Sherpa Kids Portlaw - After School Care Video

 

Happy Birthday Ryan

 Ms Hally and Ms. Harney organised a wonderful birthday celebration for Ryan Rochford this week. His friends Layla and Sarah Marie were there to help him celebrate.

Happy Birthday Ryan

Reopening for 3rd to 6th class - Monday 15th March

The DES have decided that schools can fully reopen on Monday March 15th.

For us it means the return of Group 2 - 3rd to 6th class. 

Ms. Doris' 4th class and Mr. O'Shea's 6th class - start at 9.10am and finish at 2.50pm.

Ms. O'Rourke's, Ms. O'Dwyer's, Ms. Boylan's and Ms. Keane's start at 9.20am and finish at 3pm.

Parent's of this group are reminded to;

1) Always wear a face mask and social distance when dropping and collecting.

2) To not enter the school grounds - drop and collect from the gate

3) Please do not congregate at the school gate or playground after school

We look forward to welcoming all our pupils back next Monday.

Regards,

Mr. Barron

Senior Infants Flower Bugs

 Ms. Brennan's senior infant class have created these fantastic flower bugs in our school garden. Spring has come to Portlaw.

Our Golden Rules for Returning to School

 1) On Monday March 1st, pupils should be brought to their line by one adult. The adult then leaves the school immediately - no exceptions can be made. 

2) On Tuesday all pupils must be left at the school gate and walk into their yard. This applies to pupils entering via Talbot Tce too.

3) All adults should wear masks and social distance when dropping and collecting.

4) If your child is unwell in any way, please keep them at home. If a member of your household has any covid symptoms please keep your child at home. 

We are returning to school in a Level 5 lock-down where we are not permitted to visit our closest family and friends. We need to work together to keep the school open. Each of us is responsible for our own actions in keeping each other safe.

'We live in each others shelter'.

(Our full Response Plan is available to download from the school website).

Return to School - Jun Infants to 2nd Class - March 1st 2021

 Dear Parents/Guardians,

As you know the government have finally confirmed their plan for schools. We will reopen from Monday 1st March for Jun infants to 2nd class. The school day will run exactly as it did before Christmas. Here's a recap of our Return to School - Covid 19 Response Plan.

If we all follow the rules rigorously, it is our best chance of keeping the school open. 

1) School Day - 

a) Starts at 9.10 am for Jun Infants to 2nd class.

On Monday parents can walk pupils to their lines in the yard. Children must line up and parents must leave the school grounds immediately - no exceptions. All adults are required to wear masks while on school grounds.

From Tuesday morning parents must drop at the school gate. Again we ask you to not congregate around the school and to disperse immediately.

b) School ends at 1.50 for infants and 2.50 for 1st and 2nd class.

Collection points for infants are as before and again we ask adults collecting pupils to socially distance and wear masks at all times.

c) The bollards to create the pedestrian zone will now be in place from 9.00am to 9.25am and 2.45pm to 3.10pm

2) In School - 

a) Each class is an individual bubble which cannot mix with another class. In class we operate individual pods and we do our best to keep the pods 1 meter apart at all times. Hand hygiene is followed rigorously and all staff will be wearing medical grade/surgical masks from Monday.

As before, if you want your child to wear a mask in school they can. Masks are not compulsory for pupils and the wearing of them will not be policed by staff.

Classes will be ventilated by having windows open so if it's cold outside it's likely to be cold inside too.

b) Collection of Children during the School Day
If an adult has to collect a child during the course of the school day, the following arrangements will apply
• When the adult arrives at the school, they should either phone the office (051 387454) or use the intercom at the front door of the school to alert the office that they have arrived. No non-member of staff may enter the school or call to a child’s classroom directly.
• The child will be brought from their class to the adult by a member of staff
• The adult who is collecting will be asked to sign the child out
• No adult should enter the school building, unless invited to do so 

3) Covid Symptoms - 

At this stage we all know the Covid symptoms. Simply put, if your child is unwell in anyway keep them at home. If they have Covid symptoms organise a test.

If someone else in your household has Covid symptoms keep your child at home.

I have to stress that our priority is maintaining the school community's safety in order to keep the school open. We will be sending children home who are unwell in anyway. These rules apply equally to all staff members.

We will continue to do our best to provide a safe school environment for our staff and your children but this is a collaboration. Please be open with us and share any information we need about tests, symptoms etc. We want to keep your school open.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Monday from 9am.

Regards,

Mr. Barron and all the staff of Portlaw NS.

 

Distance Learning January 2021

 Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you and your families are all well and safe. Unfortunately we have found ourselves back in the world of distance learning. These are very challenging times for us all and I ask you to reach out when you need support, as we are here to help you.

Based on the feedback from a survey we carried out of all parents during the last lock down you told us that you were happy with how we ran our on-line learning via Seesaw and you highlighted some areas you would like done differently. For example, we sent home books and resources with all the children before Christmas so that there will be less need for printing of work from Seesaw. 

From Monday next 11th January your child's class will be on SeeSaw. Your teacher will guide your child's learning over the coming three weeks and you can communicate directly with each teacher via the Seesaw app.

Each teacher will run their Seesaw class slightly differently based on the needs of the class but we ask that you engage by uploading some work for the teacher to assess and by encouraging your child to complete the tasks as they are laid out. The teacher will happily speak to you about differentiating work if you find it's too hard or easy for your child.

If you have any technical difficulties accessing seesaw or you need a laptop or device to access the app please email portlawdistancelearning@gmail.com asap.

I am asking you to please log on Monday next and engage with your teacher so they know you are logged on and engaged.

If you wish to communicate with me during the lock down I'm on portlawns@gmail.com.

Hopefully this only lasts for three weeks. We will keep our work under constant review and we benefit from your feedback, so we can cater best for what you need.

I hope you stay well and stay in touch.

Regards,

Mr. Barron