Dear parents/guardians,
I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy and well. My name is Maria Lucey and I am going to be teaching your child this year in Junior Infants. I can’t wait to meet them all and get to know them and their super little personalities. I hope they are looking forward to their big adventure too.
I completely understand the feelings you must be all going through, as I am sending my own little one off to school for the first time this year too, the nerves, excitement, the huge emotional milestone that this is for you and your little one. I am sorry that Covid -19 has resulted in the introduction to our school being disrupted in the ways it has, but I will be making it a very happy, fun and easy going introduction for them. My aim for your child is to feel happy and confident in my room. I want them to have fun and enjoy making new friends, having fun in class and learning along the way. All the children have been disrupted so please believe me when I say, I will be looking to help your child be introduced to our great school in a calm and relaxed way, help them meet new friends, socialise with groups again and get used to a busy school day slowly. The children will be seated in groups “pods” within the class “bubble”- to help keep everyone healthy and happy.
The children will have an induction day on Thursday 27th August, where they will get to meet me and the others in the class. They do not need to bring in anything on this day. We will have fun playing with some toys, introducing ourselves, seeing where the toilets and yard are and I will get a photo of your child, on their 1st day of school and send It on to you when we get the remote learning systems set up and running. Ms. Bradley will have a chat with you and the other parents in the yard while the children settle in the class. I am sorry that you will not be able to bring the children into the class, this will be normal for the children, only we will be comparing it to our own first day. I would recommend taking advantage of all the other great moments in that day for firsts, first day of school breakfast, first day of school dinner and all the photos along the way!
On Monday 31st the children will come to school until 12 noon. They will enter the school via the main gate and access their classroom through the main doors of the school. At collection they will leave through the same door and be collected from the designated waiting area in the yard. They only need a small snack/ lunch and drink for these short days, until they have their full school day. Hand sanitiser will be provided by the school and children will wash and sanitise their hands before and after eating, before and after toileting and at regular intervals throughout the day.
Please do not bring in anything else in the school bag i.e toys, games etc , due to Covid 19 restrictions.
Over the coming days, help your child settle in well to school by
- Getting them to open and close their lunch box, bottle and school bag themselves with confidence
- Putting on their own coats and opening and closing the zip themselves.
- Wear shoes with Velcro, no shoelaces if they can’t tie them on their own.
- Please label everything- all items of clothing, their school bag, lunchbox, coat, hat scarf etc. They cost you a lot of money and it is very difficult to return lost items to you if there are no names on them
- Help your child to go to the toilet and wash their hands independently properly.
- Help you children cough/sneeze into their elbow
- Chat to them about how they feel about going to school, hopefully they will feed off your excitement and happiness for them – for their big adventure
- Please be on time to collect your little one, in order to help them settle in to school with security and confidence.
I really look forward to working with you this year and cannot wait to meet your little one. I know it will be an emotional day on their first day, try take some time for you, maybe get to enjoy a hot cup of tea and in no time, your child will be back with you to tell you all their news! If you have any question at all, please don’t hesitate to contact the office and I will get back to you as soon as I possibly can.
Take care,
Maria Lucey
