Everyone has a part to play in keeping our schools age and stopping the spread of Covid-19
 012176 Department of Education Parent and Carer Information A4 NEW HR.pdf | [Parent and Carer Information A4 ] | 428 kB |
| Letter from Chief Medical Officer to Parent Carers.pdf | [Letter from Chief Medical Officer to Parent Carers] | 154 kB |
Some infographics to remind all parents what they should look out for and what to do in order to keep our whole school community safe from Covid 19
Stay Safe, #Teamdonard
Dear Parents / Carers,
Supporting Children of Key Workers in Special Schools
Yesterday evening the Minister for Education in Northern Ireland, Peter Weir MLA, made a statement outlining how schools will close to pupils from the end of the school day, today Friday 20th March, however, will open to staff on Monday 23rd March to support identified Key Workers and sustain children’s distance learning. We want to ensure that we support the children of key workers in a similar way across our schools, however we need to balance this with the ultimate aim of reducing the spread of the virus by trying to keep the number of children in schools to a minimum, in line with public health guidance.
It is important that we are aware of how many children of key workers will be attending school next week. With this in mind, if you are an identified key worker, with no other child minding provision, please make contact with the school as soon as possible to inform us that your child will be attending school from Monday 23rd March.. This must be confirmed by 3pm today via phone (02840662357) or email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
Before contacting school, please pay particular attention to the following points. Schools will not be able to operate a ‘normal’ school day. Many of our schools are already operating with a significant reduction in staffing and this will probably continue to get worse over time.
Points to consider
• A list of key workers, issued by the Department of Education is listed overleaf. Only children with BOTH parents working as key workers, and both parents out at work at the same time should consider attending school. In single parent families, the individual parent MUST be a key worker.
• If possible, alternative childcare arrangements should be sought before deciding to send your child to school. For example, with other family members, friends etc. Please try and use school as a last resort. This is to try and limit the number of children and adults together in a small space in line with recent social distancing guidance. Our school’s normal opening and closing time will apply, at this stage.
• Children attending will be required to wear their school uniform. Please be advised that our school will be performing childcare duties, rather than teaching, as not all teachers are currently available. However learning packs have been provided for all children.
We would ask that you pay attention to the points outlined above before deciding to send your child to school. Obviously, it goes without saying, if your only option is to send your child to school, we will look after them in order to support you in your important role.
Yours sincerely,
A Archer
Uncertainty may affect some of our pupils at this challenging time. The Education Authority have asked us to share these contact details with our post primary pupils. These services can offer support and advice.
| Telephone and Web Support for Young People. March 2020 | [Telephone and Web Support for Young People. March 2020] | 60 kB |
On Thursday 6th February six representatives from Bright Sparks (Donard’s Young Enterprise company) took themselves off to Rushmere for the Southern Regional Trade Fair. Both Class 13 and Leavers had been working extremely hard over the last few weeks to get all the products ready for the fair. As a School we have been focusing on our wellbeing and self-care. This was the inspiration behind our product range this year. We decorated various signs with inspirational quotes as well as memory boxes and trinket boxes.
We were absolutely delighted that our hard work paid off as we sold out of our signs and to top it off Bright Sparks came Runner Up in the Best Overall Team Category. We are so proud of each member of the Bright Sparks Team.
Election fever overtook Donard Senior School last week as the school council were elected for this year. Congratulations to each of the winners. On the agenda for debate at the first meeting is ‘The Senior Playground’. We have every confidence that this group of responsible young citizens will have their voices heard.
Healthy street food was the name of the game in Senior School this week! Pupils worked hard to cook and display a selection of healthy dishes for everyone to taste. Pupils and staff alike got to stroll through the street market and sample healthy dishes like African Curry with cous cous, fruit smoothies and even a healthy McDonald’s Drive Thru! A good start to a healthy 2020!
Kelly Fitsteps helped us burn off those Christmas calories with fitness sessions for every class in the school. Her music and enthusiasm has everyone up, dancing and keeping fit!
New year, New me! Staff were treated to healthy juice and a free yoga session to start the new year in a healthy way!
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