Clontibret N.S. September 2021
Welcome
We are delighted to welcome everyone back this term. Staff have been busy preparing for our return.
A special welcome to our new Junior Infant – Emily. We wish her well in her time with us. It is our hope that this school year will be full of successful experiences for all pupils.
We are delighted to have Miss Hall in the Junior Room again this year and wish her well.
• The main front door entrance will continue to be for staff only.
Junior Infants may be collected at 1pm for the first 2 weeks and then at 2pm from the back classroom door in the school yard.
Senior Infants may also be collected at 2pm from the back classroom door.
Children should not arrive at the school before 9am due to health and safety reasons.
All parents should come to the back of the school at home time (staying socially distant) to collect your children at your given time. Please arrive and leave as promptly as possible.
If you wish to communicate with any staff member please make an appointment by phoning the office or send a written message in the lunchbox/homework notebook.
• P.E. will be on Wednesdays – P.E. clothes and runners may be worn.
• It will cost €60/child to rent books and workbooks for the school year. This includes photocopying and contributions towards P.E. coaches. Pupils need to take good care of readers and text books that will be used every year. This should be paid before 20th October 2021.
• You may purchase insurance cover on a ‘compulsory’ basis whereby all pupils in school are insured for €5.30 each where cover is limited to School Related Activities only. We have used this insurance cover for several years and we feel it is the best cover out there at the moment for school pupils.
• Please return the attached annual consent form asap. A copy of the school year is also attached.
• Post Office Savings will resume on Tues 28th September. Children may bring savings in weekly in a clearly marked envelope and in turn we will buy post office saving stamps which will be returned to the children at the end of the year.
• Please attach names to school uniforms as sometimes jumpers can be misplaced.
• It is important that all pupils go outside to play everyday at lunchtime. All children should bring coats so they may go outside on damp days. A child may only stay inside if they have a note from home.
• Well done to all the children who are continuing to bring lots of fruit and vegetables every day. Treat day is on Fridays. Some healthy snacks that we encourage include wraps, pasta, sandwiches, bread sticks, rice cakes, crackers, yoghurts, fruit, vegetables, cheese and cream crackers.
School Tour
We plan to have a school tour on Friday 24th September to Castleblayney Outdoor Adventure Centre. Parents will be responsible for bringing their own children to the Adventure Centre and collecting them at the end of the day. The price is €25 per child and we ask that this is paid to the school in a marked envelope with your child’s/children’s name and ‘school tour’ on it by Tuesday 21st September please. We ask that you drop your child/children off at the castle car park at 9.45am and we will walk them down to the adventure centre. We will return the children to this car park at 3.00pm.
The morning will begin with an introduction of the staff and a brief overview of the centre and the day’s plan. The tour for the children will run from 10am-3pm, and the day will be split in two halves. The Junior Room will have a canoe trip to the island and they will roast marshmallows. They will make mud faces, partake in team tasks and make popcorn. They need to wear weather appropriate clothes, take a change of clothes, a raincoat and a substantial lunch.
The Senior room will take part in archery, team games, orienteering and climbing. Their water sports will include paddle boarding or canoeing (weather dependant). Again they need to wear weather appropriate clothes, swim gear to wear under a wetsuit as they will be getting wet, old shoes to wear in the water and again a substantial lunch as it will be a busy day.
Covid Response Plan
Please ensure that you are familiar with the school’s current Covid response plan which was emailed to all parents prior to school reopening. A copy of the plan is on the website (under Covid19 Information tab). With the rise in the number of positive Covid cases in the area please be extra vigilant of the symptoms of Covid. I appreciate many symptoms are similar to a common cold and children will pick up colds etc. especially when back at school. It may be a case that in order to rule out Covid your child will need a Covid test which you can book online or by “walking in” to the Monaghan GAA Centre, Cloghan, Monaghan A75 VE84 between 11am and 2pm every day. If any member of the family is awaiting a test result, children or staff must not attend school.
It is going to be the case that some children be deemed “close contacts of a positive Covid case” throughout this year. If you are contacted by HSE to inform you of this, your child will be tested twice and they must not return to school until after the second negative PCR test. While awaiting the results of the 1st test, all siblings remain at home. If the 1st test is negative, and siblings don’t appear to display any symptoms they may return to school. If children are at home due to being close contacts, your child’s/children’s teacher will liaise with them to provide school work.
School Holiday List 2021-2022
School Will Reopen: Wednesday 1st September 2021
Halloween Half Term: School Closed Monday 25th – 29th October
School Will Reopen: Monday 1st November 2021
Christmas Holidays: School will close at 12.30 on Wednesday 22nd December
School Will Reopen: Thursday 6th January 2022
Spring Half Term: School closed on Thurs & Fri 24th & 25th February 2022
St. Patrick’s Day: Thursday 17th March 2022
Easter Holidays: School will close at 3pm on Friday 8th April 2022
School Will Reopen: Monday 25th April 2022
School Closed: 2nd May – Bank Holiday
6th June – Bank Holiday
Summer Holidays: School will close at 12.30 on Friday 24th June 2022