School Reopening is Deferred
I hope you and all the children are keeping well and that you enjoyed a safe and peaceful Christmas. 2021 has had a very disappointing start and unfortunately, all mainstream schools will remain closed until the end of January, while we all try to halt the acceleration of positive Covid-19 numbers in our community.
Children will be disappointed, as they usually love returning to school at this time of year, with lots of ‘ Christmas news’ to share with their pals and teachers. The teachers and assistants are equally disappointed, if not more so. We conferenced together on Wed 6th Jan and have already begun to focus on what we need to do to work together remotely and successfully. We signed off on our Remote Teaching and Learning Plan, which we had started in late November. It is concise and clear and will inform all partners in Caherleaheen of how we intend to proceed from Monday 11th Jan 2021. Please find it here on our website Go to Parents in the main menu and drop down to ‘Policies’ tab. You can also download it here, for your convenience, as it’s important.
We need some time to organise copies and textbooks in school. However, we expect to have all children’s books packed and ready to go by 2 pm next Monday. There was no point in distributing them before we broke up, as we did not have full attendance in the preceding days and week, and as I mentioned before, we focused instead on the children being happy and engaged with Christmas in Caherleaheen NS!
Therefore, we are asking all parents/guardians to collect bagged books/workbooks, etc, next Monday 11th, when the weather is milder and roads are expected to be safe. Please follow these directions closely.
- Robin families will collect 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm
- Blackbird families can collect between 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm
- Isolating/quarantining parents/guardians are kindly asked to make arrangements for another adult to collect on their behalf
- Masks are obligatory
- Please understand that your collection time-slot is not flexible.
- Do not under any circumstances, congregate or delay outside the school gate or wall. We would LOVE to chat, but, sadly, we can’t.
- Bagged books will be arranged in class groups. Therefore, parents with more than one child in Caherleaheen will need to collect the corresponding number of bags.
- Staff will supervise and facilitate swift handover of bags
- Please vacate parking spaces promptly
- Social distancing is obligatory at all times
Many thanks, in advance of your co-operation.
Please give my best regards to all our fabulous pupils. Tell them that their teachers and staff will miss them greatly. Remind them that they were fantastic during the last lockdown and that this one will be no different. Their parents, teachers and assistants were fantastic too! Special mention must go to our wonderful Junior Infants. This will be their first time experiencing closure of Caherleaheen and I hope they take it in their stride and enjoy learning new skills at home.
Take care and stay safe, everyone.
Mary Connolly.
