Letter for Parents
Thursday 25th June
Dear Parent/ Guardian
I hope this letter finds you and all your family well. Please find below details regarding future arrangements.
Confirmation
The sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated for present Primary 7 children on 26th August 2020 in St. Peter’s Church. The ceremony for Primary 7B will take place at 4pm, Primary 7A at 6pm and Primary 7C at 8pm. The ceremony will not follow the usual format as there will be no Eucharist. Families will have their own pew but the child’s sponsor may not sit with the family unless they are a family member. Due to Covid 19 restrictions, only immediate family may attend. Children should wear their own clothes for the ceremony. The 2019-20 P7 children will come to school (Tannaghmore PS) on 25th August for a rehearsal for the ceremony.
First Communion
The sacrament of First Holy Communion will be celebrated when the children come back to school. I will forward a date to parents as soon as I know.
Return to School.
After careful consideration was given to the well-being of our children and staff we have drawn up the following timeline and arrangements for return to school in September. These arrangements are subject to change depending on the Public Health Advice which is prevalent at that time.
School will open on Monday 24th August for an induction week. The school day will not be the same for staff or children. Many of the activities we have taken for granted will not be available to children.
- From Primary 2-6, for that week only, half of the children will be in school on Monday & Tuesday and the other half will be in school on Wednesday & Thursday.
- Half of the new Primary 7 children will attend school on Monday 24th and the other half on Thursday 27th. This arrangement is to allow the Primary 7 teachers to work with the children who will be celebrating Confirmation on Wednesday 26th.
- The new primary 1 children will attend school in small groups for the first two weeks from 9am -12 noon.
On Tuesday 1st September we hope to be a position to allow all the children to return to school. Tannaghmore PS is a very modern building with spacious classrooms which can accommodate full classes under the Department of Education guidelines.
This is an aspiration on our behalf and is subject to change depending on the advice from the PHA.
When we return to school there will be routines and guidelines that must be followed by everyone. I will update you on these as we move closer toward the end of the summer. I would ask all our parents to be patient and understanding as we get through this difficult time together.
More details will follow regarding the exact days your child will be attending school in that first Induction Week. Again, this will be inconvenient for some parents but it is important that the staff and children are allowed to come to terms with the new arrangements in school.
School Reports
Your child’s end of year report will be posted this week. If you have not received the report by Tuesday 30th June, please contact the school.
Return of School Resources
We would also ask parents to return any text books, reading books or AR books belonging to the school. We have a large box in the school foyer in which the books can be placed.
Home-School Learning
The home-school area will be available all summer for children to continue to use. I know that you will join with me in thanking the teachers for quality of the work and the caring approach which was reflected in the activities which were posted. Accelerated Reader and Mathletics will not be monitored over the summer months but will be back up and running when the children return to school.
School Money
We are putting plans in place at the moment to move the school towards an online service for school payments. We plan to make all money transactions for school meals, trips, after-school clubs and EA music tuition all available to parents to pay from the comfort of your home. The school staff are taking part in training presently and we hope to roll out this service after the Summer break. All you need to do at present is to ensure that you have an email address and that the school holds the correct mobile phone number for you. We will be sending out more information and instructions on how to set this up in the near future. If you have any questions about this, please contact me in school.
Contact details
Recently the teachers contacted parents for a pastoral phone call. What has become apparent is that there are a number of parents who have not updated their contact details with the school. It is vital that we have the correct mobile phone number for parents. Please email the school or phone the school office if you need to update contact details.
On a personal note, can I thank you for all the warm messages of support for the staff and wish you all a happy and safe summer. Hopefully, we will be able to return to normal in the new school year.
Yours Sincerely
Seamus McCreesh
Principal
