Information for Parents/Guardians & Students
I hope all is good with you and your family.
We have been engaged in detailed planning around the ‘Roadmap to Reopen Schools’ and I want to bring you up to date with some general information. In our work we are very aware of the various views that exist among parents, students and staff of the need for such actions. Some will feel we are not going far enough while others will feel that we are being excessively cautious. We must work within the requirements and funding supports as set out in the published documents some of which you can see here.
Like all schools we will be challenged with 1m social distancing between students and 2m for teachers in classrooms. The guidance sets out a suite of measures and layouts for rooms while acknowledging the individuality of each school setting and the need for flexibility.
In the coming weeks we will publish information booklets for parents/guardians and students which will offer advice and information about the operation of the college on a day to day basis from arrival in the college to departure. It is important to acknowledge that in the current environment everything is subject to change and we aim to offer clarity if not certainty for students and parents alike.
School Reopening Schedule
- Monday August 31st – Covid Training Day – Staff only
- Tuesday September 1st – Staff Planning Day – Staff only
- Wednesday September 2nd – 1st Year only (half day)
- Thursday September 3rd – 1st and 6th Years only – all day.
- Friday September 4th – 1st, 6th and 3rd Years only – all day
- Monday September 7th – 1st, 6th, 3rd and 5th Years only – all day. Leaving Certificate Results.
- Tuesday September 8th – 1st, 6th 3rd , 5th and 2nd years – all day
- Wednesday September 9th – TYs and all other years – all day.
- Thursday September 10th – All years
Our updated school calendar, as of August 7th, can be found at this link.
Books & Lockers
- Collection of Books
- A large number of books have not been collected from the College. These are available for collection until Friday August 14th. We will unfortunately, due to the need to create space, dump ALL uncollected books or resources left in the school after this point even if they have student names on them.
- Book lists are available on the website at the following link.
- We have been advised against the use of lockers in the college at present. Lockers will not be available to students. In this regard we advise parents or students to download the ebook version of their text books where possible. Instructions on how to do this can be found on the inside cover of each text book. Teachers will be conscious of the demands they place on students to bring resources to the college and minimise this as much as possible. You may need our school roll number to register with some companies – 63610i. This is not compulsory but by using a phone (last resort) tablet or laptop the students would (There is no expectation that parents now buy devices for this purpose hence the use of the phone where no other device is readily available.);
- reduce the weight in their bag.
- avoid clutter in classrooms and
- reduce the amount of hard surfaces coming back into your home or coming into the college.
Further guidance around the responsible use of mobile devices will be included in the information booklet
Dining Room Facilities
- Regretfully the Dining Room will not be providing any food service to students at present. The dining room will be needed for classroom and supervision space.
- Microwaves/Sandwich makers/ Boiling water will not be available to students – all very high contact items with issues around queues and social distancing
- Water fonts will not be operational – again high contact areas.
- Students MUST bring a fully packed lunch to school each day including water and other items such as flasks etc.
Registration
Further information regarding registration will be posted separately on the website next week.
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- We will not have our traditional registration day in the college this year. Registration will be online and instructions will issue to each parent on the process. However if you would prefer to register in the college the Administration Office can help you.
- Student Journals will be distributed to each student on their first day back as outlined above.
School Uniform
At present students are expected to wear uniform to school each day.
Face-Coverings
It is now recommended that teachers and secondary school students wear face coverings, similar to those worn in shops or on public transport, when a physical distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained. See the following link for the COVID-19 Interim Guidance for the use of face-coverings in childcare and educational settings.
Transport
If your son intends travelling to the college by bus we advise making contact with the provider regarding policies and procedures they will have in place for the reopening of schools.
There are still many outstanding challenges that we are grappling with to meet the expectations of the reopening our schools plan. Our school environment physically, socially and emotionally will be very different in the coming months. Some of these challenges will pose particular difficulty but with the ongoing support and cooperation of all in our community we are confident we can overcome these and together create a different but safe learning and working environment for each of us.
As we move through the planning process I will keep you up to date with our plans. Check in regularly on the website! Please do not hesitate to contact us with any observations suggestions or questions.
mark.obrien@goodcounselcollege.ie
aidan.obrien@goodcounselcollege.ie
pj.walsh@goodcounselcollege.ie
Take care and all the best!
Kind regards
Where we have clarity we will add a FAQ section to this post in response to any common questions we get from parents/guardians.
