St. Brigid's, The Coombe

Back To School September 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you all had a lovely summer break! We are looking forward to welcoming the children back to school next week. Please see below some important information. If you have any further questions, please contact the office on 01-4547734.

Best wishes,

Michelle Stedman, Principal

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Please wear the full school uniform on the first day of school. P.E. will not be starting back for the first week.

Junior Infants:

1st September 10:00am - 12:00pm.

2nd September - 10th September, 9:00am - 12:00pm.

From Monday 13th September on, the Junior Infants will be in for the full day from 9:00am - 1:40pm.

Senior Infants: Normal school day from 1st September, 9:00am - 1:40pm.

1st, 2nd and 3rd Class: Normal school day from 1st September, 9:00am - 2:30pm.

4th, 5th and 6th Class: Normal school day from 1st September, 9:00am - 2:40pm.

Early Start: The children will start school on Thursday 2^nd September. On the 2^nd and 3^rd of September, the Morning Group will be in from 9:00am – 10:00am and the Afternoon Group will be in from 12:10pm – 1:10pm. From the 6^th September on, the Early Start children will be in for their full sessions. Morning Group: 9:00am – 11:30am. Afternoon Group: 12:10pm – 2:40pm.

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Important Updates

Please note, the school will now be open every day from 9:00am. There will be no access to the school before 9:00am. Your child can come to school anytime between 9:00am – 9:20am to facilitate social distancing. Formal teaching will begin at 9:20am.

We will continue to use a number of entrance and exit points to the school building and we will continue with our staggered home times also.

Please drop and collect your child at their correct door. Doors 1 + 2 are located at the main entrance and doors 3 + 4 are accessed via the avenue. Door 5 is the entrance to the Annex building. All doors are clearly labelled.

Door No 1: Junior Infants Ms. White, 1^st Class Mr. Crowe, 4^th Class Ms. Tuohy

Door No 2: Junior Infants Ms. Fallon, 1^st Class Ms. Guinan, 2^nd Class Ms. Baynes, 5^th Class Ms. Langan

Door No 3: Senior Infants Ms. Holian, 3^rd Class Ms. Simcox

Door No 4: Senior Infants Ms. Gogarty, 1^st/2^nd Class Ms. Lucey, 6^th Class Mr. Finan

Door No 5: Senior Infants Ms. Ryan/Ms. Spencer, Early Start: Fionuala and Jackie

Other important information:

Please review our updated Covid-19 response plan before your child returns to school next week. Any new information is highlighted in green and it is available to read here.
'Back to School Covid-19 Declaration Form' - Your child will bring a paper copy of this form home from school on their first day. Please send it back in the next day to the class teacher.
If your child is already receiving the school lunch, this will continue from the first day back at school. You will have an opportunity to change it in the first few weeks. All new children will receive a snack/lunch on the first few days also and will receive a lunch choice form to bring home. Please pack a bottle of water and empty lunch box for your child on the first day of school. You can view our Healthy Eating Policy here.
If you are returning from any holidays/trips abroad over the next few weeks, please notify the office and refer to the latest guidance on gov.ie for information on restrictions upon your return. This will vary from country to country and we ask that you follow the public health advice before your child returns to school. You can review the latest information from the governement in relation to travel here.
Parents/Guardians must continue to wear masks at all times while on the school grounds and no access is permitted to school buildings at this time. Please respect social distancing guidelines and avoid congregating in the courtyard and on the avenue. Please collect your child on time.
Mobile Phones: If your child is in 4^th, 5^th or 6^th class and they need to bring their mobile phone to school, please review our policy here.
Our school calendar for the academic year 21/22 is attached to the end of this post.

Government Covid-19 resources and advice:

Please click on the links below to review the latest public health advice and watch some informational videos. Please choose the video most appropriate for your child and watch the video with them.

Video for Parents/Guardians

Back to School Advice for Junior Infants

Back to School Advice for Senior Infants - 2nd Class

Back to School Advice for 3rd - 6th Class

Symptoms of Covid-19:

Please note, if your child has any of the following symptoms, do not send them to school. If your child develops any of the symptoms below while in school, they will be removed from their classroom and we will ask you to collect them asap. We fully understand that many of the symptoms below are very common in children and are by no means always indicative of Covid-19, but we must air on the side of caution and we ask for your support. We must do all we can to keep our school community safe.

In order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 it is important to know and recognise the symptoms. In light of the prevalence of the Delta variant in Ireland the list of symptoms can be divided into two categories: common and less common.

Common symptoms include:

a) High temperature

b) Cough

c) Shortness of breath or breathing difficulties

d) Loss of smell, of taste or distortion of taste

Less common symptoms include:

a) Fatigue

b) Aches and pains

c) Sore throat

d) Headaches

e) Runny or stuffy nose

f) Feeling sick or vomiting

g) Diarrhoea

Infection with the Covid-19 virus can cause illness, ranging from mild to severe, and can it take up to 14 days for symptoms to show. The symptoms can be similar to those of cold and flu. If your child has any of the listed symptoms do not send them to school. Contact your GP.

In addition to the above symptoms, please do not send your child to school if they have:

been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19
been living with someone who is unwell and may have COVID-19

If having travelled abroad, parents must ensure that their child has complied with the government rules and regulations on foreign travel prior to their child’s return to school.

If you notice any symptoms of Covid-19, please phone your family doctor straight away to see if you need a COVID-19 test. You can find more information here!

Further information for parents and families is available here: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a04fc-advice-for-students-and-their-families/#returning-to-school

Multilingual advice for parents is available here:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/0cf46-resources-and-materials-for-parentsguardians-and-for-students-on-returning-to-school-multi-lingual/