COVID-19 Reminders

We need to remain as vigilant as we have been and not let complacency set in when it comes to COVID-19. Please remember that if your child or another member of your household is experiencing any symptoms, it is better to be overcautious. With regards to any worries around attendance, please do not worry. As long as you have a valid reason not to be in school, that's enough for us. Since coming back from mid term break, we do need to remind families about some of the precautions that we put in place earlier in the year as we have seen a few "slips" particularly in the last couple of weeks.

As an emergency measure, we updated our behaviour policy to send any child home that deliberately coughs, spits or any other gesture that could cause a risk to another person's safety. In the last fortnight, two children had to be sent home for such behaviours. While it is not our style to use these rudimentary sanctions, in these times, the health, safety and wellbeing of our children is too important. We know it is a severe consequence, we don't like doing it, but we ask you to respect it and support it. Children can easily forget so please make sure to talk to them to remind them of keeping their distance.

We've also had a small upsurge in having to send children home who are coming to school unwell. While we understand how difficult it is to arrange care for children, we have to be overcautious when it comes to COVID-19.

Enrollments for 2021/22

All first round offers for places in the school went out earlier in the month. We have to honour enrollments made previously to the new Admissions' Bill and we are still getting through this list. (There were well over 100 applications for places in the school.) Once this list has been exhausted, any enrollments made after January 2020 will be enrolled via the new criteria. This means that children who have siblings currently in the school will be offered places first. After that, we offer places on the basis of age, that is, the oldest children on the list first. If you are not offered a place, please do not worry yet. Enrollment season doesn't come to an end until January/February when all the other schools in the town offer their places.

Breakfast / Lunch

Due to COVID-19, the kitchen is unable to provide the regular breakfast club in the morning. In light of this, they are providing cereal bars to every classroom. If your child needs a breakfast in the morning, please make sure that he/she remembers to ask for the cereal bar. While probably tempting for children that have already had a breakfast, please advise your child not to take a cereal bar if they've already eaten a breakfast at home or in Play Together.

Please also remember to make your lunch orders for the following week every Friday to avoid disappointment. The kitchen is providing some fantastic meal options at the moment so it's definitely worth checking out. All food is offered free to children in the school. Make sure to download the special app from carlowetns.ie

Winter Concert

Unfortunately, it will be impossible to have our winter concert this year. We have looked at other options such as getting each class to record a performance in their classroom and hosting it online, our risk assessment is quite clear that performances and choirs are not allowed due to the risk of the virus spreading. Our Parents' Association are working hard to mark this time of year and have come up with some ideas. We hope to have an online raffle and we also hope to produce a special yearbook to mark this strangest of years. Our winter concert is the only fundraiser we do in our school and every year earns us roughly €7,500, which we use to invest in the children's learning and also something that the students, themselves, want, through our Student Council. Your support of these intiatives would be most welcome.

Traffic Reminders

Traffic is generally going quite well every day in school and thank you for your cooperation. We just need to remind you of a couple of things.

• In the morning, from 8:35 onwards, please enter the site and follow the traffic around the basketball courts to the front of the school. Please do not turn right on entering as it is prioritised for buses.

• For infant pickups, please avoid coming to the school before 1:20pm to avoid queues building on the Athy Road. Unless it is completely unavoidable to leave your seat, (e.g. to strap your child in his/her seat), please do not leave your car when collecting your child as staff are on hand to help your child into the car. Please do not exit your car while in the queue before the Set Down Area.

• We have seen a number of cars parking near the entrance to the school and running over to collect their child at the Set Down Area. This causes a build up of traffic onto the Athy Road, which is extremely dangerous for people trying to exit the site. Please be patient and wait until you reach the Set Down Area to collect your child.

• For 2:30pm, pick ups, please do not arrive to the school before 2:20pm. Our buses collect children at 2:15pm and if there are cars on site when they are trying to access the site, it means that the entire system is delayed and there is a large build-up of traffic on the Athy Road, which is extremely dangerous for cars exiting the site. If you find yourself arriving before 2:20pm, please wait in the Carlow Gateway or another site nearby to allow the buses to leave the site.

School Garden

If you get the chance, ask your child about the school garden. The school have been building a brand new garden at the back of the school for the last year and it looks amazing already! We're looking forward to seeing more over the coming months.