Dear Parents of 5th and 6th Class Pupils,
I hope you are all keeping well and have enjoyed the lovely Irish summer we have had! I am delighted to join the team in Ballymitty and look forward to teaching 5th and 6th class this year. The last few months have been challenging for us all, so it is nice to be able to finally return to school. I look forward to meeting everyone on Thursday 27th August when your child will be returning to school.
On returning to school, we will carefully follow the guidelines set out by our Government to ensure the safety of every pupil and staff member in our school. In my Back to School Video, I explain some of the measures that we will be taking in our class to ensure that we are doing everything that we can to keep everyone safe.
By now, we are all very aware of the importance of good hand hygiene. On entering the classroom, in the morning, after break and after lunch, each child will be asked to wash their hands using the method shown in the video attached. It would be greatly appreciated If you could please show this video to you child before their return to school.
I am sure you have heard the terms Pods and Bubbles being mentioned in the news! Each classroom in the school will be a Bubble and within those Bubbles/classrooms will be Pods. Our class will be known as the Senior Class Bubble. It is very important that each Bubble keeps to themselves as much as possible. Within our Bubble, we will be divided into 5 different Pods. Please see the attached document to find your child’s Pod.
Each child will have a folder in which they will keep their belongings, this will be kept on their desk. These belongings will be left in school. Unfortunately, there can be no sharing of any materials.
5th and 6th Class will be lining up on the basketball court to enter school. They will line up facing the school behind the blue dot. Please encourage you child to go straight to their line in the morning when they get to school.
Ms. McCarthy will be posting a video to our website this week. This video will show everybody the layout of the school and any changes that we need to take note of. All of this will be explained to the children again during their first few days back at school. This is new for everyone and there is no need for anyone to worry. We will all learn the new routines together!
I understand that these are very different times and not the usual ‘Back to School’ that we are used to. Please feel free to email me, any time Monday-Friday between 9am and 6pm, should you have any questions or concerns. I will be sure to get back to you as quickly as I can. My school email address is ballymittytfoley@gmail.com
I have also attached the Return to School Questionnaire which must be emailed to my email address before Thursday 27th August.
Thank you all for your cooperation and understanding during these very strange times. I look forward to meeting you child this Thursday on our first day back. I will do my utmost to ensure that their new experience of school is a safe and happy one. Enjoy the last few days of the summer holidays!
Kindest regards
Tricia Foley