School Message to Parents/Guardians September 2020

There is a lot of information to wade through from all of the above agencies but we have broken it down into sections and applied them to our school setting. For your convenience I am attaching a map of our revised layout of the yard.

Coming to School

• The school gates will not open until 08:45 each morning and there will be teacher supervision on yard until 09:00. Please do not arrive before this time.
• There will be a one way system in place with all entries via the pedestrian gate closest to SuperValu and all exits via the green gates at the Church.
• All adults must wear face coverings while in the yard and maintain the required 2m distance from others.
• Only one adult per child, will be permitted to come to the yard. (The only exception to this is Junior Infants who can have two adults with them for the first four days.)
• We have created a children only zone on the yard and adults will not be permitted to enter. Red lines, to indicate this zone, will be drawn along the yard parallel to the side of the school and extending to the fence.
• As adults have to maintain a distance of 2m and our school yard simply cannot accommodate 2m distancing for all classes, adults will not be able to line up with their children in the morning time and should leave the yard as soon as possible.
• Each class line will be 2m apart and have 1m distance markers for the children, be clearly labelled with their class number and will have colour codes for the section of the building to which they apply.
• Children will have to stay in their class lines and on their chosen spot to maintain distancing from other classes and from each other. Unfortunately, children will not be able to play on the yard in the morning time.
• At 09:00 class teachers will collect the children from the yard. In order to prevent crowding various doors will be employed to enter the building. Second classes will go around the back of the school and enter their block via three separate doors. First Classes will enter via the stairwells for rooms 8, 9 & 10. Senior Infants in rooms 1 & 2 will enter via their back doors and Senior Infants room 7 via their stairwell.
• For the first four days, Junior Infants will come to the yard after 09:00 with their parents and will start at 09:15. They will enter via their rear classroom doors. They will be the only class group permitted to have their parents with them on yard and only for the first four mornings. From the 7th September onwards, Junior Infants will line up on the yard with all the other children and start at 09:00 and will enter the building via the main entrance from the front yard.
• Parents may not escort their children to classes under any circumstances.
• Children arriving late will have to come in through the reception area.
• Only one adult at a time may enter the reception area.
  
  

Wet Mornings

• There will be teacher supervision in all classes and at entry points from 08:45.
• All children in rooms 1-6 will be brought by their parents to their classroom doors at the back of the building.
• Children in rooms 7-8 will be brought by their parents to the stairwell entrances.
• Children in Second class, rooms 11, 12 & 14 will enter through the main yard doors to the GP Room where teachers will supervise and escort to class.

Home Time

• As with arrival, please use the one way system of in via the pedestrian gate near SuperValu and out via the green gate at the Church.
• As we have two separate going home times, an hour apart, we can afford to provide for parent distancing on yard.
• Parents will be asked to stay in the designated areas for each class group.(See map). Junior Infants and First class parents will have the area as you come in the pedestrian gate along the back of the Coimín Centre. Senior Infants and Second class parents will have the section of the yard nearest to the main yard doors – from the green gates to the woods. (Markers will be in place). This is to allow for parents to stay within their class bubbles and to practice social distancing.
• If you have children in more than one class you will have to go to both sections to collect.
• Junior Infants room 6 will exit through Reception and rooms 4 & 5 through the stairwell entrance to rooms 8 & 9. (Facing the Coimín Centre)
• Senior Infants will exit via the main yard entrance and the stair well door to rooms 7 & 8. (Facing the woods).
• All First Classes will exit via the stairwell for rooms 9 & 10.
• Second classes will come to the front yard from the back of the school and meet their parents there.
• Please exit the school yard promptly after collection.

Hand Washing

• Please continue to practice correct hand washing routines with your child at home and ensure their hands are washed before they come to school in the morning.
• Class teachers will also implement hand washing regimes in class and will explicitly teach hand washing as part of our SPHE programme.

• Each class wash hand basin will have fixed liquid soap dispensers and signage.
• Each General Access and adult toilet facility will also have fixed soap dispensers with signage.
• All children will be required to bring their own little towel to school to dry their hands. These towels should be stored in a little wash bag / zip lock bag, which is easily identifiable to the child and clearly labelled. It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that a clean towel is provided every day.
• Adults will only use paper towels to dry their hands and there will be no fabric hand drying material in use in the school.​

Hand Sanitising

• Please practice correct use of hand sanitising liquid with your child at home.
• Hand sanitising stations and signage will be positioned throughout the school for adult use.
• Children may also bring a pocket sized spray to school but should only do so if parents feel they are comfortable with their child’s competence to use it.
• Each class teacher will have a little spray bottle to sanitise the children’s hands at the beginning of the school day and as required throughout the day.
• Our hand sanitiser solution has been sourced from a reputable medical supplies company rather than from a third party and is a liquid which dries quickly rather than a gel which can be sticky.
• Hand sanitising is a requirement for any adult entering the building.

