School Re-opening – Lucan East Educate Together

August 2022

Fáilte ar ais

Dear Parent/Guardian,

The BoM and Staff of Lucan East ETNS are looking forward to welcoming all our pupils and parents / guardians back to school for the 2022/2023 school year.

All classes will formally begin at 8.40am and finish at 1.20pm (Junior and Senior Infants) or 2.20pm (1st to 6th)

Thursday 1^st September 2022 – junior infants start (8.40am)

Thursday 1^st September to Friday 9^th September – junior infants will finish at 11.40am.

Mon 12^th September onwards – junior infants will finish at the normal time of 1.20pm.

Please help us by ensuring to do the following before we all start back together again:

Send a hygiene pack (with a clean face cloth for drying hands after washing and tissues) to school with your child every day
Email your child’s teacher by 11 am on Friday 2nd September if you want to give permission for your child to walk home on their own.

Junior Infants Somalia – Jo (jo@lucaneastet.ie)

Junior Infants Moldova – Rebecca (rebeccam@lucaneastet.ie )

Senior Infants Pakistan: Niamh Byrne (niamh@lucaneastet.ie)

Senior Infants Ethiopia: Lucy Freeman (lucyf@lucaneastet.ie)

1st Class Malaysia: Sarah McHugh (sarahmc@lucaneastet.ie)

1st Class Scotland: Linda Jane (lindajane@lucaneastet.ie)

2nd Class Algeria: Lorraine (lorrainen@lucaneastet.ie)

2nd Class Portugal: Hazel (hazel@lucaneastet.ie)

3rd Class Jamaica: Conor (conorm@lucaneastet.ie)

3rd Class India: Ryan (ryan@lucaneastet.ie)

4th Class Cuba: Sarah Sweeny (sarahs@lucaneastet.ie)

4th Class Germany: Lucy (lucycross@lucaneastet.ie)

5th Class Finland: Kate (kate@lucaneastet.ie)

5th Class Fiji: Paula (paula@lucaneastet.ie)

6th Class Canada: Michael (michael@lucaneastet.ie)

6th Class Italy: Caoimhe (caoimhe@lucaneastet.ie)

Switzerland Class: Niamh O’Rourke (niamho@lucaneastet.ie)

Ghana Class: Laura & Carol (lauracarol@lucaneastet.ie)

Please go through hand washing and general hand hygiene procedures with your child before they return to school

Please ensure that your child washes their hands before they come to school every day.

Carambola lunches will be provided for senior infants to 6th classes from Wednesday 31st August and lunches will begin for junior infants from Monday 12th September.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Senior Infants to 6^th Classes:

On Wednesday 31st August students will line up in the basketball courts (SI, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd & 4^th), the courtyard (5^th) and the astro-turf area (6^th) to meet their new teacher. Class teachers will be standing at the top of each line holding a poster displaying the class name, level and teacher’s name to enable children to find them easily. From Thursday 1st September onwards pupils will walk straight into the school building on arrival through their assigned door.

Junior Infants:

On Thursday 1st September Junior Infant students will line up in the basketball courts and meet their new teacher. From Friday 2nd September onwards Junior Infants will walk straight into their classrooms through the front door. There will be lots of staff members on hand to help with this.

Arrival Times at school

Children should not arrive at school before 8.30 am as there will be no supervision.

Each door will be open from 8.40 to facilitate the children’s entry to the school and safe journey to their class.
Messages for teachers can be sent by emailing the class teacher or by phoning the school office.

SCHOOL ENTRY & EXIT

	Morning Entry	Home Time
JI Moldova (Rebecca) 4	Front Door	Soft Play
JI Somalia (Jo) Room 3	Front Door	Soft Play
SI Pakistan Niamh 1	Bike Shed Door	Bike Shed
SI Ethiopia Lucy 2	Front Door	Front Door
Outreach	Outreach Door	Outreach
1st Scotland Linda 9	Front Door	Front Door
1st Malaysia Sarah Mc 10	Bike Shed Door	Bike Shed
2nd Algeria Lorraine 11	Bike Shed Door	Bike Shed
2nd Portugal Hazel 12	Soft Play Door	Front Door
3rd Jamaica Conor 13	Astro Door	Astro Door
3rd India Ryan 14	5th Door	5th Door
4th Cuba Sarah S 15	Astro Door	Astro Door
4th Germany Lucy 16	5th Door	5th Door
5th Fiji Paula 5	Soft Play	Soft Play
5th Finland Kate 6	Soft Play	Soft Play
6th Canada Michael 17	Astro	Astro
6th Italy Caoimhe 18	5th Door	5th Door

We would like to thank you for your co-operation in advance and look forward to seeing you all again next week.

