Pro Tip 1: School Lunches

Make sure your child's class details are correct on the app. You may be ordering for your child but if their class details are incorrect their food may be going into the wrong classroom. To change your child's details, hold your finger on their name and swipe right.

Food orders do not roll over. You must order every week/fortnight. There is a one day lag on ordering which means that I only get your child's order the day after it's ordered.

My advice is to order every week on a Friday to make sure your child is on the order list every day and will not miss out on food. If your child is not on the order list they may not get lunch. So if you haven't ordered then please supply your child with lunch.

Only order gluten free sandwiches if your child is coeliac or has a gluten sensitivity.

If you mistakenly click on a sandwich/wrap you can go back and change it by clicking on it again and then clicking on the correct sandwich/wrap.

If your child doesn't like butter on a ham or chicken sandwich then order a dairy free sandwich, which is at the bottom of the lunch list.

Please order with your child so they get what they want to eat (we regularly have children who don't want to eat what was ordered for them and it can lead to upsets).

Make sure to update the school about any food allergies your child may have.

If you have any problems or queries you can contact Rhonda on rhonda@carloweducatetogether.ie

Pro Tip 2: Collecting your Child from School

This year all children from 1st to 6th class will be coming out of school at the same time. Children on buses will leave first from the Set Down Area and cars will then be able to pick up from the Set Down Area after they have finished, which will be no earlier than 2:30pm.

The biggest help you can give to the school is not to arrive at the building before 2:30pm. We simply don't have the space to allow much traffic on the site before it spills over on to the Athy Road, causing an extremely dangerous situation for everyone in the school.

If you find yourself near the school before 2:30pm, we recommend that you wait in a nearby area. There are two places that have space for cars: The Gateway Business Park, about 800m from the school; and Strawhall Industrial Estate, just off the Athy Road Roundabout.

Better yet, you might consider parking your car in either of these places as it makes a nice 10 minute walk without the bother of traffic. You might even throw a scooter in the back of the car if your child isn't a fan of walking. If you fancy a longer walk, why not park at the Town Hall. There's a fantastic 2km walk along the River Barrow, which will take you no more than 25 minutes.

Another option for families is to cycle or scoot to school. We have loads of bike parking racks and it's great to see them being used already.

It's no fun sitting in traffic at a school and it can lead to traffic spilling over on to the Athy Road. If you find yourself coming to the school and you see traffic has built up, please drive on a little further up the Athy Road and turn around when it is safe to do so.

Pro Tip 3: Absences from School

If your child(ren) is going to be absent for any reason, we recommend alerting your teacher on the Aladdin App. It's the easiest way to let the school know.

You can also email your class teacher failing that.

Don't panic about missing school if your child is ill. With COVID19 still with us, we can't take any risks. Please do not send your child into school if they are sick even if you are worried about the NEWB being in contact. The NEWB will only be in contact if absences have not been genuine.

Pro Tip 4: Apps Apps Apps

You will generally be using about 3 Apps regularly in our school: Aladdin, School Food Cloud and either Google Classroom or SeeSaw. We have developed a web app that gives you links to all 3 in one place. You can find it at carlowetns.ie

Aladdin is used mainly for communication. We generally send our messages through Aladdin and you can alert us to any absences your child(ren) might have and you can change your contact details where needed.

The School Food Cloud allows you to order lunches as explained above.

SeeSaw is used by Infant and Integrated class teachers to communicate and share information and school work with families. Google Classroom is used by teachers in 1st class upwards to provide any home learning support that might be needed. Your teacher will send you on log in information for these services soon.