Dear Parents of 3rd & 4th class children,
Firstly I hope this message finds you well during this difficult era for all of us.
I am delighted to welcome your child back to my classroom very soon, especially my new 3rd class making the big trip up the stairs to me! I am very excited to see all of the children and enthusiastic to begin our work together in class after all of this time apart.
As a parent of primary school children myself I can understand and empathise completely with the anxieties and concerns you may have as this strangest of school years begins.
You will have received lots of guidelines and information to date from Mrs Ginty.
I wish to reassure you also by letting you know how your child's classroom will operate and I have attached some pictures of the lovely airy space they will be in from next week.
What does your child’s classroom look like now?
-The classroom has been deep cleaned by professional cleaners as has the entire school.
-All of the staff have worked hard over the summer and reconfigured all of the available space in our school.
-There is a sanitising station on entry to the classrooms and also at the toilets in the classroom.
- I have provided baskets for your child's belongings on their desk to ensure belongings are kept separate. All their stationery, copies and workbooks will be kept there and not brought home. Only send in stationery your child will need at school as they will not be bringing these items to and from home.
-The classroom has been cleared of any unnecessary items and there is ample cubby hole space for each pod's belongings eg folders.
-Children are being grouped into pods of 4 or 6 and a lot of thought is going in to these groupings.
-Each pod is at least 1m away from other pods.
-Teachers' desks have perspex screens which will enable a child to approach teacher safely.
-Children can bring their own mini sanitiser and/or wipes (labelled) if they wish and keep them in their basket.
-There will be no formal homework for the first few weeks as children settle back in to school life.
-Children can bring in lunch boxes and drinks as normal which will be kept in their bags.
-Classroom will be cleaned to a high standard daily.
-Our class will finish school each day at 2.50pm. You will have already received information about this.
What can you do to help?
· Can you please ensure that ALL your child's belongings are labelled incl jumpers and coats. This is imperative this year.
· Please ensure your child has their own pair of safety scissors (labelled) as we cannot share class scissors anymore.
· Only 6 ordinary writing copies to be sent in now instead of 10 as stated on original booklist. 1 maths copy required also.
· Ensure your child’s uniform is clean each day. It would be advisable to change child out of uniform each day after school until the next morning. Washing uniforms regularly is at your own discretion.
· Please ensure lease and photocopying money of €50 is in an envelope clearly labelled. This money must be paid next week as requested due to the costs of extra textbooks and materials to be purchased this year. Mrs Ginty and Mrs Finlay will be in charge of this next week.
· If you need to contact me during school hours, send me in a written message with your child or leave a message with Mrs Finlay and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
If your child is worried:
Your child may be feeling anxious about returning to school due to the non stop media emphasis being placed on this year’s school opening. They will have heard nothing only Covid, Covid, Covid since March and this could be weighing heavily on some childrens’ minds.
As adults we all need to reassure children that we are working hard to keep them safe and they do not need to be worrying at all.
Their only job is to come back to school, have fun, learn new things and follow the simple Covid rules which their teachers will explain to them.
Children have been little heroes throughout this pandemic and they deserve a happy return to the classroom.
I’m really looking forward to seeing all of the children next week. It will be a little strange/emotional perhaps on the first day but we will all quickly adapt.
Kind regards,
Ailish Fay
