School Reopening Information
Dear parent,
Everyone in the Coláiste is delighted to be welcoming back all of our students next week. As outlined in correspondence sent out last year, our classrooms sizes are such that we can achieve the desired 1m social distancing with all subject groups and we have ensured every possible additional safety measure is put in place to ensure the safety of everyone upon opening. All of the necessary precautions such as social distanced classroom layouts, staggered breaks, restricted access to school buildings, one-way circulation systems, washing and sanitising facilities, signage and information sharing and procedures for dealing with suspected cases, remain in place.
We want to reaffirm the importance of keeping COVID-19 out of our school by keeping symptomatic students at home. Parents should err on the side of caution in this respect.
The symptoms to be aware of are as follows:
❏ High temperature or fever
❏ Cough
❏ Shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
❏ Loss or change to sense of taste or smell
( fatigue, sore throat, headache, runny/stuffy nose etc can also be symptoms).
Other instances where pupils must not return to or attend school are as follows:
Ø if they are identified by the HSE as a close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19
Ø if they live with someone who has symptoms of the virus
Ø If they have travelled outside of Ireland
Where necessary, we ask parents and pupils to cooperate with any public health officials and the school for contact tracing purposes and follow any public health advice in the event of a case or outbreak in the school.
Each student will require the following PPE Equipment:
Quality Washable Face Masks: ALL staff and students in post primary schools must wear high quality washable cloth face masks. In line with this guidance we are asking you to ensure your son/daughter has a number of these masks available to them before we return. Upon return, students must keep their mask on at all times (both indoors and outdoors). This includes at break times and at lunch times, except when eating or drinking.
Whilst we have installed hand sanitiser dispensers at every entrance/exit point and in every classroom, we also encourage students to have their own pocket size hand sanitiser as well as a packet of wipes for wiping down surfaces before use. A clean container should be kept in the school bag where these items are stored.
3rd Year through to 6th Year may go down town during lunch break, however, masks must be worn at all times when not eating.
We also ask parents to ensure that there is no congregation at pick up and collection times outside of the school. As per previous arrangements, requests to engage with staff should be made through the school and will be provided by telephone or online.
As previously outlined, year groups will be phased in over Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Students will follow their normal timetables from Thursday 2nd September.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Kind regards,
Donal O Sullivan
