Dear Parent / Guardian / Colleague / Board Member,

I hope you are all keeping well and that our Remote Teaching and Learning is proving beneficial to you and your families. I am conscious that as families, we are all in different spaces on so many levels from childcare to health to broadband availability etc. I am here to assure you that our staff is available to help and is doing so daily.

As of today, we are not any the wiser as regards when our school will reopen. We do know that schools will not reopen as anticipated on Monday next. We are led to believe that there may be a partial reopening of schools with initial focus centered on children with additional educational needs next month and a full reopening thereafter. This is only speculation. We will contact parents in advance of any opening partial or otherwise.

“As you are aware, the Government has made a decision … to extend the level 5 restriction measures in place … and as part of these measures to continue this phase of school closure at present.  The Department is engaging closely with stakeholder representatives … to work towards achieving consensus on a satisfactory way forward to ensure a safe phased return of children with special educational needs to in-school learning. This remains a high priority for all partners. The Dept is also continuing to work with education partners to ensure that all schools can safely fully reopen, in line with public health advice.”- DES letter sent to principals earlier today

This past week was Catholic School’s Week and while we couldn’t partake as a school community, Fr Toomey did offer a mass on grandparents’ Day which was streamed live from Ardfinnan Church. We did participate in that some of the children’s work was displayed in front of the altar. We look forward to reverting to our traditional Grandparents’ Day ritual from January 2022, le cúnamh Dé.

Sincere thanks to Therese O’Flynn in her fundraising efforts before Christmas. A cheque for €500 was presented to the school and has been lodged with the Parents’ Association of which she is Secretary. On a similar note, the final amount collected for the Dungarvan & West Waterford Lions Club Christmas Hamper Appeal over two non uniform days in December was €345. Thanks to all for their donations.

Please remember to liaise with me or your respective class teacher if there is anything we can do to make Remote Teaching & Learning work for you and your family. Again I extend the offer to loan I-pads etc to help pupils interact with their teacher. We as a staff will also take on board any suggestions / comments as this is a two way process. From our virtual staff meeting this morning, we see that the participation rates are very high and we thank everyone for this; our staff, our pupils and you their parents.

At teatime this evening, I plan on forwarding a Fun Activity to pupils and their families matching staff with “Something you didn’t know about me” Please feel free to complete and return to school via email, post or hand by Wednesday next and we will give a prize to the winner or closest family. Answers will be posted next Friday.

Finally, can I remind parents who know of a family intending to enroll a child, to please do so at their earliest convenience. Please keep safe & stay well. Hopefully we can return to normality sooner rather than later

Michael J. O’Ryan – Principal.