Good morning all,

I am sure that many of you were looking out the window yesterday morning wondering if it was going to snow.

Some of might even have been wondering if I would have “closed the school” for the day had there been snow.

Believe it or not but I was doing the exact same as you. Unfortunately, all we had was cold rain and some sleet.

You may know that we are having Midterm next week (Thursday and Friday, some of you may have siblings in secondary school who are off for the full week). I am sure that you are all looking forward to the break from Teams/OneNote/Aladdin.

Today marks the end of our 5th week of Distance Teaching this year and I am really proud of much work everyone has done. It has not been easy for you, well done.

The teachers have decided that we will be giving less work each day next week than we have been doing up to now.

However T’s & C’s apply to this decision.

1. Today’s work is to be completed in good spirits, no trying to get away from the table to take a break or anything like that.
2. Next week’s reduced work is also to be completed in good spirits, no trying to get away from the table to take a break, no excuses or anything like that.
3. Children are to use their extra time to help out with whatever their parents ask them to do next week. *

*this T&C is for the children, the others apply to the children and adults!

I have sent out a YouTube of me reading this message so it can be played for the younger children.

Take care.

Bernard Sheehan

I hope you enjoy listening to this whole school audio recording of of Twas the night before Christmas by Clement Clark Moore.

Many thanks to Fifth and Sixth class for compiling the audio.

You may recognise some of the voices….

Here is a compilation of the Elf on the Shelf pictures that were submitted.

Enjoy

Dear Parents/Guardians

 

Returning to school in September has been very different to previous years and I appreciate the support that everyone has given. It is something I am very grateful for.

 

I am very appreciative of the keen sense of responsibility everyone had shown over the last number of months. Our children have adapted brilliantly to the changes that have been necessary and have shown great resilience in the face of all the challenges the year has brought.

 

I know that many of the children’s favourite activities have been postponed or changed due to the restrictions and that is why the school staff felt it especially important to make school as normal and enjoyable as possible for the children this year.

 

The children have had a fantastic time in school, culminating in the past week of 

• Lego Workshops
• Pantomine (Cinderella)
• Christmas Jumper Day in aid of BUMBLEance (Go raibh maith agaibh Rang a Cuig agus a Sé) which raised €450
• No Uniform Day today (another Christmas Jumper Day?)
• Treats from the Parents’ Association  
• A Christmas Disco in the school yard 
• A whole school recording of the poem Twas the night before Christmas 

Many thanks to Dripsey CLG for providing 2 excellent coaches for the children over the course of this school term.

I would also like to thank the Parents’ Association for organising Halloween treats, paying for Lego workshops, the incredible Christmas treats/Teddies, Halloween competitions etc. These bits have been the cherry on top for the children.

On behalf of the school staff, I would like to thank you and your families for all the support they have given the school.

Finally, I have attached an audio of The Night before Christmas for your listening pleasure. Many thanks to Miss Lucey and her class for compiling this. You may recognise some of the voices…

I look forward to seeing you all in 2021 and I am sure we will not have to be looking at each other from afar.

Nollaig Shona agus Athbhlian faoi Mhaise daoibh go léir.

Bernard Sheehan

Dear Parent / Guardian,

The BoM and the School Leadership Team have been working to ensure a safe return to school for all pupils and staff in two weeks’ time.   We have now finalised our plans for drop-off and collection of the children every day. 

Dripsey NS appreciates your support as we try to safely reopen the school building. If at all possible we request you not to come into the school playground or into the school building unless it is essential. We appreciate that dropping off the Infant pupils to their yard may be necessary, but for the older pupils a drop off in the yard is desirable. Working together we hope to be able to progress the reopening in as safe a manner as possible for all.

We would ask all parents to familiarise themselves with the following drop-off and collection routines for the safe delivery and collection of pupils from school.  Please be patient as we endeavour to embed these necessary precautionary and protective practices at the beginning of the school year.

