Dear Pupils & Parents
Our return to school is quite close now. All pupils will return on Wednesday, 26th August and we are looking forward to seeing you all. However, in order to comply with Covid guidelines, we will introduce a number of changes to our practices.
Segregated arrival of pupils
Pupils in Junior Infants, Senior Infants, Third and Fourth Class are to enter the school grounds through the Lower Gate.
All other pupils are to enter via the Main Gate.
In order to facilitate an easier transition for our new Junior Infants, we request that they arrive at 9.30am for the first week. The class teacher will welcome and collect the pupils at the school gate. The Junior Infant classes will end at 12 noon until Friday, September 4th and at 2pm daily from Monday, 7th September onwards.
There will be no pre-school play in the morning and pupils from individual classes will be directed to a specific yard zone upon their arrival at school. No footballs or play equipment is to be brought to the school by pupils. The school will provide any necessary equipment.
Sanitising/ Hygiene
We will use all three entrance doors at the front of the building for entry and exit purposes. There will be sanitising stations at these points. There will be further sanitising points at entry to classrooms and for classroom toilets.
Pupils are also encouraged to bring a labelled zipped toiletry bag to school, each containing personal hand sanitiser and hand towel.
The school has made arrangements for an enhanced cleaning regime.
Staggered breaks
We will introduce staggered breaks, with pupils from Junior Infants to Second Class on break from 10.45am until 11am, and from 12.15 until 12.45pm.
Pupils from Third Class to Sixth Class will have breaks from 11am-11.15am, and from 12.45 until 1.15pm.
Different classes will have different yard zones.
Parental Contact
Any parental contact with the school will be via telephone contact with the School Office.
Parents are not to call to the school during the school day other than for pre-arranged pupil collections. Please appreciate that telephone calls with staff cannot be arranged during teaching time.
School Issues
We request that school books/ labelled stationery etc are brought to school on opening day, and are kept in school. School uniforms are to be worn daily. Class teachers will explain homework arrangements upon our return to school. As such, schoolbags should not be needed daily. Pupils will bring lunch boxes each day. We will operate our School Book Rental System as normal.
We will have eight individual class groups this year but one of these classes – First Class- will be housed in the School Library.
Classes will operate pods and we will seek to maximise distance between pupils.

Bus Issues We request that children who travel to school by bus adhere to best practice guidelines.

Medical Issues
It is important to keep your child at home if they are feeling unwell. If a pupil becomes unwell at school, we will inform parents. Your child will be supervised in an Isolation Area until he/she is collected.
Please inform the school if you feel your child falls into a Covid ‘Medically at Risk’ category and we will seek to accommodate any specific needs.
In the event of a family having returned home following a foreign holiday, please ensure that you follow any necessary quarantine requirements before a pupil returns to school.
The wearing of face masks is not obligatory for children. However, if a child wishes to wear one, then they may do so.
We feel that these changes are in the best interests of the safety and well being of our pupils, staff and wider community and we request your assistance in complying with them.

Please feel free to contact me at kilmacrennanschool@eircom.net
if you have any queries.
Many kind regards,
John Devenney.