23-10-2020
Dear Parent/Guardian,
As we enter mid-term I wish to take this opportunity to commend and say a heartfelt thank you to all of our students, staff and you the parent/guardians for the tremendous efforts that have been made since the end of August to ensure the safety of our school community as we strive to maintain learning and teaching in these difficult and enduring times.
These are indeed challenging times for all in the school and wider community which require ongoing and continuously changing measures to be put in place. The sustained co-operation, commitment and flexibility of everybody to these many changes deserves great recognition and as Principal I wish to express my deep appreciation for these efforts.
Now that mid-term has arrived, I urge each of you to take the opportunity to relax, reenergise and return renewed and ready for the next term ahead. This term too will bring its own challenges as the numbers of Covid-19 continue to grow both locally and nationally. All of us will be required to intensify our efforts as we seek to combat this virus and reduce its impact on learning and teaching and more particularly, the health of our school community.
When we return on November 2nd we are asking that everybody focuses their efforts, particularly on the fundamentals of handwashing/sanitising, mask wearing and distancing. As parent/guardians we are asking for your support in ensuring that all students bring their own sanitiser and wipes and in encouraging them to maintain their distance from other students especially during the break periods where eating prevents mask wearing.
We also ask that you once again visit our Covid-19 school protocols on the school website and familiarise yourself with the details of the measures contained within, which are designed to keep all in the school community safe at this time.
We regret that all of our communications with you at present are largely via the school website and other online channels. We are very much looking forward to a time when face to face meetings will once again be possible. Unfortunately, we are not in a position at present to hold such meetings including the annual parent/teacher meetings. In this regard, parent/teacher meetings will be replaced by comprehensive reports to be issued at the same time that these meetings would normally be held. However, should you have any concerns in the meantime regarding your child’s progress, please feel free to contact the school office who in turn will put you in touch with the appropriate school personnel.
I wish each of you and your families an enjoyable and restive break.
Mr. Anton O Mahony,
Principal - Skibbereen Community School.