Thomond Community College

Pobal Choláiste Thuamhumhan

PRINCIPAL: Moylish Park

Norma O’Brien, B.Sc. Ed. Hons, M.Sc (Agr) Hons. Limerick
Tel: (061) 452422
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL: Fax: (061) 327718
Vivienne Hogan, B.Sc. Ed. Hons. Email: info@thomondcc.ie

14/08/20

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s)

We hope you and your child/children are safe and well and that you are all looking forward to the
start of the new school year. We are making great progress in preparing for re-opening and we will
have a further update on progress on Monday 17 th August.

Roadmap for the Full Return to School

The Minister for Education published the Roadmap for the Full Return to School on 28 July 2020. It
was developed in line with public health advice issued by the appropriate authorities.
In addition to being places of learning, schools are also places of work. Each workplace is required to
have a COVID-19 Response Plan. Our school Covid-19 Response Plan is near completion and will be
available on our school website shortly. We have been working very closely with our patron,
Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board with regular meetings online throughout the
summer to prepare for this coming academic year.

Key Messages for students, staff and Parent(s)/Guardian(s)

 Everyone needs to play their part to minimise the risk of COVID-19 infection for staff, students,
families and the wider community while recognising the importance of education for the health
and wellbeing of students and society as a whole.
 Everyone needs to reduce the likelihood of the spread of COVID-19 within the school itself if an
outbreak in the school is detected.

Knowing the Symptoms of COVID-19

In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 it is important to know and recognise the symptoms.
They are:
 high temperature
 cough
 shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
 loss of smell, of taste or distortion of taste

If your child/children complains of any of these symptoms, you must keep your child/children at
home and call your GP without delay.

Physical Distancing
Physical distancing will be applied in so far as is possible and in a practical way to facilitate the
learning environment. We are making every effort to achieve this increased separation by utilising
and reconfiguring all available space in the school, reviewing timetables and reconfiguring classes.
 Thomond Community College
Pobal Choláiste Thuamhumhan

PRINCIPAL: Moylish Park

Norma O’Brien, B.Sc. Ed. Hons, M.Sc (Agr) Hons. Limerick
Tel: (061) 452422
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL: Fax: (061) 327718
Vivienne Hogan, B.Sc. Ed. Hons. Email: info@thomondcc.ie

Coming to and from school

We encourage students to walk or cycle to school if they can do so. Parents/guardians are required
to observe and respect all social distancing protocols in relation to school drop-off & collection. This
means maintaining a two metre distance to other families when dropping off or collecting your
children from the school. When students arrive at school, they should proceed directly to their base
area which will be assigned to them once they return to school. Students should maintain a 2m
distance where possible and not congregate in groups close to one another.

Contacting/visiting the school

Access to the school by parents and guardians will be far more restricted than before while we live
through the current pandemic. The advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team
(NPHET) makes it clear that schools must restrict access to the campus outside of students and staff.
All visits to the school by parents/guardians are required to be made in advance through the
school office. Only in very exceptional circumstances should students be collected from school
during the day. Appointments for students should be made outside of the school timetable if
possible.

Face Coverings for Students

We are requesting that all students have their own supply of plain coloured face masks, which can
be disposable or washable. Face masks are widely available and advice about the types of facemasks
we recommend can be found via the HSE link: https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/face-
masks-disposable-gloves.html We request that students refrain from wearing face masks that depict
any imagery on them so as not to cause offence to others. Face masks will not need to be worn
when students are exercising, eating or drinking or in the yard. Students will also be able to remove
face masks in situations where there is adequate social distancing.

Bus Transport
The following advice has been issued by Bus Éireann:

● A student is not to use bus transport if they are displaying symptoms

● Students are to maintain physical distancing while waiting for transport
● Students are asked to sit next to a sibling or child from their class group where possible.
● Students are requested to use hand sanitiser on boarding the bus
● Students should observe respiratory etiquette at all times while waiting for and on-board
transport services
● Students should disembark the bus one by one in an orderly fashion
● With the exception of those children who for medical or special educational needs reasons are
not in a position to wear a face mask or face covering, all other students travelling on the bus
are required to wear face coverings while waiting for, and on-board bus transport services.
 Thomond Community College
Pobal Choláiste Thuamhumhan

PRINCIPAL: Moylish Park

Norma O’Brien, B.Sc. Ed. Hons, M.Sc (Agr) Hons. Limerick
Tel: (061) 452422
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL: Fax: (061) 327718
Vivienne Hogan, B.Sc. Ed. Hons. Email: info@thomondcc.ie

Students who have been on holidays outside of Ireland

The Government has advised against travelling abroad. All passengers who arrive into Ireland are
required to restrict their movements to limit the potential of importing COVID-19 and infecting their
families, communities and workplaces. There are a small number of locations for which the advice is
different. Please refer to the COVID-19 Green List which is updated fortnightly. If your child/children
have been abroad prior to school resuming, we would appreciate a call from you about this.

Changes to the Code of Behaviour Policy during Covid-19

An amendment to the Code of Behaviour Policy is required so that students will be aware of specific
Covid-19 related expectations on their return to school. Our guiding principle when making these
adjustments to the policy is to keep all of our students, staff and families safe. The amendments will
be communicated to students, parents and staff shortly.

How to prepare for the return to school - how can parents/guardians help?
It will take some time to adjust to returning to school-life in the new reality we find ourselves.
Parents/guardians can help with this adjustment by starting to encourage your child/children to
change their routines and habits between now and the start of the school year. There is an excellent
range of supports available specifically for parents to use with their children at this link:
https://loveparenting.ie/back-to-school-resources/www.loveparenting.ie

New First Year Students

Step Up To Secondary School www.stepup.ie is a fantastic resource developed to support incoming
1st yr students and their parents/guardians with the transition to secondary school.

Supporting the wellbeing of students

There will be a significant emphasis on promoting the wellbeing of our school community when we
return to school.

Additional Information
There is a comprehensive range of documentation available at gov.ie/backtoschool relating to the
opening of schools for the new academic year. Our school website
www.thomondcommunitycollege.ie will be updated regularly to keep everyone briefed on returning
to school. We will also send text messages to share information and updates with you promptly and
regularly.

Thank you for your continued support of our school and I will provide more updates next week.

Yours faithfully

Norma O’Brien, Principal