Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
Tomorrow marks the return to school of Senior Infants to Sixth Class, we wish these students and you their Parents all the best wishes for the year ahead. Our Junior Infants students started last Friday and they were a credit to themselves and their families, they showed great courage and brought happiness and laughter back to the classrooms and school yard in Kilglass.
Tomorrow will be no different for the rest of our students, they may notice some physical changes, changes in timetabling, different routines but the spirit of friendship and community will be ever present.
Parents have done a brilliant job during lockdown supporting your child’s education and wellbeing. Your next challenge is continuing that support as we make every effort to keep Covid 19 out of our school & community. Please familiarise yourselves with the school logistics plan (on school website), HSE advice on washing hands, coughing etiquette etc on https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/40e9c-protecting-your-child-from-coronavirus/#protecting-your-child-from-coronavirus. Most importantly for parent though we are asking you not to send your child to school if they have any symptoms of the virus, guidelines on these can be found on the above website.
There are wellbeing resources on the news section of our school website www.kilglassns.com/news which will support children today if they are feeling anxious about returning to school. There are also further resources on https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a04fc-advice-for-students-and-their-families/#how-to-prepare-your-child-for-returning-to-school-during-covid-19.
The school has undergone a rigorous risk assessment for the reopening of the school & we are confident that the systems we have put in place will minimise the risk of infection. These are just some of the measures in place, we have hand sanitiser at both the entrance and exit of each classroom, carpets have been replaced by marmoleum flooring, a new cleaning regime which includes the use of a fogging machine to sanitise each room every day, staggered break times, drop offs and collections will minimise the interaction of children form each class.
Our drop off and collection timetables are also available on our website, only parents of Junior and senior infants may enter the school yard, these parents must enter through the parent’s carpark gate and exit through the front gates. When Junior and Senior parents are collecting students, they must enter through the front gate and exit through the carpark gate, staff will be on hand tomorrow to guide parents.
Finally, I want to thanks our staff for all their efforts in preparing the school for reopening tomorrow, they have as always gone above and beyond the call of duty.
Is mise le meas,
Vincent Glynn