I hope this notification finds all students and their families safe and well. I hope also that you are also in a position to enjoy the belated good weather we are getting before students return for the new school year. I wish to bring a number of important issues to your attention in addition to those already communicated in the recent correspondence to your household.
Wearing of Masks
Subsequent to the recent correspondence on 5 August, the Department of Education issued further guidelines in relation to the wearing of masks in the school environment. It is now recommended that teachers and secondary school students wear cloth masks, similar to those worn in shops or on public transport, when a physical distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained. Our preparations will ensure that all students will maintain a 1 metre social distance from each other. This will mean that in effect all student and teachers must wear cloth masks. Students will be responsible for providing their own cloth mask and ensuring that they have a clean mask for each new school day. There is no doubt that this requirement will present challenges on different levels. The school will comply with all regulations to ensure that the wellbeing of the community is protected.
One-Hour Class (OHC)
In order to reduce the movement of students while maintaining the highest possible level of quality teaching and learning and student wellbeing, the school has decided to introduce a OHC timetable for the coming school year. The OHC is a growing trend in Irish education and has been positively received in the vast majority of schools where it has been implemented. There are many advantages for students, not least being the reduction in the number of classes from nine to six resulting in a lighter school bag! Please feel free to contact the school if you have any queries on the OHC.
Book Rental Scheme
The school is moving to a system of electronic payment for the Book Rental Scheme (BRS), payment for uniforms etc. We are in the process of setting up the system and it should be operable this week. All BRS fees must be paid in full before the beginning of the school year. The school makes every effort to keep the cost of the BRS scheme as low as possible and feels it represents good
value relative to other schools. The fee covers the cost of school books for the year, student insurance, student journal, photocopying expenses and communication expenses (postage, texting etc.). The breakdown of these costs between the purchase of new books and the other items is split half and half approximately.
There will be further communications regarding school reopening in the coming weeks.
Yours in education,
Mr. O’Brien. Principal.