Warm wishes,

Simon

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

24th August 2021

Fáilte ar ais

Dear Parent/Guardian,

The BoM and Staff of Lucan East ETNS are looking forward to welcoming all our pupils and parents / guardians back to school for the 2021/2022 school year next week.

As was the case last year, we are satisfied that we have control measures in place to ensure that this will be a safe re-opening. There will, undoubtedly, be some unforeseen challenges and we will deal with these as they arise.

Please help us by ensuring to do the following before we all start back together again next week:

Send a hygiene pack (with a clean face cloth for drying hands after washing and tissues) to school with your child every day
Send a school pencil case (with a pencil, sharpener, rubber, some colours etc.) to school with your child on their first day of school. This will be kept in school at all times.
Check your child’s staggered start and finish times and collection points (see below)
Email your child’s teacher by 11 am on Friday 27^th August if you want to give permission for your child to walk home on their own.
Fill in the ‘Student Return to School Form’ by 11 am on Friday 27^th August (this will be sent by text and email tomorrow).
Please ensure that your child washes their hands before they come to school every day.
Go through hand washing and general hand hygiene procedures with your child before they return to school
We ask that all adults wear a face mask when on the school grounds at drop off and collection times.
For the safety of all who use the school, no child may come to school if sick if any way. Any child who staff consider to be sick will be promptly brought to the isolation room and parents/guardians will be contacted to collect their child immediately.
Pupils may wear a visor/mask in school if parents or the child wishes. It is not however the responsibility of the school staff to enforce pupil wearing of masks and we are not in a position to supply them to children.

Please also remember that Parents/Guardians/Visitors must not enter the school building without an appointment under any circumstances and will not be permitted to gather on school grounds before or after school.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Senior Infants to 6^th Classes:

On Monday 30^th August students will line up in the basketball courts (SI, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd & 4^th), the courtyard (5^th) and the astro-turf area (6^th) to meet their new teacher. Class teachers will be standing at the top of each line holding a poster displaying the class name, level and teacher’s name to enable children to find them easily. From Tuesday 31^st onwards pupils will walk straight into the school building on arrival through their assigned door.

Carambola lunches will be provided for all classes from Senior Infants – 6^th from Monday 30^th August.

Junior Infants:

On Tuesday 31^st August Junior Infant students will line up in the basketball courts and meet their new teacher. From Wednesday 1^st September onwards Junior Infants will walk straight into their classrooms through the front door. There will be lots of staff members on hand to help with this.

Carambola lunches will begin for Junior Infants and other new pupils from approx. 13^th September (exact date to be confirmed).

Arrival Times at school

Children will arrive at different times as outlined below to enable social distancing at all times inside and outside of the school:

8.30: Families with surnames starting with letters A, B, C or D
8.35: Families with surnames starting with letters E, F, G, H, I, J, K or L
8.40: Families with surnames starting with letters M, N, O or P
8.45: Families with surnames starting with letters Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y or Z

There will be a teacher at each door to supervise children’s entry to the school and safe journey to their class. There will also be teachers supervising the classrooms from 8.30 am.
Messages for teachers can be sent by emailing the class teacher or by phoning the school office.

