Dear Parents,

We hope you all had a very happy Christmas and we wish you a very happy New Year.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, you have been so good and supportive of our efforts to keep the children and staff of the school safe from the virus. We continue to be deeply grateful to you for this support.

Unfortunately, however, Covid-19 is more rampant now than ever before so we must renew our combined efforts to be extra vigilant over the coming weeks. We wish, therefore, to ask you to assist us diligently with the following school measures we are putting in place to keep the children and staff safe over the coming months.

1. Parents must complete the parent declaration form at www.scoiliosaballina.ie/parent-declaration before their children return to school. If children are absent from school for any length due to illness, parents will be asked to complete the form again online. 
2. Parents are asked to keep their children at home:
   • If they display any symptoms of Covid-19 (e.g. Fever, cough, tiredness, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, headache, aches and pains, diarrhoea, skin rash, irritated eyes)
   • If someone in their household has tested positive for Covid-19 on an Antigen or PCR test and/or is awaiting a PCR test and/or awaiting the result of a PCR test.
   • If they are a close contact of a person with a positive test result on an Antigen or PCR test.
   • For information about restricting movements and rules re self-isolation, please go to http://www2.hse.ie/conditions/covid19/  
3. The children will sit in the same classroom pods everyday until the February mid-term break. We will continue to carefully segregate classes on the school yard and ensure each class enters and exits the building through designated doors.
4. The breakfast and homework clubs will not run between now and the February mid-term break.
5. Visitors, including parents, will not be permitted to enter the building. Parents who need to speak to us may call 096 96201 and your call will be answered by either Karen (Secretary), Monica or Michael.
6. Parents of children who are certified by a doctor to remain at home due to the risk of Covid should contact the school to make arrangements regarding the provision of learning activities for completion at home.
7. The children in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th classes will be required to wear masks which we are asking you to supply for your own child. Parents of children who are not wearing masks for medical reasons will be required to provide the school with a medical certificate. 
8. All parents are asked to wear masks when dropping off or collecting children.
9. Parents are asked to ensure that their children wash their hands thoroughly before they leave home in the morning. Their teachers will ask them to sanitise their hands several times throughout the school day.
10. Parents may notify the school of student absences by calling 096 70532 or 096 96201 or by emailing info@scoiliosaballina.ie. 
11. We request all parents to give us an email address that they check regularly in order to keep everyone informed of vital information over the coming weeks. Parents can do this by completing the online form on the front page of the school website.
12. A copy of the school’s Covid-19 response plan is available on the school website.

We wish to assure you that the safety of the children and the staff are our top priority over the coming weeks. We will do everything we can to ensure that the risks associated with Covid are managed as carefully as we possibly can.

Although we cannot allow parents to come into the school over the coming weeks, we want you to feel free to call the 096 96201 number at any time and we will do our best to support you.

Yours faithfully,

Michael Tunney and Monica Duffy