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Kilmacrennan School launches Columban celebrations
Dec 3rd
Kilmacrennan NS launched their celebrations to mark the 1500 year of Colmcille’s birth on 7 December 521AD. Fifth and Sixth Classes took part in an online virtual workshop with Cary Meehan of the Heritage Council. They also visited Kilmacrennan Abbey for a history talk while the pupils admired Redmond Herrity’s sculpture of Colmcille’s boat in the school grounds. The pupils also admired the Oak tree growing in the School Garden. This tree was planted in 1997 during the 1400 celebrations of Colmcille’s death and has made great progress since then. The pupils are taking a particular interest in Colmcille’s story due the fact that it was in Kilmacrennan that he received his early education.
November Newsletter
Nov 18th
Dear Parent/ Guardian,
I would like to update you on a few school related issues. The pupils appear well settled and, despite Covid restrictions, are working well at school. We normally hold face-to-face Parent-Teacher meetings at this time of year. You will appreciate that we are unable to meet as before but we propose to host telephone calls with parents over the coming weeks. Your child’s class teacher will be in contact to arrange this over the coming weeks. We remain available to chat to you if you have any concerns or queries at any time. The best way to do this is to phone the School Office in advance and, to avoid disruption to teaching time, the class teacher or Principal Teacher will return a call at a later stage.
We also request that the School Office is contacted if you are to collect your child early for an appointment and we will bring your child to the gate. We are unfortunately not accepting unplanned School Visitors at this stage. We also ask that you contact us at the earliest opportunity if you have any Covid concerns that may impact on our school community.
We have a pupil with a nut allergy in our school. Parents and pupils in the individual class have been notified but, in order to minimise the health risk, we respectfully request a whole school approach in this regard. Therefore, we request that nuts and all associated products do not part of your child’s lunch. We have also been informed that there has been a recent case of head lice in the school community and we ask that you monitor your child/children’s hair for unwelcome visitors regularly over the coming months and, if necessary, to treat accordingly.
Our Christmas Show will be quite different this year. Unfortunately, there will be no in-school concert but Christmas preparations are certainly going ahead. Carols, tin whistles, fiddles and accordions were heard in the school corridors earlier this week and we will be in touch in December regarding our Christmas arrangements.
Yours sincerely,
John Devenney.
Halloween Newsletter
Oct 19th
Dear Parent/ Guardian,
The first term is drawing to a close. We’ve become somewhat adjusted to the ‘new normal’ at school and the pupils seem to have settled into routine quite quickly. The school wishes to acknowledge your continued support of all the new measures that have been introduced and we thank you for this.
Mrs Boyle, Vice – Principal and teacher of the Senior Infants Class, is retiring from teaching at Halloween. Her last day with us will be on Friday of this week. Mrs Boyle has been a valued member of our staff for the past twenty-one years and we wish her all the best in retirement. Representatives of the Board of Management, the Parent’s Association and school staff will make a ‘socially distanced’ presentation to Mrs Boyle on Friday afternoon.
The pupils are free to dress in Halloween costume on Friday of this week, if they so wish. Otherwise, pupils are to dress in school uniform.
The staff and pupils are looking forward to our Halloween break. The school will close on Friday 23rd October (normal school hours) and will re-open on Monday, 2nd November 2020. Trick or Treat is being replaced – for one year only – by Track and Trace!
Stay Safe,
Kind regards,
John Devenney.
September/October School Newsletter
Sep 30th
September/ October Newsletter
We’ve reached the last day of September and our pupils and staff are adapting
well to the new norms. The pupils have settled quickly into a school routine
and even seem to be enjoying the return to school! We were fortunate to host
our First Communion Day before the Level 3 restrictions came into place and we
felt that both ceremonies were lovely events. Many thanks to everyone who
helped organise the event and a special word of thanks to the Communicants who
seemed to have a great day.