It is imperative that

• adults do not come within 2m of each other
• parents do not try to have meetings with members of staff in the playground at drop-off and collection times – meetings between parents and teachers can only take place by prior arrangement. (This may have to be more restrictive depending on guidance – it is quite possible that the recommendation will be for remote meetings/telephonic communications.)
• all parents adhere to the drop-off and collection plans as outlined below

Drop-off Plan

1. Students from First Class, Second Class, Third Class and Fourth class are to be dropped off between 9:00 and 9:10.  These students will be going to class at 9:10 and commencing their school day.
2. Students from Junior Infants, Senior Infants, Fifth Class and Sixth class are to be dropped off between 9:10 and 9:20.

On the first morning (September 1^st), the Junior Infants are to be brought to their classroom door at 9:25. After this, it will be left to the discretion of these parents to bring their child to the door (once the other classes have left the yard) or to bring their child to the yard (while following Public health guidelines)

• The School Bus will be arriving shortly before 9:10 so as to facilitate the above. Parents with children in both drop-offs may do likewise.

Late arrival:

If a child arrives late he/she is to go to the external door of their classroom for entry. The classes will be entering and exiting the building via these doors for the foreseeable so they will know where to go if necessary.

Collection Plan

1. Students from First Class, Second Class, Third Class and Fourth class are to be collected at 2:50.
2. Students from Fifth Class and Sixth class are to be collected at 3:00.
3. Infants are to be collected at 2:00 (Junior Infants will be finishing at 12:00 until September 11^th and it is anticipated that they will be finishing at 12:50 for the 2 weeks from September 14^th. Miss Dineen will inform you of the precise date in the middle of the week of September 7th

If a parent needs to collect a child at a time other than the above, please inform the school in advance and collect the child from their classroom’s external door.

Bernard Sheehan

Dear Parent / Guardian,

We are currently working on upgrading our procedures and routines within the school to ensure that there is as much Physical Distancing as is possible in our building. We will apply physical distancing in a practical and sensible way, recognising that the learning environment cannot be dominated by a potentially counterproductive focus on this issue.

Physical Distancing will be achieved in two ways: –

Increasing Separation.  This will be achieved by re-configuring the classrooms to maximise physical distancing. Each class will be referred to as a bubble and we will ensure that there is as little contact as possible between children in different bubbles.  Within the bubbles, children will be organised into pods.  A pod is a group of children who will sit together and who will stay in their pod while in the bubble, or classroom. 

Decreasing Interaction. This will be achieved by decreasing the potential for children from different bubbles to interact.  Bubbles will have different mid-morning and lunch-time access to the playground.  We will make these routines enjoyable activities for the children, emphasising safety at all times.

While all children will be welcome back to school, we would inform parents that, where children are displaying colds, coughs or flu like symptoms, they should not be sent to school.  Children who display such symptoms in school will be isolated and parents asked to collect them from the school.

Children who have travelled from countries not on the Green List should not attend school during the 14-day self-isolation period

Further information on COVID-19 symptoms in children is available at: –

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/if-your-child-has-symptoms.html

Teachers will make children aware of the proper hygiene procedures regarding hand washing and etiquette related to sneezing, coughing or spitting.  We would be grateful if you could also practise correct hand washing and “elbow catching” with your children at home as part of the preparation for returning to school.

Our aim remains to re-open the school in an orderly safe manner, while reassuring the children and making them feel comfortable, safe and relaxed with their friends in the new school environment.  This will be achieved by all of us working towards this common goal.

Kind regards

Bernard Sheehan

Dear Parent / Guardian,

I hope you and your families are keeping well.

As you are aware, our school has now been closed since 12^th March due to the COVID-19 situation.  We are now looking forward to re-opening our school safely, in line with current guidance and recommendations on September 1st.

