Please click here for drop off and collection plan in PDF format

Click here for the FAQ document

17^th August 2020

Dear Parent / Guardian, Staff Member,

RE: Drop-off and Collection Routines

The BoM and the School Leadership Team have been working to ensure a safe return to school for all pupils and staff on August 27^th. We have now finalised our plans for drop-off and collection of the children every day.  Scoil Mhuire Lourdes appreciates your support as we try to safely reopen the school building. If at all possible we request you do not to come into the school building unless it is essential. The children will be asked to go straight to their classes each morning to eliminate contact with other class bubbles where possible.

We would ask all parents to familiarise themselves with the following drop-off and collection routines for the safe delivery and collection of pupils from school.  Please be patient as we endeavour to embed these necessary precautionary and protective practices at the beginning of the school year.

It is imperative that:

• adults maintain a social distance of 2m
• parents/guardians do not try to have meetings with members of staff in the playground at drop-off and collection times – meetings with staff can only take place by prior arrangement.
• all parents/guardians adhere to the drop-off and collection plans as outlined overleaf.

Teachers from Junior-Second class will be available to supervise your daughter from 8.50am onwards.

Teachers from 3^rd-6^th class will be available to supervise your daughter from 9am only onwards.

If you have a daughter in a number of classes, we suggest that you send them all in with the oldest sibling each morning and pick up with the oldest sibling in the afternoon (except in the case of Junior or Senior infants where collection time is 1.40pm).

E.g Daughter in 2^nd and 6^th. Drop off at 9am and pick up at 2.50pm

E.g Daughter in Senior Infants and 4^th. Drop off at 9am. Pick up at 1.40pm and 2.50pm

If you are early bringing your child to school, please wait outside whilst practising social distancing as the gates will not be open until 8.50am. If you are late dropping your child into school, please let them walk up Ramp 2 to the reception area where the secretary will aid them in sanitising their hands and will show them to their class.

We have one entry and access point to our school which will see large volumes of traffic throughout the day. Please ensure that you make the drop off and collection process as efficient as possible by not delaying others entry. In order for our drop off and collection routines to be successful we require the co-operation of parents.  Whilst we appreciate that this may not be convenient for many families, it is imperative that the health and safety of pupils and staff takes priority.The above letter and plan has been posted to all families in hard copy.Our aim is to have as few adults where possible on site, therefore if you are happy for your daughter in a younger class to meet you at a designated area, please do so. This will help to alleviate gatherings of people on site. 

Working together we hope to be able to progress the reopening in as safe a manner as possible for all.

Le meas,

August 10^th, 2020

Dear Parent / Guardian, Staff Member,

RE: Physical Distancing and Safe School Attendance

We are currently working on upgrading our procedures and routines within the school to ensure that there is as much Physical Distancing as is possible in our building. We will apply physical distancing in a practical and sensible way, recognising that the learning environment cannot be dominated by a potentially counterproductive focus on this issue.

Physical Distancing will be achieved in two ways: –

Increasing Separation.  This will be achieved by re-configuring the classrooms to maximise physical distancing. Each class will be referred to as a bubble and we will ensure that there is as little contact as possible between children in different bubbles.  Within the bubbles, children will be organised into pods.  A pod is a group of children who will sit together and who will stay in their pod while in the bubble, or classroom.

Decreasing Interaction. This will be achieved by decreasing the potential for children from different bubbles to interact.  There will be marked routes and times for various bubbles to enter and exit the school and to access their classrooms.  Bubbles will have different mid-morning and lunch-time access to the playground.  We will make these routines enjoyable activities for the children, emphasising safety at all times.

While all children will be welcome back to school, we would remind parents that, where children are displaying colds, coughs or flu like symptoms, they should not be sent to school.  Children who display such symptoms in school will be isolated and parents asked to collect them from the school.

Children who have travelled from countries not on the Green List should not attend school during the 14-day self-isolation period

Further information on COVID-19 symptoms in children is available at: –

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/if-your-child-has-symptoms.html

Teachers will make children aware of the proper hygiene procedures regarding hand washing and etiquette related to sneezing, coughing or spitting.  We would be grateful if you could also emphasise safe behaviour in this regard to your children at home as part of the preparation for returning to school.

Our aim remains to re-open the school in an orderly safe manner, while reassuring the children and making them feel comfortable, safe and relaxed with their friends in the new school environment.  This will be achieved by all of us working towards this common goal.

Le meas,

Gerard Connolly                                                                                 Marie Coen

Chairperson                                                                                         Principal

August 7^th, 2020

Dear Parent / Guardian, Staff Member,

RE: Re-opening of Scoil Mhuire Lourdes

I hope you and your families are keeping well.

As you are aware, our school has now been closed since 12^th March due to the COVID-19 situation.  We are now hoping to re-open our school safely on August 27th, in line with current guidance and recommendations.

Re-opening the school safely will require the co-operation of all members of our School Community – BoM, School Leadership, Staff, Parents and Pupils. We will all be called on to play our part in ensuring that re-opening of the school is done in a safe manner which prevents the spread of the virus and allows the vital work of Teaching and Learning to proceed with as little disruption as possible.

We have been working on our plan for the safe reopening of the school for some weeks now and have published the DES COVID-19 Response Plan for the safe and sustainable reopening of Primary and Special Schools on our school website.  The Response Plan gives details of

• Physical preparation, signage, hand sanitiser stations,
• Advice, procedures and training for the safe return to working in the school for all school staff and pupils
• General and specific advice on how all pupils, staff, parents and visitors will prevent the spread of the virus

We have also published our Covid 19 Policy Statement, please click this link for more info. Our BoM will keep you informed as to the progress of our re-opening plans and provide you with the information required by you to play your part in safely re-opening the school.

We are really looking forward to welcoming our children back to school and will be doing all that we can to ensure that the return to school is a safe and enjoyable experience for the children. We will be in touch with you again before school re-opens.

Le meas,

Gerard Connolly                                                       Marie Coen

Cathaoirleach, An Bhóird Bainistíochta                    Príomhoide

The following websites provide further information on COVID-19 and on government advice and recommendations regarding the re-opening of schools: –

• https://www.education.ie/en/covid-19/
• https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/
• https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/a128d-back-to-school/?referrer=http://www.gov.ie/backtoschool/

Please click the link to read the letter from Norma Foley, the Minister of Education with regard to the re-opening of schools

To Parents – Letter from Minister Foley.