Starting Back to School - Sept 2021

September 2021

Dear Parents and Carers

I hope that you all had a relaxing, safe and enjoyable summer.

The staff are in school preparing for the new school year and we are all looking forward to Wednesday 1st September when our wonderful pupils from Years 2 – 7 and LSC will join us.

The Nursery, Year 1 and ASD pupils will have a staggered intake.  The class teachers will contact you to tell you which group and which day your child is in school.

We are going to focus on the core curriculum initially to ensure children have a good foundation in literacy and numeracy.  We will build on this and extend the curriculum to ensure a broad range of experiences and learning are available to all children.  This year we will continue to have a strong focus on emotional and mental well-being by embedding social and emotional learning through the development of the Mind Up programme.

We wish to reassure you that we will continue to follow PHA Guidance to keep your children safe.  Department of Education guidance has changed within this past week.  Initially they advised disbanding bubbles, now they have advised that this is at the discretion of each individual school.  We will continue with the class bubbles as Covid rates are very high in this Council area. 

The systems in place for entering and exiting the school will continue this year.

Entrance A (Car Park gate):           Years 2,3,7, ASD and LSC

Entrance B (Pedestrian gate):        Years 1, 4 and Nursery

Entrance C (Beside Canteen):        Years 5 and 6

(See below pictures of these 3 entrances)

Plastic book bags will be provided again this year.  Work will go out on Mondays and come back on Fridays.

These arrangements  will be kept under review in order to keep your children safe and the school Covid free.

Class begins at 9.00am and I ask that all pupils arrive for 8.55am.  Finishing times remain the same for all classes.  Younger siblings will remain in their bubbles until 3.00 pm so that they can go home with parents and older family members.

Some clubs will begin from Monday 13th September.  Further information will be forwarded regarding this next week.

May I take this opportuntiy to wish you well for the new school year and assure you that we will work closely with you to ensure your child’s education and well-being are a committment for all of us in the home school partnership.

Kind regards

Mary McCallion

Principal