Dear Parents/Carers
As we approach the end of the year, a few words of appreciation in what has been a very different first term. Firstly, congratulations to the pupils on how well they have settled back into school since the restart, and quickly adapted to the new rules and regulations with hard work, resilience and no small measure of good humour.
Thanks also to the staff of St Joseph’s, who have all pulled together as a team and worked extremely hard to ensure that the term has gone as well as we could have possibly hoped. I also wish to acknowledge the part parents and carers have played, in following and implementing the new arrangements.
So far, I am delighted to report that we have not had any positive cases (to my knowledge) of Covid-19 among the staff nor pupils since the restart, and as a result no ‘bubbles’ have been asked to stay at home. We fully appreciate, however, that we have been lucky in this respect, and that as a school community we must remain cautious and keep up our guard at what does seem like a critical time in the pandemic.
Following the latest communication from the Minister of Education, the school will remain open, as planned, until the start of the Christmas holidays at 12 noon on Tuesday 22 December. This decision is based on information presently available, but should that change, I will immediately inform you.
School dinners will be served on Monday 21 December and will consist of a snack box containing sandwiches, chicken nuggets, a dessert and a drink. As we need to know these numbers in advance, please inform your child’s teacher by Friday 18 December if your child plans to go to school dinners on Monday.
Since the start of November, the school has been closing an hour earlier every Friday to give teachers the extra planning and preparation time needed in the current circumstances. Having reviewed this, we have decided to extend this practice until half-term break in February, at which point we will reassess the situation. This will continue to mean that every Friday P4A, P5A, P6A and P7A will finish at 13:45 and P4B, P5B, P6B and P7B will finish at 14:00.
Thanks are also due to the PTA for their hard work in organising this year's Christmas Raffle, and to all those who generously donated a prize. The good news is that you can still buy online tickets up to 16 December - the draw will be held on 17 December. The PTA have already been planning for the new year and the ‘January Jog’ seems set to be a great motivator for helping us all keep to our New Year’s Resolutions.
Finally, on behalf of all at St Joseph’s Primary School, may I wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and New Year.
If you need to contact me directly about any of the above, please do so either by telephone (02890650039) or by email, using either stjoesps@gmail.com or the contacts link on the school website.
Kind regards
Mr Donaldson