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Back to school Roadmap: What parents/guardians need to know

 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We can’t wait to welcome the boys and girls back to school on Tuesday 1st September. Preparations for re-opening are well underway; our school will be deep cleaned; we are installing new hand sanitising stations in every classroom/entrance/exit and hallway. Our main aim is to prevent the risk of infection coming into school and we can’t do this without your help!

You should not, under any circumstances, send your child to school if they have a temperature, a cough of any kind, loss of smell/taste or have any kind of shortness of breath. If you are in any doubt whether you should send your child to school or not, please err on the side of caution and keep them at home to help keep our school open.

 

Measures to keep your child safe:

  • Each class bubble will have their own colour coded zone in the yard/ astro-turf where they are to be dropped off and collected from each day. (These areas will be clearly marked with signs). Each class bubble must remain in their designated zone until school begins.
  • New entrances are being made into both the big and small astro-turf areas. This will mean we have 3 entrances to the school yard, all accessible from the car park at the back of the school. This is to prevent big gatherings on the yard.
  • The school day will commence at 8:55am for Junior Infants and 3rd and 4th
  • It will start at 9.05am for Senior Infants, 1st & 2nd, 5th & 6th
  • School will finish at 1:35pm for Junior Infants and 1:45pm for Senior Infants
  • School will finish at 2:35pm for 3rd & 4th and 2:45pm for 1st & 2nd and 5th & 6th
  • Children cannot arrive to school before 8.45 am.
  • Children from 1st -6th must enter the school premises independently.
  • Junior and Senior Infants may be escorted to their designated areas by their parents, who should then exit the yard promptly.
  • A teacher/ SNA will be on the yard to supervise pupils until school begins, when their teacher will collect them from their zone and escort them into the school building.
  • Throughout the school there are hand sanitisers provided which children will be required to use and will be asked to regularly wash their hands in school.
  • Once school starts classes will be confined to mixing with pupils in their own class bubble. This includes break times and no whole school assemblies will take place until further notice.
  • Within each class, the children will be grouped into pods which will be distanced from each other as much as classroom space allows.
  • Children from 3 rd – 6th will be required to stay in their pods and keep socially distant from other pods.
  • Children will be required to use their own resources where possible i.e. Pencils, scissors, etc. and sharing of resources particularly 3rd – 6th will not be allowed.
  • Staff will maintain a regular cleaning routine with all of resources and materials that will be used by different pods or classes. Where necessary, items of school equipment will be isolated for 72 hours prior to being used by different classes.
  • The school will be cleaned daily under Government/HSE guidelines.
  • If your child becomes ill in school with any symptoms of Covid-19, they will be immediately cared for in an isolation area where they will remain until they are collected. They must be collected as soon as possible. Please ensure that your contact details are up to date and provide an emergency number also. If your child is displaying Covid-19 symptoms and you are phoned to collect your child, you are required to inform your doctor immediately and proceed to follow government guidelines of self-isolation.

 

Click here for Pick up & Drop Off Zones

 

School Response Plan:

  • If a child is displaying symptoms of Covid-19 it is the responsibility of the teacher to inform the Lead Worker Representative (LWR) to bring the child safely to the selected isolation area adhering to social distancing at all times.
  • While in the isolation area, the (LWR) will make the child feel safe and secure. All necessary PPE such as tissues, hand sanitiser, disinfectant, wipes, gloves, masks, etc. will be in the room. The child will also have their temperature checked while in the room.
  • The child’s parents will be informed immediately from the updated telephone numbers given to the school. We will advise parents to inform the doctor immediately, collect their child as soon as possible and follow HSE guidance on self-isolation.
  • If the child is showing symptoms the LWR will ask the child to wear a facemask while exiting the building to prevent any further spread of Covid-19.
  • The child will be walked to their parents who will be advised to wait in the outside sheltered area.
  • A follow up phone call will be made to the child’s parents in relation to the medical advice received. If the child is not taken to the doctor, they will not be permitted to come back to school. A letter from your GP will be required for your child to return to school.
  • All Covid-19 incidents and details will be logged and kept securely in school. All pupils and family related pupils sharing the same house will be required to self-isolate for the required number of days following Department of Education/HSE guidelines.
  • All parents that are asked to collect their child from school are asked to ring the school to inform our secretary you have arrived and wait in the sheltered area in the yard. Your child will be escorted to you by the Lead Worker Representative (LWR)/SNA.

 

How can you help?

  • Take your child’s temperature before coming to school and ensure their hands are clean.
  • We are asking parents to provide every child with their own small bottle of hand sanitiser (with their name on it) and a packet of tissues with them each day.
  • Pack only items in their lunch box that they can manage to open themselves, as teachers/ SNAs will be unable to do this for them.
  • Label everything that your child is bringing to school.
  • For Junior/ Senior Infants, practise putting on/taking off coats, doing up zips, etc.
  • Do not enter the school grounds, unless prior permission to do so has been granted by the school.
  • Communicate with your child’s teachers by homework journal/ e-mail. Do not allow your child to bring any personal items, which are not necessary for school, into school i.e. toys, teddies etc.
  • Encourage your child to wash or sanitise their hands on arrival at school, before eating, after using the toilet, after playing outdoors at break-time, when their hands are physically dirty and when the cough or sneeze.

 

Classroom Bubbles and Pods:

As per guidelines, Pods are not a requirement from junior infants to second class.

Children from 3rd to 6th class are required to be seated in pods (usually 4 to 6 pupils). There will be a distance of at least one metre between each pod. While indoors, children are required where possible to remain in their pods. Outdoors they can play with all children in their own class bubble. Each classroom will have their own section in the yard to play at break-times. In line with Government guidelines we have staggered both our school start and break-times.

 

Nut Free School: I would like to remind all parents/guardians that Killeen is a nut free school. For the safety of all pupils please don’t pack any nut product in their lunches.