Dear Parents,
We have now completed 3 full weeks of the school reopening and we would like to thank you, our staff and our students for your contribution in ensuring that our reopening has been, to date, very positive. It is important as we travel further into the school year that we continue to remind students about the key behaviours that will reduce of transmission of infection in the school and in our community.
Tutorials
At tutorials this morning and in an address to all students by the principal, students were reminded of the following key points. We are asking parents to continue to emphasise these key messages with students on an ongoing basis:
- Face masks must be worn at all times in classes. Visors (as a minimum) can be worn on the corridor moving between classes or outside.*
- Students are not allowed to each lunch on the corridors. They can only eat lunch in their classroom or outside in their designated area.
- If students are remaining in classrooms they must be in their base classroom and seated at their designated place.
- Students must put back on their face mask having eaten their lunch.
- Students must bring their own sanitizing wipes to school and sanitize their table and chair when entering a classroom.
- Mobile phones must be turned off and out of sight, except during class where teachers give permission for their use. If students are using their mobile phones in between classes, for example, in the bathrooms or in the corridors, the phones will be confiscated, placed in a labelled envelope, handed to the Deputy Principal and will be returned to student at the end the next school day.
*Please note that our delivery of reusable face masks for staff and students finally arrived on Wednesday and were distributed to students during tutorial classes this morning. A reminder that students are not obliged to wear the face mask the school provides. Students are free to wear an appropriate face mask of their own. We encourage students to have more than one reusable face mask so that they use them on alternate days.
Marquees
Please note that 3 large marquees were erected in the school grounds today. A marquee has been installed in Courtyard A (First Year), the Basketball Courts (2nd Year) and Courtyard B (3rd Year). The installation of these marquees will ensure that students are able to access our outdoor areas, even during periods of inclement weather, and will ease the pressure on classrooms during break times.
School Books
As indicated in our update to parents on Friday 18 September, from next Monday 28 September, students will be allowed to bring books for Irish, English, Maths and their option subjects. Without access to lockers, we are conscious that the weight of the school bag could become an issue as we re-introduce the use of books in school. We have asked our teachers, where possible, to ask students to leave books at home unless the teacher specifies the need to bring the book for the next scheduled class. This can be recorded as part of the Homework in the journal. We will continue to monitor how the re-introduction of text books is progressing.
Recording Homework in Student Journals
We have asked our teachers to ensure that Homework is clearly written on the whiteboard at the end of every class, so that students can record it accurately in their journals. Teachers have been asked to give time to this at the end of class, as some students are experiencing some difficulty in understanding the nature of the assignments and are not having enough time to write it into their journals. In addition, teachers have been asked to record homework on google classroom for the attention of students who are absent from school.
Information Evening for First Year Parents
As indicated in our update to parents on Friday 18 September, next Monday 28 September our traditional briefing session for parents of current First Year students will take place. This virtual information session will start at 7.30pm and finish no later than 8.30pm. First Year students were reminded this morning at tutorial that a link to our Information Evening for 1st Year Parents would be added to the school website today as part of the weekly Parents’ update and that parents will need to log into their son/daughters @glanmirecollege.com account and use the link to view the event. The link is:
https://stream.meet.google.com/stream/a8ba7664-7661-42ca-86a7-9b54f6a7c0bb
1st Year Enrolment Process for September 2021
Parents are asked to note that our Admissions Notice for the enrolment process for September 2021 will be posted to the school website next Monday 28 September. Please note the following key information and dates:
- GCC Admissions/Enrolment Policy ratified on: Thursday 24 September 2020
- GCC Admissions/Enrolment Policy posted to school website: Monday 28 September 2020
- Admissions Notice Posted to the School Website: 28 September 2020
- Applications will be accepted from: 5 October 2020*
- The closing date for receipt of applications is: 23 October 2020
- All applications received after this date are considered late applications
*As referenced in the Agreed Report from the Board of Management meeting on Monday 14 September 2020 the school is introducing a system of electronic/online applications for our 1st Year enrolment process and all other applications to enrol in the school.
Open Evening Thursday 15 October 2020
Our GCC Open Evening will take place on Thursday 15 October 2020. Due to Covid restrictions, our Open Evening in its traditional format will not take place this year. We have decided to offer a virtual tour of the GCC campus, which will be accessed through our website. The tour will showcase the impressive facilities that we have to offer in our school, from general classrooms, to practical rooms and sports facilities. There will also be information provided on the various subject disciplines through tags on the tour.
Email Addresses
You may be aware that Eir customers were informed that from the 1st of July this year that they have started to charge users with @eircom.net email addresses. If you provided an @eircom.net email address to the school as a contact, and no longer use this email address, can you please email the office at gmirecol@glanmirecc.ie with a contactable email address.
We hope you have a nice weekend.
Kind regards,
GCC Senior Management