Online booking system for our Open Day is now open! Please follow the links below to book.

Primary:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_fLltiVH1JDlqf91UjrJ8OLnedGoqhp9zMk7h5T2eo46MxA/viewform

Nursery:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfebmVYTx5JgPki6demVGytC0rMn_1_wrUb5GkcUk9tIwE31g/viewform

• New Website Launched!

  Thu 04 Nov 2021

  Welcome to our brand new school website! We have created the website to keep parents up to date with school news and notices, and to showcase some of the great things our pupils are achieving. The website is extremely easy to edit by all staff at the school, so check back soon for new updates!

• 2nd September 2021

  Thu 02 Sep 2021

  Close contacts who are pupils P1 to P7 Updated August 21

  
  If a child is confirmed as a close contact of a positive covid case, outside or inside school, Parents are strongly advised to ensure their child self-isolates until they have taken a PCR test (this is a full Covid test and not a lateral Flow)
  If the PCR test is positive, the child should then self-isolate for 10 days from the onset of symptoms or, if they have no symptoms, for 10 days from the confirmed test result.

  
  If the test is negative the child can return to school, however, if they do go on to develop new symptoms, they should stay at home, self-isolate with their household and book another PCR test.

• 25th August 2021

  Wed 25 Aug 2021

  Dear Parents,

  
  I hope your family and all the children had an enjoyable summer and everyone kept safe and well.

  
  So the new term is upon us and having now read the Department of Education Guidance, we have made the decision to keep things as they were back in June. So we will retain our bubbles and air on the side of caution, keeping all our procedures under review and will only change them in line with PHA guidance when the need arises.

  
  It is vital that you do keep us informed if your child has symptoms or tests positive for Covid, so we can try and ensure we can keep control of case numbers in school. So please continue to work with us, we can’t do this alone, we want life back to normal in school, so teamwork will hopefully get us there sooner rather than later.

  
  If you can, please send your child into school with their own tissues and hand sanitiser, so we can keep on top of the good hygiene during the day.
  Breakfast Club resumes on Wednesday 1st September, there is no need to book a place it is a drop-in, there has been a price increase, if you only need childcare from 8 a.m, it is a cost of £1.50 and if you wish your child to also have breakfast it costs £2.50 per day.

  
  After schools’ will begin on Monday 13th September, places must be booked and paid in advance, forms will go home during the week of 6th September detailing prices and length of each session.
  There are no school buses this year, parents will have to make other arrangements for their child’s journey home.

  Outdoor Learning
  We now have a sensory garden and outdoor classroom, classes will be using this space for learning, so please do make sure the children have a coat or fleece in school each day.

  
  Teachers will send home new log in for Class Seesaw in the coming week, we are now working on a new website, which should be up and running next month, the Facebook and Twitter feeds will be used for important information.
  If you need to speak to the teacher, please send a seesaw message or ring the Office and they will contact you after teaching time.

  
  P1-3 adults entering the site are reminded to keep a 2m distance from all adults.
  Drop off and Pick up Information.

  
  8:50a.m P1-3 parents to drop off and pick up at the following doors is 1:50p.m
  DOOR 1 is first door near lay-by. DOORS 2-8 are around the building towards old school site. Staff on supervision can give direction on the first morning.

  
  Door 2 P3 Mr Mullin
  Door 3. P3 Miss Duffy
  Door 4 P3 Mrs McCaughley and P2 Mrs Hurley Door 5 P2 Mrs McComb
  Door 6 P2 Miss Trainor
  Door 7 P1 Miss Teeney and P1 Miss McIlhone Door 8 P1 Miss Spence

  
  8:50p.m P4 children to enter gates without adults and to be collected at an arrange gate at 2:50p.mDoor 1 P4 Mrs McWilliams and Miss McIlwee Door 2 P4 Mrs McGeary/Mrs Greene

  
  8:50a.m P5-7 to go directly to their line numbers without adults to be supervised by staff, to be collected at an arranged gate at 3:00p.m

  
  P5 Mrs McCormick Number 10 P5 Miss Taggart Number 9
  P5 Mr Mallon Number 8
  P7 Mr McGrady Number 7
  P7 Mrs Reilly Number 6
  P7 Miss Hamill Number 5 P6 Mrs Norrby Number 4 P7 Mrs Lunney Number 3 P7 Mrs McEntee Number 2

  
  Sacraments
  We don’t have dates for First Confession, First Communion or Confirmation, once we receive the dates from the parish we will inform parents.