Key to Entrances & Exits

Front Door	Junior Infants – Ethiopia (eanya@lucaneastet.ie) Senior Infants – Malaysia (noelle@lucaneastet.ie) 1^st Class – Algeria (lindajane@lucaneastet.ie)
Bike Shed Door	Senior Infants – Scotland (deirdre@lucaneastet.ie) 1^st Class – Portugal (sarahmc@lucaneastet.ie) 2^nd Class – Jamaica (lorrainen@lucaneastet.ie)
Soft Play Door	Junior Infants – Pakistan (rebeccam@lucaneastet.ie) 2^nd Class – India (joanna@lucaneastet.ie) 3^rd Class – Germany (ryan@lucaneastet.ie)
Outreach Door	Ghana Class (hazel@lucaneastet.ie) Switzerland Class (niamho@lucaneastet.ie)
Astro Door	3^rd Class – Cuba (conorm@lucaneastet.ie) 4^th Class – Fiji (sarahs@lucaneastet.ie) 6^th Class – Austria (niall@lucaneastet.ie) 6^th Class – Sweden (carol@lucaneastet.ie)
5^th Class Door Collect @ front of school	4^th Class – Finland (lucycross@lucaneastet.ie) 5^th Class – Canada (niamh@lucaneastet.ie)
Library Door	5^th Class – Sweden (margaret@lucaneastet.ie)

End of School Day

Adults, who are collecting their children from school at the end of the day, should wait on the designated wait markings outside the child’s class entry/exit door.
To minimise the numbers congregating at any one time the classes will finish at the following times:
1.15 pm: Junior Infants (from 9^th September)
1.20 pm: Senior Infants
2.10 pm: 1^st and 3^rd Classes
2.15 pm: 2^nd and 4^th Classes
2.20 pm: 5^th and 6^th Classes
When the school day for that class is over the class teacher will bring the children to their designated entrance/exit point and will release the children into the care of the adult who is there to collect them

For further advice and information for parents of children returning to school please see: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a04fc-advice-for-students-and-their-families/#returning-to-school

For travel advice please refer to: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/77952-government-advice-on-international-travel/#travelling-to-ireland

For more information you can view the school’s Covid Policy Statement and Covid Logistics Plan which you can find at https://lucaneastet.ie/covid-19/

We would like to thank you for your co-operation in advance and look forward to seeing you all again next week.

Warm wishes,

Gráinne

We will keep you informed of our re-opening plans and provide you with the information required by you to play your part in safely re-opening the school.

Please see our logistics plan for re-opening and our Covid-19 Policy Statement below:

LEETNS Covid Logistics PlanDownload

LEETNS COVID-19 Policy StatementDownload

Please see blow for additional Information on Solution we will be using for the Fogging Machine

Re-opening Update and Reminders

27^th August 2020

Dear Parent / Guardian,

Fáilte ar ais

The BoM and Staff of Lucan East ETNS are looking forward to welcoming all our pupils and parents / guardians back to school for the 2020/2021 school year next week.

We are satisfied that we have control measures in place to ensure that this will be a safe re-opening. It will take some time for all of us to get used to the “new circumstances” as we become familiar with the new routines and procedures designed to keep everyone safe and to prevent the spread of the virus. There will, undoubtedly, be some unforeseen challenges and we will deal with these as they arise.

Please help us by ensuring to do the following before we all start back together again next week:

Send a hygiene pack (with face cloth and tissues) and school pencil case to school with your child.
Check your child’s new staggered start and finish times (see school’s ‘Logistics Plan’ at http://lucaneastet.ie/covid-19/).
Email your child’s teacher by 1 pm on Friday 28^th August if you want to give permission for your child to walk home on their own.
Fill in the ‘Student Return to School Form’ by 1pm on Friday 28^th August (sent by text and email).
Please ensure that your child washes their hands before they come to school everyday.
Go through hand hygiene procedures with your child before they return to school (see file:///C:/Users/Mcmanusg/Downloads/71700_97852cec6b9c4cfab3daf38d0ae30d7c%20(1).pdf)

On Monday 31^st August students will line up in the courtyard (SI, 1^st), basketball court (2^nd, 3^rd & 4^th) and near the astro-turf area (5^th, 6^th) to meet their new teacher. From Tuesday onwards pupils will walk straight into the school building on arrival through their assigned door.

Carambola lunches will be provided for all classes from Senior Infants – 6^th from Monday 31^st August. They will begin for Junior Infants and other new pupils from 14^th September (exact date to be confirmed).

