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St Mary's PS Dechomet, Castlewellan

School Closure

16th Mar 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The health, safety and wellbeing of staff, pupils and our wider school community is the number one priority of St. Mary's PS. Therefore, in consultation with the Chair of the Board of Governors, I have taken the decision to move holidays from later in the year and close our school for the remainder of this week. School will reopen Monday 23rd March for all pupils.

You will be aware that there is great deal of uncertainty and speculation in regard to the actions needed to combat the spread of the Coronavirus. We truly are living in unprecedented times.

We are now in the position that School Principals are being forced to take decisions on the grounds of health and safety. In the wider community people are being asked to work from home and we are being asked to practise social distancing. It is impossible to do this in a school context.

I fully appreciate that you are worried and concerned about the safety of your children which is why we have had to make this difficult decision.

We want pupils to continue learning and we will set up systems that will allow us to do that.

During this period, we will continue to monitor the situation. The Department of Education is creating a new absence code for children not in school due to parents keeping them at home due to the ongoing CoVid19 situation.

My priorities, at the moment, as Principal, are to protect vulnerable children, staff and family members, and to prepare learning resources for our pupils. Therefore, I ask for your continued understanding and support during this difficult time.

Updates will be communicated to you via our school app and social media, Facebook pages and website.

Yours

O McNally

(Principal)