Dear Parents/guardians,

We hope you are keeping well as we start into a new month. Where did September go? Our news this week is as follows

• Please find attached a letter outlining how the HSE will interact with the school were there to be a confirmed case of Covid-19 in the school. Please note we do NOT have such a case but it is important that everyone is clear about the procedures involved.
• In terms of attendance this year our top priority is everyone’s health. While we all know that there is a direct link between school attendance and pupil progress we must make exceptions this year. Thank you for erring on the side of caution and not sending in your child if they are unwell, getting GP advice when the symptoms are on the Covid 19 list and observing all guidelines around isolation if advised. We all want the school to remain open and everyone to stay well. Please continue to let us know the details of all absences. This can be done by a phonecall, an email to office@tolasns.com or via Aladdin Connect.  The school is obliged under the Education Welfare Act 2000 to inform Tusla when a pupil is absent for 20 days or more in a school year. As the category of absence must be filled in when informing Tusla it is important that we have this explained. The Education Welfare officer has communicated to me that no action will be taken re Covid 19 related absences or absence related to health matters.
• For the past two weeks we have had our weekly Cruinniu(assembly) via Zoom. Each class takes part via Zoom while I lead Cruinniu from my office. It has been lovely to “see” everyone and to feel connected to every class in our school. Thank you pupils and teachers for making Cruinniu such a positive experience again.
• Please ensure that your child has enough to drink with them each day in school. Research would show that water is very beneficial to school age children throughout the day.  In the current circumstances we cannot provide drinks for them.
• Congratulations to our pupils in 3^rd class who made First Communion last Saturday. We were all very proud of all our pupils.  We hope you had a lovely day with your family. Thank you to all the families who observed the social distancing guidelines in the church. Thank you to Ms O’ Neill who did a lot of the organising for the ceremony and to Ms Connolly and Ms Brady who prepared the pupils in the lead up to the ceremony.

Kind regards, Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, Principal