12 March 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians
In light of the announcement made this morning by the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the school will now be closed from Friday, 13 March until Friday 27 March 2020, to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19. This will take effect from 6.00pm this evening, Thursday 12 March. This is in line with the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team.
As a result, all students have been advised to take all school books, exam papers, copies, folders and any other learning materials home with them today so that they can continue with their studies. Teachers have already distributed work to their classes today and they will continue to link in remotely with your daughters using technology.
In addition, over the last week in preparing our contingency plan, we have ensured that all students present have access to their school Office 365 accounts which will serve as the main communication portal between teachers and students. We are asking all students to check their e-mail accounts at 9.00am and 2.00pm every day from Monday – Friday so that they can be kept abreast of their work and be guided by their teachers using online resources and/or online lessons. Where students may not have access to such a device, students have been encouraged to set up study groups on their phones where they will be able to stay in contact with one another and share the work remotely.
We have been advised that the Government, in conjunction with the public health authorities, will keep the situation under ongoing review. Any change to the return date of school will be communicated to you through our school texting service, school website and official school Facebook page.
I appreciate this is a very challenging time for us all and hope that we will negotiate our way through this difficult time to remain strong and healthy. The most important action we can all take to protect ourselves from Covid-19 is regular handwashing, good respiratory hygiene and following the advice given on www.hspc@hse.ie the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre’s (HPSC) website which is regularly updated. As further advice or information is provided by the HSE and DES, we will issue it to you and post it on relevant links on the school’s website. If you have any queries or concerns on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact the school via email on info@warrenmountss.ie.
Yours sincerely,
Gwen Brennan
Principal