Dear parents/guardians

 

My name is Éilish Glacken and I will be your son’s third class teacher. I’m looking forward to working with you to support your child’s transition back to school. I’m sure this may seem particularly daunting as your son begins his time at a new school. Rest assured that I will do my very best to make sure your son feels safe and happy here in St Joseph’s CBS.

 

As you can imagine, life at school will look a little different this school year as measures have been put in place to help minimise the risk of Covid-19.  Here are a few points to note that will hopefully answer some of the many questions you are sure to have:

 

• Your son’s classroom will be located in the Green Building (large building painted green that can be seen just inside the school gates). His classroom name is G6 – Green Building number 6. This classroom is located upstairs (see picture below). He will use the main school gates each day.
• On Thursday August 27^th, I will collect your son and his classmates from the Green Yard (the Green Yard is the yard area around the Green Building and can be seen in the picture below) and show them to their classroom. I will also ensure they know the location of the toilets (new toilets have been installed inside the Green Building).
• From Monday August 31^st onwards, your son should go straight to his new classroom on his arrival at school. He will enter the building through the white door located at the front of the building. I will be in the classroom as the students arrive.
• Inside the classroom, students will be sitting in pods (groups) with 4 to 6 pupils in each pod. Each pod is at least one metre from other students and two metres from my teaching area as recommended by the Department of Education.
• Students will be asked to sanitise their hands each time they enter or leave the classroom, before they eat and at other regular intervals throughout the day.
• Each class will limit their interaction with other students as much as possible – our class will remain together throughout the day. The class will also have their own designated area on the school yard.
• Time will be taken on the return to school to guide children slowly back to the pace of learning at school. We will concentrate on language development (both English and Gaeilge), Mathematics, SPHE and PE.

 

Changing schools is a big adjustment for your child so make sure to celebrate the milestone. I will take photos of your son’s first few days at St Joseph’s which I will share with you as soon as our online platforms are all set up.

 

I look forward to meeting you all.

 

Kind regards,

Éilish Glacken