Reopening Update

Dear Parent,

I want to make you aware of some further arrangements in preparation for our return to school. Our return will involve quite considerable change from our normal school day routines and I will outline some of these below and then further requirements at the beginning of next week. I can assure you that even though returning to school following this lengthy break will be challenging it will not deflect us from ensuring that the pastoral and learning needs of our pupils continue to be met.

Pupils will begin to return to school next week on a phased basis which will allow for our children to resume contact with their classmates and learning. This phased approach will also allow us to observe how our changes to the school day are affected when a greater numbers of pupils are returned to their classrooms. Ultimately this will allow us to be better prepared for a full reopening on Tuesday 1st of September.

Induction days for Primary One are as follows Please see attached list for your child’s class group.

Additional Information

When pupils arrive they will be met by teachers who will direct them into their classroom ‘Bubble’ directly via external designated classroom doors rather than the entrance foyer. 

Movement around the school will be restricted and unfortunately we cannot have drop offs before 8:30 as pupils across year groups are not permitted to mix with each other. 

All Classes will be in ‘Bubbles’ and will have staggered break and lunch times.

All children will be required to wash their hands on arrival to their classroom and at other points during the school day.

Hand sanitisers will also be used.

Pupils should return to school in their full school uniform.

Pupils should not bring a school bag to school. A pencil case with the following items should be brought to school on the first day and will remain in school to be used only by your child.(Pencil, sharpener, eraser, ruler, Pritt stick, colouring pencils)

Pupils who travel on the school bus are required to wear a face mask, where possible, on their journey. The usual EA bus routes and times will apply. Please note that the EA have informed us that the bus on the week beginning the 24th August is only available for P7 pupils only.

Arrangements for after school clubs are still being examined as to how we can preserve ‘pupil bubbles’ with the limited number of staff available. We will update you next week if we can resolve this issue.

Parents and Visitors should not enter the school building, parents should stop at the school gates and younger children should be accompanied by older siblings. P1 parents can enter initially but wearing a face covering.

There will be no school meals provided during this week therefore we will provide a healthy break for all pupils of fruit ,Milk or Water.

FREE SCHOOL MEALS

Please note that Free School meals must be applied for annually and some pupils have been removed from our list. Please go to the EA free schools meals link for information.

https://www.eani.org.uk/financial-help/free-school-meals-uniform-grants  

Please phone Monica at the school on Friday afternoon on 28th August to check if your child is still on the EA Free School Meal list. Please note that FSM cannot be provided without prior permission of the EA.

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Hopefully during this first week back children will become accustomed to our new arrangements in school and become familiar with the safety measures that we have put in place for everyone’s protection. We are really looking forward to welcoming our brilliant pupils back to school and enjoying getting back to some sense of normality in our lives.

Yours Sincerely

Mr.Loughran