Re-opening the school safely will require the co-operation of all members of our School Community – BoM, School Leadership, Staff, Parents and Pupils. We will all be called on to play our part in ensuring that re-opening of the school is done in a safe manner which prevents the spread of the virus and allows the vital work of Teaching and Learning to proceed with as little disruption as possible.

We have been working on our plan for the safe reopening of the school for some weeks now and have published the DES COVID-19 Response Plan for the safe and sustainable reopening of Primary and Special Schools on our school website.  The Response Plan gives details of

• Physical preparation, signage, hand sanitiser stations,
• Advice, procedures and training for the safe return to working in the school for all school staff and pupils
• General and specific advice on how all pupils, staff, parents and visitors will prevent the spread of the virus

Our BoM will keep you informed as to the progress of our re-opening plans and provide you with the information required by you to play your part in safely re-opening the school.

We are really looking forward to welcoming our children back to school and will be doing all that we can to ensure that the return to school is a safe and enjoyable experience for the children. We will be in touch with you again before school re-opens.

Kind regards

Bernard Sheehan

The following websites provide further information on COVID-19 and on government advice and recommendations regarding the re-opening of schools: –

• https://www.education.ie/en/covid-19/
• https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/
• https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/a128d-back-to-school/?referrer=http://www.gov.ie/backtoschool/

The children, staff and parents of Dripsey National School have been busy creating images of hearts for the ‘Share the Love’ Art Project. We are currently putting them together as a poster to remember our strength and solidarity at this time.

A lot of effort was put into some of these pieces of Art, so we decided to create a slideshow of the images so you can see the details clearly. Please let me know if I have left anyone out or if I have put the wrong name on any pictures (email sarah.lucey@dripseyns.ie). I know for a fact that I forgot my own so I’ll be adding that over the next few days! Once I am sure that everyone is accounted for I will create the poster. Enjoy!

The PDST Primary Health and Wellbeing Team have developed a new resource for primary schools.

‘Breathe – Self-Regulation and Relaxation Techniques for Children’ features a range of calming breathing techniques, written activities and guided visualisations that children can use to bring about a sense of peace and comfort in any situation. The resource is suitable for children of all ages and class levels.

This may be of benefit to the children during these difficult times. If you are interested, the resources can be found by visiting the following link:

https://www.pdst.ie/primary/healthwellbeing/relaxationandself-regulationtools

Overview

As for all schools in the country, Dripsey NS is obliged to follow the steps set out below.

Parents, pupils and staff have 2 weeks to review this draft policy and submit comments or suggested amendments via email to principal@dripseyns.ie

The Board of Management will consider these comments and suggested amendments with a view towards approving the policy for sending to the school’s Patron: The Bishop of Cloyne. All submissions made by 6PM on April 23rd will be considered by the Board.

 

This Admissions policy will replace our current Enrolment policy.

 

Introduction to the process

Certain sections of the Education (Admissions to Schools)  Act 2018, relating to the school admission process, commenced on February 1st 2020. The key dates for the preparation and publication of an Admissions policy are set out in the new requirements that apply to admission from September 2021 onwards.

Preparation of a draft admission policy

Section 62(1) of the act require Boards of Management to prepare a draft admission policy following consultation with the Patron, parents of students attending the school and staff.

Catholic schools have to use the template provided by the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA) to prepare a draft admission policy, and, no later than April 30th 2020 submit the draft to the patron for approval.

 

Review of draft admission policy by Patron

The Patron must approve the draft admission policy or approve the draft admission policy subject to modifications.

Where the draft policy is approved subject to modification, the Board of Management will have two weeks within which to make the specified modifications and return to the patron for Patron approval.

The admission policy must be approved by the Patron by 15th September 2020.

 

Publication of admissions policy

Boards of Management are required to publish the school’s admissions policy on the school website on or after 1st September 2020 and, on written request, make copies available to parents, the Minister for Education of the public.

 

DRAFT Admission Policy of Dripsey NS