We are also delighted to inform you that we’ve acquired a fogging machine for increased sanitation which will be used throughout the school.

We would like to thank you for your co-operation in making preparations to date and look forward to working with you as we assist the children adapt to the necessary changes. We are also conscious of the fact that our pupils have not been in school since March and that they are looking forward to coming back to school to meet their friends again. We are aware that our new pupils are beginning a school year at a challenging time and have made plans to ensure that their arrival will be as free from stress as possible.

Warm wishes,

Gráinne

26th August 2020

Please see HSE Advice for Parents at the following link: https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/news/newsfeatures/covid19-updates/partner-resources/covid-19-schools-and-parents-resources/back-to-school-advice-for-parents.pdf

This document gives clear guidance on ‘When to keep your child at home and phone your GP’ and ‘When it’s okay to send your child to school’

Many thanks,

Gráinne

Re-opening Update

19^th August 2020

Dear Parent / Guardian,

RE: Drop-off and Collection Routines

The Board of Management (BoM), the School Leadership Team and the Covid Response Team have been working to ensure a safe return to school for all pupils and staff in two weeks’ time. As you will know, the Department of Education and Skills published a number of documents outlining required actions to facilitate the reopening of schools in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. All of the provisions in these documents are being implemented in Lucan East ETNS. Below are the key changes to practice which Lucan East ETNS is required to make in order to reopen safely. The following arrangements hold until review by the BoM.

The BoM ratified Lucan East’s Covid Policy Statement which you can find at https://lucaneastet.ie/covid-19/
To avoid large crowds in the school grounds, pupils and parents will no longer be permitted to gather on school grounds before school. Pupils must enter the building through an assigned door and attend school at an assigned time (see below).
Parents/Guardians/visitors must not enter the school building beyond reception under any circumstances without a prior appointment. Anyone entering the building by prior arrangement will be required to sign a visitors’ register. We respectfully ask that parents/guardians do not come within 4 metres of the children’s entry /exit points if bringing children to school. These areas must not be clogged up and must be kept clear for the safe entry of the children. Where possible, we encourage children to walk or cycle to school safely.
Pupil break times will now be staggered. Pupils will only play with their own class groups in pre-marked zones during these play times.
Use of the school and class libraries will be minimised.
We ask that all pupils bring a small personal hygiene pack to school daily, containing hand sanitiser, a clean face cloth sized towel to dry their hands after washing and tissues.
- We respectfully ask that pupils do not bring in non-school personal belongings (e.g. toys etc.).
Classrooms will be decluttered to facilitate daily enhanced cleaning so therefore, unfortunately, pupil access to some resources may be limited.
In consultation with our cleaning contractors, enhanced daily cleaning procedures will be in place within the school. The school has installed hand sanitiser stations throughout the school, including in all classrooms.
Again to avoid large crowds in the grounds in the afternoons the classes will finish at staggered finish times (outlined below). We ask that you inform childminders/childcare facilities of these new arrangements as necessary.
When the school day for that class is over the class teacher will bring the children to their designated entrance/exit point and will release the children into the care of the adult who is there to collect them
To avoid crossover of class groups and pods all after school activities are postponed pending review by the BoM.
If your child has been abroad within 14 days of the school reopening, you must inform the school by email and be prepared for your child to quarantine for 14 days if necessary in line with Government requirements.
For the safety of all who use the school, no child may come to school if sick in any way. Any child who staff consider to be sick in any way will be promptly brought to the isolation room and parents will be contacted to collect their child immediately. If necessary, in such circumstances the HSE may provide further guidance to the school and /or relevant parents. The school’s decision in such cases is final. All contact details provided for pupils must be up to date before school reopens and must be kept up to date if they change. All children must have at least one contact available at all times.
Pupils may wear a visor/mask in school if parents or the child wishes. It is not however the responsibility of the school staff to enforce pupil wearing of masks and we are not in a position to supply them to children.
All children will have their own individual chair pocket to keep the books and supplies they need during the school day and their ‘school pencil case’.

We understand that some of the arrangements listed above may prove difficult for some in our school community. However, these procedures are required and will be in place to maximise safety for all.

