Dear Parents/ Carers, Boys and Girls

I hope that you have enjoyed the summer holidays, we are delighted to welcome full classes back in September. We have introduced safety measures in line with the ‘New School Day’ guidance provided by the Department of Education.

In order to support additional learning opportunities for pupils, we have purchased a higher grade of the Seesaw App to support children with their homework and the Recovery Curriculum. This should help with closing any gaps in your child’s learning.

We have devised an induction process for Nursery and Year 1 pupils. More detailed information has been sent through email.

Year 7 pupils will return on Monday 24 August.

Year 2-6 pupils will begin on Tuesday 1 September.

Protective Bubbles

In order to keep the children safe, they will remain in their classroom while in school, this is what the Department of Education refer to as a bubble.  Their healthy eating tuckshop provision and their canteen provided packed lunches will be delivered to their classrooms.  They will have staggered Break and Lunch playtimes in order to maintain social distancing.

Arrival and collection

Children will enter and exit the school through designated entrances to limit numbers and ensure social distancing. 

• Years 2, 3 and 6, and the children in the ASD and LSC Units will enter the School via the Carpark gate, where there will be a pedestrian corridor to keep them safe (Entrance A).   No cars will be allowed into the carpark while this is being used by pupils to enter the school.
•  
• Years 1 and 4 will enter via the Pedestrian gate (Entrance B).
•  
• Years 5 & 7 will enter via the side gate and the door at the Senior Canteen (Entrance C).  Some of these classes have been using this door to exit the School in the previous school year.

These entrances will be clearly marked with signs, Entrance A, B, and C.

Parents will be asked to leave their children to their designated entrance where staff will be on duty to ensure the children the school enter safely. Parents will not be able to enter the school building and should leave the school grounds immediately. Parents can telephone or email the school to contact the class teacher.

In order to maintain social distancing, it will not be possible to run the Breakfast Club or the usual morning supervision.  Parents should bring their children to school at 8.55 am to allow for a 9.00 am start.  The end of the day will remain the same (2.20 pm for Years 1, 2 & 3 and 3.00 pm for Years 4, 5, 6 & 7).  Younger children who are waiting for older brothers or sisters to finish school will be supervised in their classroom by the class team and brought to the front of the School, by a member of staff, at 3.00 pm. to meet their family.

In school hygiene

Pupils will be supervised washing their hands regularly throughout the day. Enhanced cleaning routines have been established with extra equipment provided in each classroom.

Equipment required

We would ask that each child bring hand sanitiser to school clearly marked with their name. School bags are not required. Pupils who bring their own lunch are asked to bring a wipeable lunchbox. All other items will be provided by school, each child will have their own resources, clearly labelled.

Payments

If you pay for school meals we would ask that you provide the exact amount of money in sealed envelope, marked with that amount. The school will be unable to provide change in order to minimise the risk of infection. Snack will be £1 per week for a piece of fruit or £2 if you would like fruit and a drink. We cannot provide change; snack money should be paid every Monday.

Transport

The bus from Skeoge/Fernabbey will be operating at the usual times from 1 September.

Contact information

Please ensure the school office have your up to date contact information including your telephone number and email address. Please download the ‘Schools NI’ app to receive information as we are no longer able to send letters home. We will continue to use the school website, text messaging, email and Facebook to communicate with all parents.

Suspected cases of Covid 19

If a pupil presents with any of the three symptoms of coronavirus, the parent will be contacted immediately. We will remove the pupil from the bubble and they will be supervised until collected by their parent. The three symptoms are:

• High temperature
• Continuous cough
• Loss of sense of taste or smell

If your child is unwell please do not send them to school, please inform the school immediately.

We appreciate your continued support and we will endeavour to keep all of our pupils safe and secure while they learn in school. We are looking forward to seeing our pupils return to school.

Kind regards,

Mary McCallion