Parent Teacher Meetings 2020/21

 Dear Parents/Guardians,

We have decided to have our parent teacher meetings in January 2021, and they will be by phone. The details of how this will work will be shared with you at the time.

In the meantime if you have any concerns about your child or would like to speak to your child's teacher for any reason please do not hesitate to contact the office on 051-387454 or the teacher directly via SeeSaw and a meeting will be arranged.

Thank You,

Mr. Barron.

If we have a confirmed case of Covid 19 September 2020

Re: If we have a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the school

Dear Parent and Staff,

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 if such a situation were 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

·     Children sent home with symptoms will not be discussed with other parents or members of the school community.

·        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 are removed from the school and 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 is 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:

o   Doctor – Patient confidentiality 

o   GDPR legislation prevents the publication of personal data without consent 

Regards,

Fr. Richard O’Halloran (Chairperson)

Brian Barron (Principal/Secretary Board of Management)

 

Schools Pathway for Covid

 Dear Parents/Guardians,

You may be aware of the HSE publication Schools Pathway for Covid-19 which was published yesterday and is being discussed on media and social media today.

I wanted to offer a quick cheat-sheet version for clarity.

1. Symptoms of Covid; a new cough, temperature of 38 or higher, change in sense of smell or taste.

2. If your child presents with any of these symptoms keep them at home and phone the G.P.

3. If your child presents with any of these symptoms in school, you will be called to collect them and they will be moved to the isolation area outside the GP hall. You can collect them via the ramp in the top yard (Talbot Tc side of the school).

4. Siblings do not have to go home unless the child with symptoms is sent for a Covid test.

5. Page 4 of the document states that children will be referred for a Covid test unless there is a strong clinical reason to do otherwise.

6. The entire household must self-isolate while awaiting the results of the test.

7. The wider school community will not be informed of a child being sent for a Covid test.

8. If the child receives a negative result they can return to school once they feel better. We will need parents to sign a declaration stating their child got a negative test result.

9. If the test is positive the HSE will contact the parents directly and instruct you from there.

The HSE will also contact the school and begin the contact tracing process in school.

It is not automatic that a whole class will be considered a close contact and it's possible a pod or immediate group of friends will only be considered close contacts and need to be tested on day 0 and day 7.

10. The school will at all times follow the HSE instructions and will not make any medical decisions concerning Covid, contact tracing, etc. 

11. It is also possible the HSE will partially close the school or just one class. The HSE stress that each school will be dealt with  as an individual case and their response will be dynamic.

12. Please let your class teacher know if your child has any existing respiratory illnesses such as asthma.

I know this is a stressful time but if we can follow the rules and keep on top of things then there is no reason we cannot keep our school open.

I look forward to welcoming you all back on Tuesday.

Mr. Barron

Ms. Canty's Video for Junior Infants

 

Junior Infant Induction - Tuesday September 1st 2020

 

Welcome to Portlaw NS Junior Infant class 2020. This is an unusual year for us all but the goal is to make sure our new Junior Infants are happy and content starting primary school.

Class Teacher - Ms. Deirbhile Canty

 Hello,

 

My name is Miss Canty and I am very excited to be the Junior Infants teacher in Portlaw NS this year. I grew up in Tramore and love being by the seaside and going for walks and swims on the beach. For the past 6 years, I have been teaching boys and girls in Dubai. I love playing sports, exploring and going on adventures. I am very much looking forward to meeting you all when school starts

 

Special Education Teachers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ms. Karen Doyle and Ms. Katie Power are the two learning support teachers who will be working in Junior Infants this year. They will be in class to work with Ms. Canty and the pupils at different times of the day. 

 

Special Needs Assistants

 

Although there is no SNA in Junior Infants Lisa and Lynda will respond to any needs that may arise in the class, especially in the early days of the new year.

 

The First Day 

Junior Infants start School at 10.20am on Tuesday 1st September and will finish at 12.30pm.

Due to the new Covid protocols children should be brought to the 'emergency fire door' of the Junior Infant classroom (pictured). They will be greeted by the class teacher and brought inside.

 

Unfortunately parents cannot come inside and must leave the school grounds as soon as possible. If your child is upset on arrival please leave them in the capable hands of our teachers and leave straight away. We are very experienced in dealing with tears on day one. 

We suggest you check in with the school secretary by phone after an hour and she will tell you how they are getting on.

    Collection

Collection will be at 12.30 pm on the first day. We ask parents to line up on the dots nearest the school building.

 

 

Essentials

We ask that for day 1 you make sure your child can;

1. Take on and off their own coat

2. Open and close the lunch/snack tupperware  you give them.

3. That everything has their name on it, including markers, colours etc.

4. That your child can wash their hands independently for 20 seconds. This is something you could also
help us with at home. WET, SOAP, WASH, RINSE, DRY all while singing their ABC’s

5. Please observe 2m social distancing on the first day when arriving. The markers on the ground will assist you with this.

The New Normal

We hope that once the children are in class things will be as normal as possible. Children will sit in groups and in yard they will not mix with other classes. You need the read our Logistics Plan for Reopening the School (www.portlawns.com) for more details of the new Covid measures.

From Wednesday 2nd September

School begins at 9.10am and finish at 12.30pm for the first two weeks. From week 3 school will run until 1.50pm each day.

 

Assembly Time - Morning

Pupils can be dropped into the yard and must go straight to their line. Children cannot mix with other classes in the yard before school. Parents must drop and go. We ask that you drop your child as close to 9.10 as possible to minimise their waiting time.

 

 

 

  

That is it for now. Our Booklet for Parents is full of information if you need it and we are looking forward to seeing you all on Tuesday 1st September. 

 

Ms. Canty and Mr. Barron