5th February 2021

Dear parents and guardians,

I hope that you and your family are keeping well.   It has been a very challenging 12 months and our thoughts are especially with families who have lost friends and family members.  Your children have had to adjust to a new way of life and adapt to different ways to learn during a world emergency.  Spring brings green shoots, longer evenings and hope of new beginnings.  We sincerely hope we will be able to welcome all our wonderful pupils back to our school building in the not too distant future.

Reopening of School Buildings

Special schools and schools with a special class are scheduled to open shortly.  Unfortunately, we do not have a definite date of when a return to school buildings will take place for mainstream schools.  As soon as we receive information from the Department of Education in relation to this, we will let you know.

Pupil Engagement

A huge thank you for all the support and encouragement that you are giving to your children in helping them to engage in our distant learning programmes.  I appreciate how difficult it is for you and also for our staff to work  whilst also looking after the demands of family life.   The teachers report that the level of pupil engagement is excellent. If you think we can help your child with anything please do not hesitate to contact us at school.

Parent/Teacher Meetings

Parent/Teacher Meetings will take place during the month of February.  The meetings will be conducted via a phonemail or a Google Meet. The meetings will be relatively short in duration (less than 10 minutes). If you a have a specific query that you would like to discuss during the call, please let the teacher know beforehand (via email) to allow them some time to gather the information prior to the meeting.  The Class Teachers will be in contact with you shortly with additional information in relation to the meetings.

In-Person Supplementary Programme

The Department of Education has announced an In-Person Supplementary Programme to support the education or care needs of pupils with complex needs during this period of school closure.

This supplementary programme of in-person support is intended to enhance the remote learning experience for pupils with complex needs during the school closure period through the provision of 5 hours per week in-person teaching or care support to be delivered in homes.  

The Department will allow parents to arrange for the delivery of any of the unused hours of support during the Easter holidays.

Please click here to read more information in relation to the programme.  There are links to additional information on our school website.  Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions.

ICT Device  / Books

If you need to collect your child’s books or if you would like to borrow an ICT device please just let us know via your child’s teacher email or via the school email address (office@milfordns.ie).

Repairs and Ventilation

Many thanks to our Board of Management for their efforts in securing funding for the school to carry out a complete roof upgrade which is scheduled to take place during the summer holidays.   The Board has taken measures to enhance the ventilation in all of the classrooms and teaching rooms.  Essential roof repairs are also being addressed at the moment and should be completed before the children return.

Good Luck

Best of luck to our parents who are involved with the Irish and Munster Rugby Teams.  We look forward to watching the matches from afar and wish you the very best of luck in the games ahead.

Finally, thank you so much for your continued support and cooperation. 

Wishing you and your family the very best

Take care everyone.

Le gach dea-ghuí,

Diarmaid