  
  New Build Update
  The demolition has been progressing and the next stage will be creating the new car park and the drop off and pick up area, finishing the new surface on the Muga and the final piece of the puzzle, our new nursery, so fingers and toes are crossed that we will be fully finished at Halloween.

  
  We look forward to the year ahead and we can’t wait to see all the smiling faces when they arrive on day 1 for the new term.

  
  Claire Robinson

• Wednesday 6th January

  Wed 06 Jan 2021

  Dear Parents,

  
  As has been the case since this pandemic began, as a school Principal I get to hear the decisions made about schools via social media. Last night it was on Twitter and as of this morning, I am still waiting for official guidance from DE. I had hoped to send a second letter yesterday, but as with every ministerial decision it came whilst I watched Emmerdale!

  
  It makes me so angry and frustrated, that we are not informed with more notice, or given the courtesy of formal notice before Belfast Live or Robbie at the BBC get to spread the word and not the schools. But that’s my rant over for another day!!!

  
  So in a nutshell, school will remain closed until the February mid term, with a return to school all being well on Monday 22nd February.
  We have a a high number of key workers’ children, vulnerable children and those children with Statements of Educational Needs in school this week, therefore we won’t be accepting anymore children from next week.

   

  
  Those children attending school are completing the work teachers are putting on seesaw, they are not being taught in the classrooms, as DE have directed us to carry out supervised learning/childcare and not face to face teaching during this lockdown.

  
  Children are in mixed year groups bubbles, being kept in the same room each day, with the same children but with different staff supervising on a rota. We would remind all parents whose children are attending school, they are not to be sent in if they are showing signs of being unwell, they must remain at home. If you have changed your mind about your child attending, we need to be informed, so we can plan staffing levels accordingly.

  
  To ensure my staff attending school to cover are kept safe, we must keep numbers at a manageable number. It is also important to remind parents, our staff also have their own families, their own caring responsibilities and right now they are anxious, worried and to be honest frightened at how this pandemic has progressed. My teachers and assistants want nothing more than to teach in their classrooms, but only when it is safe for everyone and now is just not the safe time, we all hoped it would be as we entered 2021.

   

  
  If you have exhausted all childcare options and think you would qualify for childcare as a Keyworker, we can hold your child’s name on a waiting list in the event those currently attending school give up their places.

   

  
  For parents working at home with the children, remember to log onto Seesaw each day, keep the children in a school day routine and don’t hesitate to contact the teacher if you need advice or ideas to keep the children on track. Please do share the children’s photos on Seesaw and or Facebook, we all need motivation and a reason to smile.

  
  Take care, please keep safe and remember each day to set aside a little bit of ME time.

   

  Claire Robinson

• Thursday 31st December

  Thu 31 Dec 2020

  Dear Parents,

   

  Firstly I hope you all have had an enjoyable Christmas and all your families have kept safe and well.

   

  As reported in the media, the majority of primary children will remain at home and begin remote learning until Friday 8th January, with a return to school on Monday 11th January.

   

  The staff will use Monday 4th January to prepare for the online learning, so there won’t be any level of childcare in the nursery or primary on Monday. All class work will be posted daily on Seesaw, from Tuesday 5th January. Therefore it is vital you check the app for the work your child needs to complete at home. The teachers will be available all day Tuesday to Friday to give support and advice.

   

  The nursery will open for all children on Tuesday 5th January as normal. Any child who has a Statement of Educational Needs, Mrs Power and Mr Burke’s classes and the children who are in Little Seeds are also encouraged to attend school as normal on Tuesday. 

   

  In terms of the primary, if any parent who is a key worker requires childcare, it is imperative that you ring the school office on Monday between 9a.m and 11 a.m to let us know, so that we can make arrangements for staff cover. (A list of those jobs classified as a key worker role is attached below)

   

  There won’t be any breakfast club or after schools provision next week and children will finish at their normal home time. Dinners will be supplied as normal and those who take a packed lunch will need to bring one each day they attend. 

   

  This is a situation we did not wish to see happen again, but as we all know the infection rate of this virus has taken hold in our communities and we all must play our role to try and stop cases impacting on our school family and that our children and staff can return safely to their classrooms. 

