Dear Parents & Guardians,
On behalf of all the staff, I would like to say how wonderful it is to see all the children back to school today and to hear their voices throughout the school. It was very rewarding to see them settle back into work in the classroom and play in their bubbles in the yard. We hope your child enjoyed their first day back. Thank you to all parents for your cooperation with social distancing during drop off and pick up times. I want to assure you all that we will do everything we can to keep the children safe.

I would like to bring to your attention some recent & upcoming events in the school.

New Students: We would like to welcome all our students back to school, but I would like to especially mention all our new students & their parents. We got to meet you all last Friday 28th of August & we hope that you are all very happy here in Kilchreest N.S.

Staff: A warm welcome to all our staff who have returned to school today. We also welcome two new members of Staff. Ms Sarah Leneghan, (who will be covering Principal Release Days & LSRT) & Ms Laura Mitchell LSRT. Both Teachers are shared with Ardrahan National School.

Communication: After this our monthly newsletters will no longer be sent home with your child. The newsletter will be emailed to you & will also be available to access on the Schools website. Text-a-parent will still be used for more urgent messages. It is important that we have all the correct contact details so could you please fill out the slip below & return it to the school with your child.

School Photos: County Photos are coming to the school to do school Photos on THURSDAY 17THTH SEPTEMBER 2020. Please see information received from them: We have worked hard behind the scenes to ensure that Photo Day and your Schools Photo experience will not add to your stress levels and workload in any way. We have implemented new procedures for our photographers and are now practising the highest standards of safe, hassle-free, and socially distant school photography. Together with our brand-new online ordering process we have ensured that there is no risk to your pupils, staff, and parents from our service. If you would like your child to have their photos taken please ensure they are wearing their full uniform on the day.

First Confession/First Holy Communion: We are delighted that the children will finally be able to celebrate these special occasions in their lives. The date for First Penance is Monday 14th September @ 7:30pm. First Holy Communion is Saturday 3rd October @ 12pm. We thank Ms Cusack who has kindly agreed to prepare the children for both Sacraments.

Healthy Eating: At this time every year we take the opportunity to remind parents of our School’s Healthy Eating Policy. Children are asked to bring healthy lunches each day. A small treat is permitted on Fridays.

Seesaw: We have decided to start using Seesaw as an online platform to assist with blended learning. Please read the parental information letter attached. The letter provides instructions for use. We require your signature & your email address to set up the school account. Please return the attached slip in a sealed envelope with your child. If you would like further information on Seesaw please go to www.seesaw.com. Thanks to Ms Cusack for all the work she has done to set this up for everyone.

Payments: Parents representative on the Board & Treasurer Mairead Glynn has provided guidelines (see letter attached) for you to pay for things like Book Rental & swimming directly into the school’s bank accounts using Electronic Funds Transfer online. This is for your convenience & in order to limit the handling of money in the current climate. If you are not in a position to use EFT we would ask that you send in money in a sealed envelope with your child’s name, the amount enclosed & what it is for clearly marked on the envelope.

Pupil Insurance: The pupil insurance is due at the beginning of the school year in September. The rate is €9 per child. This provides 24hr Insurance cover for school activities, social, domestic & leisure (including school holidays. Please pay the €9 into the main school bank account using EFT or by sending it a sealed envelope along with the attached form with your child’s name & class clearly marked on the outside by Friday 14th September. The Board of Management ask that all children are covered.

Book Rental: If you are availing of this year’s Book Rental Scheme, (see rates below), please pay by EFT into the School’s Book Rental Account or send payment in a sealed envelope with your child.

If you are not availing of the Book Rental Scheme we are asking that you contribute €10 towards the continued investment in resources for Literacy Lift-Off & Ready, Set Go Maths.

Staff Meeting: There will be a staff meeting on Wednesday 16^th September. The children will go home at 1:45pm. The buses will run as normal on this date.

Thanks & Gratitudes: For the last number of weeks a huge amount of work has gone in behind the scenes in order to open the school. I would like to thank the Board of Management & Staff for all the help & support they have given. Thanks also to all the parents who reached out offering their help. I would like to thank Steve Rowe who the Board has employed as a caretaker for the summer months. School Secretary Christina has been available to assist with any administration work. I would like to mention local councillor Geraldine Donoghue for providing extra Covid signage.

If you have any further queries in relation to any of the above, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Yours Sincerely

Francis O’Connor

Principal

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