We appreciate your support and co-operation to date in these challenging times. Fortunately, we have had no confirmed cases thus far of Covid among pupils or staff. However, in preparation for such an eventuality, I have posted a note on how the school proposes to deal with such instances (see separate post on School News below) and it is in everybody’s interests to alert us at the earliest opportunity of any Covid concerns you may have. I also appreciate that many of you are keeping your children off school if they have minor coughs, head colds etc and we are grateful to you for this. This is leading to an increase in staff sending homework via email and we would be grateful if you could forward an e-mail to us that could be used for home-school communication or future Learning from Home communications in the event of an unexpected School Closure . We would appreciate if you sent this info to us at kilmacrennanschool@eircom.net by Tuesday, 6th October. Please let us know if you have updated your mobile contact numbers.
We kindly request that any outstanding fees owed for the School Book Rental are paid as soon as possible. We provide all School Books for Junior and Senior Infants at a cost of €60 per child and we operate a School Book Rental system for Third to Sixth Classes at a cost of €35 per child (family maximum of €60). This fee includes art and photocopying expenses etc.
We
request that names are refreshed regularly on all school items
such as lunchboxes, school jumpers, coats and stationery and, in fairness to
all, that pupils maintain Healthy Lunches. We request that you do not provide
sweets, crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks, glass bottles etc. Please check our
School Lunch Policy for further details.
We
wish to remind you that the School Car-Park is for Staff and School Buses only.
The car-park is somewhat busier as we now have a second school bus on the
school
grounds each day and we request your co-operation in this regard.
We
hope that you appreciate that we are unable to meet with parents
in face-to-face meetings as before but we remain available to chat to you if
you have any concerns or queries. The best way to do this is to phone the
School Office in advance and, to avoid disruption to teaching time, the class
teacher or Principal Teacher will return a call at a later stage. We also
request that the School Office is contacted if you are to collect your child
early for an appointment and we will bring your child to the gate. We are
unfortunately not accepting unplanned School Visitors at this stage.
Please feel to contact me if you have any queries,
Yours sincerely,
John Devenney.
Covid-19 Procedures
Sep 29th
Date: 29th September 2020.
Dear Parents
Re: If we have a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the school
We do not have any confirmed positive cases of Covid-19 in the school. However, it is only prudent that we consider what procedures are in place to deal with such a situation were it to arise, so that all of us are aware in advance of what happens in such an event.
Safety and Control Measures
The BoM, school leadership and staff are very conscious of the paramount need to keep all pupils, staff and visitors safe while in the school. The school is a controlled environment. There are control measures in place to combat the introduction or spread of COVID-19. These are based on:
- Physical Distancing
- Hand Hygiene
- Respiratory and Hygiene Etiquette
- Mask Wearing, where necessary.
When a person displays symptoms of COVID-19
The following steps are taken when a person (child or adult) in the school presents with suspected COVID-19 symptoms:
- That person is moved to the isolated area prior to going home. In the case of children their parents will be asked to come to the school, take them home and contact their GP for a free telephone consultation
- If the GP recommends that the person (child or adult) go for a COVID-19 test, that person is now considered a query case for COVID-19 and all of his/her household members must restrict their movements until the results of the test come back
- In the case of a negative result (98% of cases), the GP will advise when the person should return to school – usually after 48 hours.
- In the case of a positive result (2% of cases), Public Health will, by law, be informed. This may take a matter of hours due to legal and volume of work issues. The risk has been removed from the school as the person who tested positive and his/her household are at home
- The person tested, or their parents, may well be informed before Public Health. In many cases a social media discussion ensues and anxiety levels are raised among the school community.
Public Health Intervention
The Public Health Department of the HSE is the agency responsible by law for dealing with positive cases of COVID-19:
- Once notified by the HSE testing regime, Public Health Doctors assume total control of the situation and will carry out a risk assessment. Based on questioning the person with the positive result, they will ascertain if they were within the school setting when they contracted the virus. If not, there may be no need to contact the school
- If the person was within the school setting when they contracted the virus, Public Health will contact the principal to carry out a Public Health Risk Assessment. This is a set of questions to see who might have been exposed to the virus and who needs to be excluded or tested. This risk assessment will be unique to each school
- The principal and BoM have no function in the risk assessment, other than to provide whatever information is required by the Public Health Medical Officer conducting the risk assessment
- The principal and BoM may be asked to assist the Medical Office by sending a message from them to the relevant families identified in the risk assessment. Public Health will not contact other members of the school community
- The principal and BoM are not permitted to inform members of the school community of the identity of the person or persons who have tested positive for COVID-19 for the following reasons:
- Doctor – Patient confidentiality
- GDPR legislation prevents the publication of personal data without consent
Principal/Secretary Board of Management.