   

  We look forward to seeing all our children on Monday 11th January and we appreciate your understanding during this challenging time. 

   

  Kindest regards

   

  Claire Robinson 

   

  The definition of a key worker is as follows:

   

  Definition of key workers:

   

  • Health and Social Care.  This includes doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, home carers and staff required to maintain our health and social care sector;

  • Education and childcare.  This includes pre-school and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who will remain active during the Covid-19 response;

  • Public safety and national security.  This includes civilians and officers in the police (including key contractors), Fire and Rescue Service, prison service and other national security roles;

  • Transport.  This will include those keeping air, water, road and rail transport modes operating during the Covid-19 response;

  • Utilities, and Communication.  This includes staff needed for oil, gas, electricity and water (including sewage) and primary industry supplies to continue during the Covid-19 response, as well as key staff in telecommunications, post and delivery, banking and waste disposal;

  • Financial Services - This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure);

  • Food and other necessary goods.  This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution and sale, as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (e.g. hygiene, medical, etc.);

  • Retail. This includes those workers who have been working throughout the pandemic in food retail, for example, and will now extend to those working in other retail businesses permitted to operate by the Executive  from June 2020;

  • Other workers essential to delivering key public services such as the National Crime Agency; and

  • Key national and local government including those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the Covid-19 response.

• Important Message

  Wed 16 Dec 2020

  Wednesday 16th December 2020

   

  Dear Parents,

  
  It is with heavy hearts that I have had to make the difficult decision to return to online learning from Monday 21st December. The children will finish on Friday 18th December at normal home times. The nursery has had to close from today due to a positive case within the setting, with the staff and children now having to self-isolate until Christmas Eve, which is so upsetting for all involved.
  Please do not send your child into school if they have any of the Covid symptoms, numerous children have been sent home this week as they were unwell in school.

  
  This week we have seen a rapid increase in Covid cases affecting families within the school and we now do not want to risk any more families, our children and our staff having to self-isolate this close to the Christmas we have all looked forward to, when we can finally spend time with our loved ones.
  The children will return to Online learning through class Seesaw for Monday and Tuesday of next week. The teachers will provide fun activities for the children to complete to keep them entertained.

  
  We will remain open for those families who require childcare due to work commitments until Tuesday at 11:00a.m. If you are in need of childcare, please ensure you inform the class teacher through seesaw by tomorrow Thursday 17th December before 3p.m so we can arrange staff to cover, also specify which days next week you need childcare and a packed lunch will be required for all children who are in on Monday, as no dinners will be provided. Children will start and finish at their normal time on Monday. There will be no breakfast club or After Schools Club on either day.

  Children who are in on Tuesday must be collected by 11:00a.m
  Please continue to keep your family safe, we hope and pray if we all take care we won’t have an increase in cases after the holiday period.

  Kindest Regards

  
  Claire Robinson

• Saturday 31st October

  Sat 31 Oct 2020

  Dear Parents,

  I hope everyone managed to stay safe and well during the extended break, we did have a number of positive cases, during the closure, showing that Covid is still affecting our school community. A number of staff and children continue to self isolate.

   

  We need adults to now more than ever follow the rules and take precautions during drop off and pick up : 
   

  • keep a 2 metre distance from other adults at all times. This has been poor to date, with parents chatting in groups and not social distancing. So it is time to be more mindful.
   

  • It is strongly recommended all adults wear a face mask, when near or on the school site. Again to date, we have a small number of adults wearing masks, you may be outside in the fresh air, but if you are close to another adult chatting, you are taking a risk.

   

  • Drop and run: break the habit of loitering outside the gates waiting for other parents for a chat. Be sensible and leave immediately once your child has been safely dropped off.

   

  • P1-3 parents must stay behind the yellow markings on the ground at all times. Once your child has been dropped to the correct entrance door, do not stand watching them going into the building, this is preventing us from letting the next year group enter the gates and that is the reason we have a build up of children and adults on the footpath. 

  • Teachers cannot speak to parents at drop off and pick up, if you need to speak to them follow the guidance and send a seesaw message, they will get back to you when they are free.