Cough and Sneeze Etiquette

• Please continue to practice appropriate cough, sneeze and tissue disposal etiquette with your child at home.
• All classes will have tissues but children should carry their own packet of pocket tissues in their school bag.
• All classes will have lidded foot pedal bins for disposal of tissues.
• All class teachers will specifically teach children how to cough, sneeze and blow their nose appropriately as part of our SPHE programme.
• Posters prompting appropriate cough and sneeze etiquette will be on display in each classroom.

Adults Entering the School Building

• Adults wishing to enter the school building must do so through the reception area only.
• Only children and school personnel will be allowed beyond that point.
• Adults wishing to meet with a teacher must make a prior appointment via Aladdin Connect on by phoning the office.
• Company Reps, maintenance workers, delivery drivers etc will all have to sign in when entering the building, adhere to school protocols and wear face coverings.

In Class

• Each class will be treated as a Bubble and within each Bubble the children will be divided into groups referred to as Pods.
• Class teacher will ensure the layout of their classroom affords each Pod the required distance from each other and a teacher station which will have 2m distance from the Pods.
• Equipment will not be shared between Pods.
• Children should have a separate set of pencils and colours at home as pencil cases will be staying in school in their Pods.
• Teachers will organise the children’s books and materials as well as their bags and coats into Pod sections.
• Please do not send any toys or unnecessary items to school as we are trying to limit the cross contamination between home and school.
• All lunch boxes, tubs, bottles etc should be washed with soapy water or in the dishwasher, daily. Please ensure your child’s lunch is in containers which they can open and close independently.
• Please ensure their lunch boxes can fit into their bags and are in place before coming to school.
• Each class teacher will communicate with parents on how best to implement home work practices in a safe way once we have had a chance to get settled into school.
• Communication with class teachers must be done via Aladdin Connect rather than in paper format.

Break Times

• Break times have have been changed from one small and one big break into two 20 minute breaks to facilitate distancing for both children and adults.
• Each class will have a designated play area in the yard to maintain Bubble distancing.
• Junior and Senior Infants will be on the yard at the same time and will have their breaks first followed by First and Second Classes.
• There will be four break times across the whole school each day.

Uniforms

• Much attention has been given to the wearing or non-wearing of uniforms in the media and there are no clear directives from any government department to suggest that schools must abandon uniforms.
• St. Mary’s Junior School policy on the wearing of uniform has not changed. All pupils are expected to come to school wearing a CLEAN school uniform. It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that they have enough uniform separates to facilitate this.
• We continue to use colours which are easily sourced in a variety of shops and there is no insistence that children wear crested pieces.

Cleaning

• Leinster Cleaning is the company employed to oversee the cleaning in our school.
• The Board of Management has met with Leinster Cleaning to ensure that required standards are met.
• A schedule has been agreed to ensure that all classrooms and contact points are cleaned and sanitised every day with appropriate materials.
• Cleaning will start every day at 3pm.
• Pod and Bubble equipment will be sanitised by class teachers.

Payments to School

• When making any payments to the school please do so in an envelope clearly marked with your child’s name, room number and the purpose of the payment.
• Please take the time to put the exact amount in the envelope as we cannot open the envelopes for at least 72 hours so change cannot be given promptly.
• All receipts will be electronic.
• Our BIC and IBAN are available upon request for electronic funds transfers. These should also have a note for payee indicating child’s initials, room number and purpose. (eg CDrm12Schcosts or BRrm3Ukulele)

We would like to thank our In School Management Team, our Board of Management and all our staff for their help in compiling these procedures. We have tried to cover every aspect and there will be some period of trial and error once the children get settled into school. We know we can count on your help and support to make a safe return to school a reality for them and for the staff. Our school will be a very different place for the foreseeable future and some of the practices we enjoyed, have to be shelved for a period of time. Hopefully not indefinitely.
We so look forward to their return!! God bless and take care.

Principal: Carmel Dillon      
Chairperson: Siobhán Cullen