Lucan East ETNS appreciates your support as we try to safely reopen the school building. If at all possible we request you not to come onto the school grounds or into the school building unless it is essential and utilise a drop and go system as much as possible. We appreciate that Junior & Senior Infant pupils may need more help, but for the older pupils a drop off at the roundabout (in the school grounds) is desirable. Working together we hope to be able to progress the reopening in as safe a manner as possible for all.

We would ask all parents to familiarise themselves with the following drop-off and collection routines for the safe delivery and collection of pupils from school. Please be patient as we endeavour to embed these necessary precautionary and protective practices at the beginning of the school year.

It is imperative that:

adults do not come within 2m of each other
parents do not try to have meetings with members of staff in the playground at drop-off and collection times – communication between parents and teachers can only take place by prior arrangement, via phone call or email.
all parents adhere to the drop-off and collection plans as outlined below

Drop-off Plan

From August 31^st onwards, children will arrive at different times as outlined below to enable social distancing at all times inside and outside of the school:

8.30: Families with surnames starting with letters A, B, C or D
8.35: Families with surnames starting with letters E, F, G, H, I, J, K or L
8.40: Families with surnames starting with letters M, N, O or P
8.45: Families with surnames starting with letters Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y or Z

We ask for co-operation with these times as it will mean that the numbers congregating on school grounds at any one time will be minimised.
There will be a teacher at each door to supervise children’s entry to the school and safe journey to their class.
No adults, other than staff members, should enter the building.
Messages for teachers can be sent by emailing the class teacher or by phoning the school office.

On the first day ONLY – Monday, August 31^st – all children will line up with their class teachers 1 m apart in the following areas:

Senior Infants and 1^st Class: Courtyard
2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Class: Basketball Courts
5^th and 6^th Class: Astro Area

Class teachers will be standing at the top of each line holding a poster displaying the class name, level and teacher’s name to enable children to find them easily.

From 1^st September onwards children will walk straight into their classrooms at their assigned times through the doors listed in the table below:

Collection Plan

Adults, who are collecting their children from school at the end of the day, should wait on the designated wait markings outside the child’s class entry/exit door.
To minimise the numbers congregating at any one time the classes will finish at the following times:
1.10 pm: Junior Infants (from 9^th September)
1.20 pm: Senior Infants
2.10 pm: 1^st and 3^rd Classes
2.15 pm: 2^nd and 4^th Classes
2.20 pm: 5^th and 6^th Classes
When the school day for that class is over the class teacher will bring the children to their designated entrance/exit point and will release the children into the care of the adult who is there to collect them
Please email your child’s teacher as soon as possible if you want to give your child permission to walk home on their own (email addresses above).

Collection of Children during the School Day

If an adult has to collect a child during the course of the school day, the following arrangements will apply

When the adult arrives at the school, they should either phone the office or use the intercom at the front door of the school to alert the office that they have arrived
The child will come from their class out to the adult
The adult who is collecting will be asked to sign the child out
Parents/Guardians/visitors must not enter the school building beyond reception under any circumstances without a prior appointment. We recommend that any visitor to the school wears a mask.

Is mise meas,

Grainne

Re-opening Update (Posted on 15th August 2020)

Dear Parent / Guardian,

As we work towards re-opening the school safely, we are aware it will require the co-operation of all members of our School Community – BoM, Staff, Parents and Pupils. We will all be called on to play our part in ensuring that re-opening of the school is done in a safe manner which works to prevent the spread of the virus and allows the vital work of Teaching and Learning to proceed with as little disruption as possible.

In order to achieve this goal we ask that the pupils bring the following items to school:

A small personal hygiene pack (daily) containing tissues and a clean face cloth sized towel for hand drying. Parents may choose to send hand sanitiser with their child. This is optional as there will be hand sanitising stations in every classroom and on all corridors. Please ensure the hand towel is changed daily.
A ‘school’ pencil case with a pencil, sharpener, rubber, some colours etc. which will be left in school at all times. (Junior Infants will not need a school pencil case.) This pencil case should be compact so that it will fit in their individual chair pockets with textbooks and copies to facilitate daily cleaning of table tops. Children will also need a similar set at home for completing homework. Children will not be able to share pencils, pens, erasers, coloured pencils etc. in school.

