Children Displaying Symptoms

For the safety of the school community, children must not come to school if they are displaying symptoms of: 

• A fever (temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or higher) 
• Shortness of breath or breathing difficulties 
• Cold, cough or viral infection 
• Lost or changed sense of smell or taste 

Any child who staff consider to be displaying these symptoms will be promptly brought to the isolation room and parents will be contacted to collect their child immediately. If necessary, in such circumstances, the Health Service Executive may be contacted to provide further guidance to the school or relevant parents. The school’s decision is final in such cases. All contact details provided for the pupils must be up to date before the school reopens. All children must have at least one contact available at all times. 

Dealing with a Suspected Case 

Please find details in the School’s Covid Response Plan which will be available on the school’s website from August 19th.

Classroom Pods 

Please find details in the School’s Covid Response Plan which will be available on the school’s website from August 19th.

Uniform 

To facilitate regular washing, boys can alternate between their school uniform and school tracksuit. Once the PE timetable is confirmed boys will be required to wear their tracksuit on those two days. For this year, boys will no longer be required to wear their school tie as it presents an infection control issue. It is recommended, where possible, that boys wear short sleeved shirts under their jumper as there will be frequent hand washing throughout the day. 

As there will be a whole school emphasis on pupil wellbeing, we believe it will be important for children to play outdoors at regular intervals throughout the week. Please provide your son with a waterproof jacket/coat with a non-detachable hood, so that we can make this possible even in inclement weather. 

Tissues and Hand Sanitiser 

Boys should bring a small packet of tissues to school. Foot pedal bins are provided in all classes and boys can dispose of their used tissues throughout the day. Boys are asked to wash their hands and use the hand sanitiser provided after disposing of their used tissue. 

Hand sanitiser dispensers are located outside the school entrance doors, throughout the corridors and inside the door of each classroom. All bathrooms have been stocked with liquid soap. We have hand dryers and paper towels available for drying hands. 

Face masks 

Pursuant to Government Guidelines, children under 13 are not required to wear face masks. 

Copies and Textbooks 

All copies and textbooks must be covered in plastic so that they can be easily wiped down. 

Aladdin Connect 

It is essential that all parents sign up to the Aladdin Connect App. We are delighted to say that most parents have already done so but if you require a new code to begin the registration process please send an email to info@hollyparkbns.ie and a new code and instructions can be sent to you. 

We do not know what the winter will bring in terms of an increase in cases. In the event that the school or particular classes are told to close for a period of time, we will be using Aladdin Connect to communicate with parents. 

Regular Hand Washing and Sanitising 

Boys will wash and sanitise their hands regularly, especially when going to the toilet or using/touching common surfaces. We hope that all boys will return to school with good hand hygiene practices and coughing and sneezing etiquette. Follow the HSE guidelines for more information. 

In the Event of a Class Closure or Full School Closure 

In the event of a partial closure where Pods or Bubbles are removed from the school or the school is closed in full, we will revert to the Seesaw Learning Platform. This method of teaching and learning will be reviewed by the Board of Management every four weeks. 

Lost and Found 

We will no longer be able to facilitate a lost and found for school jumpers, jackets etc. Please ensure that all clothes and belongings are clearly labelled with the child’s name, room number and a parent’s contact number. In younger classes, a piece of ribbon or some other method of identification, would be useful. It is the parents and child’s responsibility to ensure that pupils have all their belongings with them when leaving the building each day.