms while at school and place the limited amount of homework that will be given on these platforms to allow both pupils and parents to become familiar with / re-familiarise themselves with them.

Wellbeing of the School Community

We will work on the recommended five principles to support the wellbeing of all our pupils and staff. These are promoting:

• A sense of safety

• A sense of calm

• A sense of belonging and connectedness to school

• A sense of self-efficacy and school-community efficacy

• A sense of hope

Teacher or SNA Absence and Substitution

If a teacher/SNA is unable to attend school, every effort will be made to secure a substitute teacher/SNA for the class/pupil. If a substitute teacher/SNA is not available, it is not appropriate for the class/pupil to be divided into groups and accommodated in other classes. In such circumstances, it may not be possible for the class/pupil to attend on that day. If that is the case, as much notice as possible will be given to parents.

Employee Assistance and Wellbeing Programme

Support for school staff wellbeing will be provided by Department Support Services including the PDST and CSL, as well as by the HSE’s Health Promotion Team.

An Occupational Health Strategy is in place as a supportive resource for staff in schools. The aim of the Occupational Health Strategy is to promote the health and wellbeing of employees in the workplace, with a strong focus on prevention.

The Occupational Health Strategy comprises the Employee Assistance Service and the Occupational Health Service. The Employee Assistance Service (EAS) is provided by Spectrum Life under the logo of ‘Wellbeing Together: Folláinne Le Chéile’.

A free-phone confidential helpline 1800 411 057 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and staff members are encouraged to make use of the service when the need arises.