Fortnightly Bulletin 14th October 2021

Dear Parents / Guardians,

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

New arrival and departure times: As we have all adapted so well to our Covid Plan and settled so well into our new school routines, we have become more competent at getting into school and out in a fast, efficient and safe way. It is now, therefore, possible for us to shorten our arrival window from 20 minutes to 15 minutes. The following changes will come into effect from directly after midterm break, on Monday 1st November.

Please be advised that from Monday 1st November, school will finish for Cohort 1 at 2.25pm and for Cohort 2 at 2.30pm (1.30pm for Junior and Senior Infants). The following changes will come into effect in relation to drop-off times:

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- 8:55am

Parents with one child only who is in Cohort 2: 8.50am – 9.00am

No child in Cohort 2 should be dropped off before 8.50am – there will be no supervision available in their classrooms before 8.50am

We are asking for your continued cooperation and support in adhering to these drop-off and collection times for the health and safety of all.

• Covid: I want to thank you all for your continued support and cooperation in adhering to our Covid Plan and not sending sick children to school. If your child has any of the symptoms of Covid (please note symptoms have been updated and can be found in the attached document), please do not send her to school and seek the advice of your GP / arrange a Covid test. Please ensure your child has a packet of tissues in her schoolbag every day.

•  Parents’ Association Christmas Card Fundraiser: Next Wednesday, 20th October is the final day to place your order for Christmas Cards. Orders can be placed by completing the order form (on the card template) and returning to the school tomorrow. Payment must be made online via Aladdin e-payments (up until Wednesday only). The payment link will stay on your Payments page (until Wednesday) even when you have paid for your order. This is to facilitate parents who wish to place a further order. Unfortunately, we cannot accept cash and no payments can be made after Wednesday.

• Credit Union Poster Competition: Students are currently participating in the annual Credit Union Art Competition. This year’s theme is ‘Imagine’, so all entrants will have free rein to express themselves. Our pupils always create thought-provoking works and we usually have quite a few prize-winners.

• Uniform: Please ensure your daughter is wearing the correct school uniform. Please note that full uniform (for 2nd – 6th classes) consists of the navy crested school jumper, blue shirt and navy trousers / skirt / pinafore. Leggings should not be worn in place of trousers. Children in 2nd to 6th class should only wear their school tracksuit on PE days; Tuesdays and Thursdays. Full uniform should be worn on all other days. We have some spare uniforms in the school (see sheet attached to this message for a size breakdown). Please contact us if you wish to take some of these items of clothing. Hair that is long enough to be tied up should be tied up at school, and for health and safety reasons, only stud ear-rings should be worn at school.

• Friendship Week: Friendship Week is being celebrated in the school on the week directly following midterm break (Monday 1st to Friday 5th November). The emphasis for the week will be on creating and extending friendship, with the motto ‘to have a friend, you have to be a friend’. Children in all classes are being encouraged to make new friends within their classes, with lots of fun activities taking place.

• Coats: Please ensure your child comes to school wearing a coat.

• Ventilation in classrooms: As you will be aware, good ventilation is being cited as one of the keys elements in reducing the risk of the spread of Covid-19 in crowded indoor settings. We have been informed by the HSE and the Department of Education and Skills that we are to leave windows, and where possible, internal classroom doors open to facilitate good ventilation of our classrooms. As the weather gets colder over the next few weeks and months, classrooms will be cold, even with the heating on all day. All pupils will be allowed to bring a fleece / hoodie in their bag (and store it there). When they feel cold in class, they will be permitted to put this hoodie on over their uniform jumper. Coats will not be worn in the classroom and will only be put on when the children are going outside. Children should be able to put on and take off this hoodie / fleece independentlyand it should be clearly labelled with your child’s name. As we haven’t really entered into the very cold period yet, I would advise that children hold off on wearing this extra external layer until we do, and instead wear an extra vest / internal layer on colder days over the next couple of weeks. Full uniform should be worn by all children – the fleece / hoodie is not a substitute for the uniform jumper.

• Christmas Shoe Box Appeal: A reminder to all those who wish to participate in the Christmas Shoe Box Appeal: Shoe boxes must be brought into the school on Friday November 5th only. They will be collected from the school on that day.

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

• A Spooky Walk/Non Uniform Day: As part of our Active School activities the children and teachers will go on a ‘Spooky Walk’ next Friday, 22nd October at 11.15am, weather- permitting. The children dress up on that day, but they will need to wear warm clothes and sensible shoes for outdoor walking. We will walk to the Garda station and back to the school.

• Bluebells Day: We will celebrate our first ever Bluebells Day to raise awareness of autism on Friday 5th November. This will be a non-uniform day, with all children invited to dress in blue and to make a donation towards the purchase of play equipment for our Bluebells playground. All classes will learn about autism on the day and will get the opportunity to visit the Bluebells Classroom and see our fabulous new sensory room first- hand.

• Parent-Teacher Meetings: Parent-Teacher Meetings will take place during the month of November. This is an ideal opportunity to speak with with your child’s teacher and discuss her progress. All Parent Teacher Meetings will be conducted over the phone again this year, with the teacher phoning you at your designated time-slot. All parents will book their chosen time-slots for their PT meeting phone-call via the Aladdin app. The booking system will open on Monday 1st November.

• Midterm Break: Bunscoil Bhríde will close for the midterm break on Friday 22nd October and will reopen on Monday November 1st We trust everyone will enjoy a well-deserved break after such a busy half-term

Kind regards, Maria Rogerson