REMINDER: SCHOOL COLLECTION TIMES ON FRIDAYS

Dear Parent/ Carer/ Guardian,

As you are aware we reopened our school with FULL Teaching Days , five days per week at the start of this academic year. Although we had to implement staggered start times and collection times (as per Department of Education (DE) Guidance), the length of our child’s day at school has not been altered in any way to date.

However, due to the rise in COVID 19 Infection Levels in the Strabane/ Lifford Locality areas, we are now experiencing greater increases in the number of children who are needing to self isolate as a result of a positive COVID 19 case among their close family contacts or pupils may have to self isolate if their class bubble has to shut down due to a positive case in the class. This self isolation requirement is in line with Public Health Agency (PHA) Guidance.

If/When this happens, work will be provided for any child who has to self isolate as per Public Health Agency (PHA) guidance. A considerable length of time is needed in order to prepare work for individual pupils who find themselves self isolating and indeed in the event of the whole class needing work prepared.

To this end, we will now be altering the collection time for our pupils EVERY FRIDAY only. (See Revised times attached to this letter)

Staff will remain in school during that time to prepare for Home Learning Requests.

We appreciate that this will cause an adjustment to Friday Collection Times. We apologise for any inconvenience caused but feel that this course of action is necessary for the foreseeable future to allow for five days per week face to face teaching and combining home learning activities as well. The new collection times will take effect on FRIDAY 16th October and every FRIDAY thereafter.

We will keep this arrangement under review.

We thank you for your continued support and patience as we seek to go forward together in these unprecedented, very challenging times.

Kind Regards

Mrs. B. Wilders

Principal