Dear Parents/ Guardians,
I hope that you and your family are safe and healthy and that you enjoyed the Christmas holidays.
As you may be aware, St. Thomas’ JNS will reopen on Monday 11th January and not Wednesday 6th January as previously planned.
We are very much aware of the anxious and challenging time that we find yourselves in. We are all very much affected by COVID -19 and the following is information which may be helpful to all of us.
The school holidays have been extended to allow every member of the school community to follow public health advice closely and minimise their contacts before children return to school. By reducing our contacts this week, washing our hands, maintaining social distancing and following HSE advice we as a community are working together to keep our children and school staff safe. I would like to thank you for your cooperation and vigilance in this regard.
If your child has travelled abroad for the Christmas break, please follow HSE advice here and here regarding restricting movements/self-isolating for 14 days before the child’s attendance in school. The difference between self-isolating and restricting movements can be found here. If your child has been abroad (left the island of Ireland), you should not plan for them to return to school until they have completed 14 days self-isolation since their return.
If your child tests positive for Covid-19, please email me directly at t.moynihan@stthomasjns.com. HSE advice will be followed in all cases.
I would like to reassure you that we continue to update our Covid 19 response plan based on national and local developments. We have been doing and will continue to do everything in our power to keep your child safe when in school.
I want to thank you for being extremely responsible to date in following our school Covid-19 guidelines to ensure that our school is safe place to be for all staff and pupils. It continues to be a key priority for us that our children and school staff can attend school safely. This will continue to be achieved through the valiant efforts of all members of the school community.
I want us all to work together to ensure that our second school term is a productive, happy and safe time of learning for everyone.
In the event that there are further changes announced by the Government this week to the reopening of schools on Monday 11th January, we will be in contact with you regarding the same.
If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Many thanks and stay safe,
Teresa Moynihan
Principal