  • Cars are still a HUGE issue on Glasvey Drive. Take the sensible approach, park at the church and walk to the gates. that road is narrow and has become a bottle neck, so why put yourself through the stress of not being able to move your car because you have been blocked in! 
   

  Our commitment to remote learning during self isolation:

   

  If your child has to self isolate teachers will prepare daily work for Seesaw. It is important you set aside time for your child to complete all tasks. Please follow the guidance from the teacher, as to how to submit and or correct the work.  

  We recommend that you set up a space at home for them to follow a school day. Here is an example of how a school day should look: 

   

  9:00-10:00 Literacy tasks

  10:00-10:30 reading 

  10:30 - 11:00 break time

  11:00-12:30 numeracy and mental maths 

  12:30-1:15 lunch break 

  1:15 -2:15 topic work 

   

  Ensure the children also get fresh air in the garden.

  We fully understand this is a very difficult time for you as parents, but my staff are working very hard to keep life as normal as possible during the day. The children are coping so well with life in a bubble, we are ensuring that bubbles don’t mix, as they go to the toilets at set times, during playtime bubbles have their own area and in the canteen tables are socially distanced. We have our cleaning team in school full time each day, they are keeping all touched surfaces and toilets cleaned on a rota throughout the day.

   

  We are trying our very best to ensure whilst in school, the children and staff are following rules and routines, but we cannot control outside the gates, that is over to you the parents to ensure that you are playing your part.

  Unfortunately Covid has further impacted our new build, with contractors self isolating, a number of positive cases of Covid and Woodvale having difficulty with deliveries of materials coming from abroad. 

   

  Therefore the decant date for February has now been put back until Easter.

   

  The February mid term break dates are as follows: Monday 15th until Friday 19th February. 

   

  I will confirm the Easter holidays once I get confirmation from the construction team. 

  So please work with us, together if each of us play our part, we can get through this difficult time and fingers crossed we can enjoy Christmas with our loved ones.

  Keep safe

   

  Claire Robinson

• Wednesday 14th October 2020

  Wed 14 Oct 2020

  Dear parents,

  Today, the Executive has announced that schools and other education settings will have the half-term holiday break extended from Monday 19th to Friday 30th October (Inclusive) Education settings will be closed to all pupils during these two weeks

  including for vulnerable children and children of key workers.

   

  Schools and other settings will reopen on Monday 2nd November. As this is an extension of the half-term break, it is not intended to be used for remote learning, therefore teachers will not post work onto Seesaw during this two-week period. Seesaw will be switched off during this time.

   

   

  I wish to take this opportunity to thank my staff team who have worked tirelessly over this term to ensure everyone in our school is safe, for the additional work they have produced for those children in self-isolation and for their positivity and selflessness, when I know they are also very anxious about their own families at this time. We are lucky to have the team we have in Holy Evangelists'.

   

  During the week beginning 19th October direct payments will be made to pupils in receipt of Free School Meals. In terms of contacting the school to inform us of a positive Covid case within your home, the school mobile (07435636943) will be switched on: Saturday

  31st October and Sunday 1st November. 11:00a.m — 8:00p.m.

   

  Please remember this is part of the new local lockdown which comes into force at 6pm on Friday, it is imperative we all follow the guidance and stay at home, we all need to play Our part to drive down the number of positive cases.

   

  Take care and please keep safe,

   

  Claire Robinson

• PHA GUIDANCE ON SELF ISOLATION FOR CHILDREN

  Sun 11 Oct 2020

  The self isolation guidance is not from the school, but from the PHA.

  
  IF YOU ARE INFORMED THAT YOUR CHILD MUST SELF ISOLATE:

  *They must self isolate for 14 days from the date contained in the PHA letter, which will be shared on seesaw once the school is sent a copy.

  *The school will send a text prior to the letter to inform parents of a case within their child's bubble.

  *Self-isolation means that they cannot leave the house unless in an emergency.

  *They can't come to school, must not enter the school grounds even to drop off or pick-up siblings, they cannot go to any after school clubs, go on play dates, take the dog for a walk or go to a playground. They can only play in their own house or garden and cannot have friends over to play.

  
  OTHER HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS:

  *Can carry on as normal, so siblings can come attend school and parents can go to work.

  *Everyone in the household should follow good hygiene processes at home.

  *It is important parents read the PHA letter and follow the recommendations if anyone in the household displays symptoms.