Return to School
Aug 19th
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.
Class-Teacher Allocation.
Jun 18th
Junior Infants- Ms Greene; Snr Infants- Mrs Boyle; First Classs- Ms Hegarty; Second Class- Ms Diver; Third Class- Mrs Gallagher; Fourth Class- Ms Ferry; Fifth Class- Mr Gallagher; Sixth Class- Mr O Donnell.
Our SEN team is Mrs Doherty, Mrs Neely, Mrs Nic Aoidh, Mrs Nelis, with Mrs Galway in the ASD class.
Kind regards,
John Devenney.
Advice for Parents
Jun 15th
Issued by the DES
Advice during COVID-19:
Back to school Advice for parents
Most students will be looking forward to going back to school and will feel happy and excited. Some may feel a little anxious about returning. That’s a normal response at a time of change. Most will settle back in soon once they get used to the new rules and routines. Remind them of the positive aspects of returning – like re-connecting with friends and re-engaging with school activities.
Coronavirus COVID-19 Public Health Advice
Everyone has been working very hard to ensure a safe reopening of schools for staff, students and their families.
New rules and routines to follow to keep everyone safe:
> Good handwashing and hygiene practice – important for all students. Make sure your child knows to use a tissue to cover coughs or sneezes or to cough or sneeze into their elbow.
> In senior primary classes and at post-primary – physical distancing procedures will need to be followed by all. > Primary school – younger children may not be required to practice physical distancing, but they may be organised into pods. There may also be new rules about drop off and pick up.
> Staff in all schools, and post-primary students, should wear a face covering where a physical distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained.
Advice during COVID-19: Back to school Advice for parents Coronavirus COVID-19 Public Health Advice
New rules and routines to follow to keep everyone safe: > Encourage your child to walk or cycle to school if possible and safe to do so.
> Teachers understand that it hasn’t been easy for young people to study at home during school closures. Remember, we all have a role to play in getting everyone back to school safely.
For more see gov.ie/backtoschool
Dear Parents
May 31st
I hope you are all well and continuing to engage with school work, even during the lovely weather. Do make sure to get plenty of exercise and play-time and the school work-load should be getting a little lighter over the coming weeks. The class teachers have shown me some examples of your lovely work and it is certainly of a high standard.
We wish to thank Cathal Doherty for forwarding a link to view the Confirmation Mass and this link is available in the Sixth Class drop-bar.
We will once again operate a Book Rental Scheme for Senior Classes – Third to Sixth class- and individual class teachers will post book lists next week. We will also schedule times for each class to return this year’s School Rental Books, Musical Instruments etc in June. This will allow us to prepare books for our anticipated return to school in August. School Reports will also issue in mid-June.
You may be aware that we will now have seven mainstream teachers for our eight classes. This will involve the splitting of a class; we will provide you with the details of class and teacher allocations within the next fortnight or so. You made also have heard of a recent media announcement regarding the setting up of an ASD unit in the school. This is scheduled to start in time for the new school year and will cater for six pupils. It is planned to house this class in the vacant classroom. An extension to the building has been approved to cater for this additional classroom in the coming years.
The Board of Management recently drafted a new draft Enrolment Policy & Admissions Bill. This is available to view on our school website- in Parent Zone- and, in light of the Covid closure, we have extended the date for any submissions in regard to the policy to be submitted via email to kilmacrennanschool@eircom.net by June 14th.
Please free to contact me if you require any further information or if you have any queries.
Kind regards,
John Devenney.
Free access to children’s magazines
Apr 24th
The Primary Planet etc
- Families can logo on to https://www.newsmagmedia.ie/ and choose from:
The Primary Planet (9-12-year-olds)
News Flash (7-10-year-olds)
Eipic (Irish language news magazine for 11+)
Also, school-at-home activities are posted online at https://www.theprimaryplanet.ie/ every weekday morning
If you need any more information, or would like to get in touch with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.