We are currently working on upgrading our procedures and routines within the school to ensure that there is as much Physical Distancing as is possible in our building. We will apply physical distancing in a practical and sensible way, recognising that the learning environment cannot be dominated by a potentially counterproductive focus on this issue.

Physical Distancing will be achieved in two ways: –

Increasing Separation. This will be achieved by re-configuring the classrooms to maximise physical distancing. Each class will be referred to as a bubble and we will ensure that there is as little contact as possible between children in different bubbles. Within the bubbles, children may be organised into pods. A pod is a group of children (normally 6) who will sit together and who will stay in their pod while in the bubble, or classroom.

Decreasing Interaction. This will be achieved by decreasing the potential for children from different bubbles to interact. There will be marked routes for various bubbles to enter and exit the school and to access their classrooms. Bubbles will have different mid-morning and lunch-time access to the playground. We will make these routines enjoyable activities for the children, emphasising safety at all times.

While all children will be welcome back to school, we would remind parents that, where children are displaying colds, coughs or flu like symptoms, they should not be sent to school. Children who display such symptoms in school will be isolated and parents asked to collect them from the school.

Children who have travelled from countries not on the Green List should not attend school during the 14-day self-isolation period

Further information on COVID-19 symptoms in children is available at: –

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/if-your-child-has-symptoms.html

Teachers will make children aware of the proper hygiene procedures regarding hand washing and etiquette related to sneezing, coughing or spitting. We would be grateful if you could also emphasise safe behaviour in this regard to your children at home as part of the preparation for returning to school.

If your child has a condition that places them in the ‘Very High Risk’ category as set out on the HSE website, please let us know.

If your child is not returning to the school please email principal@lucaneastet.ie .

We have published our COVID-19 Policy Statement on the school website. We will keep you informed of our re-opening plans and provide you with the information required by you to play your part in safely re-opening the school.

Our aim remains to re-open the school in an orderly safe manner, while reassuring the children and making them feel comfortable, safe and relaxed with their friends in the new school environment. This will be achieved by all of us working towards this common goal.

Is mise le meas,

Gráinne

Return to School (Posted on 8th August 2020)

Dear Parents and Guardians,

No doubt you will have been following the reports in the media regarding the new school year in September. The Government has published ‘Reopening our Schools: Roadmap for the Full Return to School’ as well as a large number of supporting documents. I just wanted to give you a quick update on how this will play out in Lucan East ETNS.

DES Reopening our Schools Doc Download

It is our clear expectation that the school will reopen in full to all children for the full day in the first week of September. While we will have to make significant changes to the way the school operates to ensure this will be done safely, we are fortunate in a number of respects.

Our building is modern, with large, well-designed classrooms. We do not have any classes in the school with more than 30 children. The combination of these two factors means that we will be able to follow the public health advice on social distancing for children in primary schools and provide the necessary hand-washing and sanitizing facilities in each classroom.

The exact details of how we will manage the return to school will be communicated to parents in the coming weeks. This process is well under way in terms of organising classrooms and yards, purchasing hand sanitizer and deep cleaning the school building but there is a lot more work to be done in the coming weeks.

There will be significant changes to how we arrange the arrival of pupils in the morning and their departure from school in the afternoon. To allow us to smoothly and safely introduce these changes we are going to stagger the school return over the first two days of the year.

On Monday 31st August all existing pupils (who were with us last year) in classes from Senior Infants to 6th class will attend the school. Junior Infants and new pupils in older classes will not attend on this day.

On Tuesday 1^st September, all pupils in all classes from Junior Infants to 6th class will attend as normal.

This staggered start will allow us to make sure that everything works as it should to ensure everyone’s safety.

After the prolonged closure it will be a relief to us all to get back to some semblance of normality. With the cooperation and good will of the full school community, I am confident that we will be able to successfully achieve a full, safe return to school in September.

We look forward to seeing you all, especially your children, very soon.

Best wishes,

Grainne