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Newsletter 22nd June

School Reports
By post this week you will receive your child’s school report and their booklist for the next school year. The Department of Education & Skills directed that standardised testing was not to take place for any school. Considering the exceptional circumstances this year, we did not comment on attendance and punctuality though of course these remain important.

Booklists
Booklists (included with the reports) will also be available on this website if you need handy access during the summer. Please note that a small hand sanitiser will be required for pupils for the foreseeable future. Important: to minimise the handling of cash and to facilitate payment, the school is moving to an electronic payments system and will encourage you to pay in this way from now on. Details will follow in due course.

Home-School Communication
To reduce the handling of paper between school and home, newsletters will be published electronically from now on. To facilitate this, there are two things to note:
1. We will need a working email address for you. (This can also be used for the issuing of receipts by electronic payment.) We have a good number of these now through tracksuit orders, sent photos etc. If you have not been in contact through email in the past couple of months, please email the school at ballylinan1@yahoo.ie so that we will have an address for you. Thank you.
2. We will also be moving to a system called ‘Aladdin Connect’ which will facilitate greater communication between home and school. To make best use of this you will need to download an app. It’s available for Apple and Android (Google) devices. Details to follow.

Next School Year
While we have not yet received guidelines from the Department, we are working on the assumption that school will resume for all pupils after the summer (on Thursday, 27th August). We may have to make some changes to the way we operate but as yet have been given no idea as to what these might be. We will update you as soon as we know more.

Book Drop and Collect
Thanks to the vast majority of you who returned the school’s books and collected your child’s property last week. It was great to see so many of you again and how we all wish that things return to normal as quickly as possible. For those who couldn’t make it, please email the school to arrange collection and delivery. Thank you.
email: ballylinan1@yahoo.ie

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6th Class Graduation

Dear Parent(s) and 6th Class,

We will have our first ‘socially distanced’ graduation ceremony on Wednesday 24th June. We ask you to arrive at 7:15 so that we can begin on time at 7:30. Arriving on time is important to allow for parking. You will be directed to the rear of the school before we begin.

We really wanted to give you an oportunity to return to the school in person rather than organising a virtual ceremony. How we wish that the 6th Class could meet in the normal way! Unfortunately with restrictions as they are this is just not possible, the school has to act responsibly and so must you. There are still restrictions on our behaviour that we have to follow. We really appreciate your cooperation to ensure that things can go ahead smoothly and safely.

1. One (and only one) car per family is allowed to attend the graduation ceremony. (There will be no space for more.)
2. No one will be permitted entry on foot.
3. Parents and siblings must stay in the car during the ceremony.
4. Parking will be spread across the basketball courts at the back. You are required to follow stewards’ directions.
5. Only the graduating pupil will be allowed to leave the car. Their names will be called out one by one by at the beginning and they will be seated – beside each car – at a safe 2m distance.

6. Pupils may wear something of their own choosing. If weather allows, they will be outside the car for the duration so a jacket or light coat may be needed. (We have ordered hoodies for each pupil and they will be delivered to you in the coming weeks but due to circumstances beyond our control they won’t have arrived by next Wednesday.)

We really want this to be a special evening for your child. Parents, please go over the above with them before the ceremony and remind them of the need for physical distancing among their classmates.

It would be fantastic to see the Ballylinan colours of green and gold adorning your car to add to the celebration! We look forward to welcoming you on the evening.