Hi to Larry, Harley, Ben, Conn and Tommy,
Welcome to a new school year in An Choill Bheag!
I hope that you have all had a really lovely Summer break and that you are now looking forward to coming back to school for another fun-filled year of learning.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Larry and Harley to our school and to An Choill Bheag. We are all so excited that you are both joining our class this year!
My name is Ms. Bríd Casey and I will be your teacher in An Choill Bheag for the year ahead. This will be my third year of teaching in An Choill Bheag - so Ben, Conn and Tommy know me very well at this stage! 😊 It really is a fantastic class and I thoroughly enjoy being the class teacher. Every day we are learning and having fun! We look forward to getting to know both Larry and Harley over the coming months. I know that we are all going to learn lots together over the coming year and that we will have lots of fun together too.
Click here to view a short video of me saying a quick hi to everyone and introducing myself to our two new pupils - Larry and Harley.
I would also like to welcome back our two wonderful An Choill Bheag SNAs - Chris and Síona - who are both returning to our school this week following their recent maternity leaves.
I know that Chris and Síona are both very happy to be back working in An Choill Bheag once again and they are really looking forward to all of the fun activities and learning that we have planned for the school year ahead.
Just to let you all know that there will be a few little changes to how we do things in school this year.
The first point to note is that this year the groups within each classroom will be referred to as a 'class bubble'. Each class bubble has been given a name. We in An Choill Bheag are called 'The Funky Bubbles'.
Ms. McCarthy and all of the school staff have been very busy preparing our school for reopening later this week. As always the safety and wellbeing of the pupils and staff is of top priority. Here are a few changes that have been made this year –
- The new entrance gate from the school car park
- New signage in and around the school premises
- School staff will be wearing face coverings.
We will also be required to wash and sanitise our hands more regularly throughout the school day. The whole school will be following a hand cleaning schedule and there will be hand sanitising stations in each room and in other locations throughout the school. The necessary hand washing equipment will be available at each sink and the desks and doorknobs will be disinfected at regular intervals during the day by the class teacher.
Most of our An Choill Bheag pupils will be travelling to and from school by bus. There will be a bus escort on board, as has always been the case, and each morning you will be escorted into the school building via the An Choill Bheag door. You will exit the building at the end of the school day, accompanied by your bus escort, via the same door.
For any pupils travelling to and from school by car I have spoken to your parents earlier this week and have discussed your individualised plan for entering and exiting the school building each day.
We will go through all of the new procedures together on Thursday and we will practise our new routines regularly.
Please also keep an eye out on the website over the next couple of days for a virtual tour of the school!This will give you a good idea of what you can expect to see when you arrive back at school on Thursday morning.
I ask you to please take a look at our Re-opening Plan for Ballymitty over the coming days and also this video on handwashing from the HSE. No doubt that you have all been doing lots of handwashing and sanitising lately but it would be really great if you could practise this particular handwashing routine at home at appropriate times throughout the day over the next few days.
Important Note for Parents:
A Return to School Questionnaire must be filled out for each child in your family. This needs to be returned to your child’s class teacher before Thursday 27th August (or before Wednesday 26th August for our Junior Infant pupils). See below for my school email address.
Click here for the questionnaire.
Finally, if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me on my new school email address - ballymittybcasey@gmail.com - between the hours of 9am - 6pm.
Or, alternatively, our school office number is 051 561 324. Helena, our school secretary, will be more than happy to take your call.
I hope that you enjoy the last few days of the Summer holidays. Hopefully we will get a few days of sunshine!
I am really looking forward to seeing you all on Thursday.
See you all then! 😊
Ms. Casey