3 September 2021

Dear Parent, Carer,

We have reached the end of our first short week of school.  The children are settling in very well and we look forward to welcoming the rest of our new Nursery and Primary 1 pupils in the coming days.   Thank you for your support and co-operation.  We trust this will continue throughout the year ahead.

Please note the information below:

I would like to draw your attention to the PHA flowchart which gives guidance for close contacts of a positive covid case in a school setting.  The flowchart can be found in the "Key Information"; "Covid-19 Information" area of the school website.

If your child has a positive covid test, please inform the school immediately on 3832 2450 or on the out of hours number 07783 300575.

Bus Service to Dollingstown

Translink has confirmed that the bus service which previously stopped on the Avenue Road at 3.00pm, for King’s Park pupils travelling to Dollingstown, will be re-instated on week commencing Monday 13th September.

Reminder of school start and finish times from 6th September: 

Opening times from 6^th September:

Nursery           -           individual start times for each child have been issued

Primary 1 to 7 -           school will open from 8.30am

Parents are asked to send their children in as near to 9.00am as possible.

Children must go directly to their classroom, wash their hands and take their seat.  Note also that between 8.30am and 8.45am there will be a skeleton staff only to supervise classes.  All teachers will be in their class from 8.45am.

Finish times from 6^th September:

Nursery           -           individual pupil finish times

Primary 1        -           September – lunchtime 12.20am *

Primary 2        -           2.00pm each day

Primary 3        -           2.55pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

                                    2.00pm Thursday and Friday

Primary 4        -           2.55pm Monday to Thursday

                                    2.10pm Friday – to be reviewed at the end of September

Primary 5/6/7  -           3.00pm Monday to Thursday

                                    2.15pm Friday – to be reviewed at the end of September

Note the earlier times for Nursery and Primary One to allow for transition. 

* The normal finish time of 2.00pm for Primary One will begin on 27^th September.

Face coverings/social distancing - We would ask that 2 metre social distancing continues to be maintained in the playground and that face coverings are worn (unless you are exempt).

Thank you very much.

T Shields

Principal

20 August 2021

Dear Parent/Guardian,

I would firstly like to welcome all of our children and their families to the new school year 2021/22.

I trust everyone has had a restful and enjoyable summer holiday.

Guidance for the re-opening of schools arrived from the Department of Education at 6pm on the 18^th August.

In light of the guidance the attached arrangements for the month of September will apply.

While the Board of Governors and staff recognise that Covid-19 is still very much with us in Northern Ireland we plan to try our best to return to our pre-covid timetable from Monday 6^th September.

That said, it must be stressed that events throughout the incoming school year will be managed at all times by following the PHA and the Department of Education advice.  The health and safety of our children and staff will be our first priority together with the delivery of a challenging and enjoyable learning experience for each and every pupil attending King’s Park.

Your co-operation over these last eighteen months has been greatly appreciated and we trust that your understanding and support will continue throughout the unknown challenges ahead.

As most of you will know I will be retiring from teaching after 45 years in education on the 31^st October and I wish to thank everyone in the King’s Park community for your support and encouragement throughout my 21 years as Principal of this very special school. 

As most will also know our current Vice-principal Miss H Brown has been appointed as Principal of King’s Park from the 1^st November and I have no doubt Heather and the hard working staff at all levels across the school will continue to move the school forward and enjoy the support of you our parents and friends of King’s Park in the years ahead.

Yours sincerely

T Shields

……………………

DTO Shields

Principal

School times for September 2021

Opening times on the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd September:

School will open at 8.45am each morning and parents are asked to have children into the school grounds by 9.00am.  There will be no bells.

Nursery and Primary One parents have received individual start times and dates from their teachers.

Finish times on the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd September:

Nursery           -           individual times have been sent to all Nursery parents

Primary 1        -           will leave at lunchtime for the first three weeks of term as previously advised

Primary 2        -           1.45pm

Primary 3/4     -           1.55pm

Primary 5/6/7  -           2.05pm

These times will allow children to settle in with their new teachers and surroundings.       

Opening times from 6^th September:

Nursery           -           individual start times for each child have been issued

Primary 1 to 7 -           school will open from 8.30am

Parents are asked to send their children in as near to 9.00am as possible.

Children must go directly to their classroom, wash their hands and take their seat.  Note also that between 8.30am and 8.45am there will be a skeleton staff only to supervise classes.  All teachers will be in their class from 8.45am.

Finish times from 6^th September:

Nursery           -           individual pupil finish times

Primary 1        -           September – lunchtime 12.20am *

Primary 2        -           2.00pm each day

Primary 3        -           2.55pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

                                    2.00pm Thursday and Friday

Primary 4        -           2.55pm Monday to Thursday

                                    2.10pm Friday – to be reviewed at the end of September

Primary 5/6/7  -           3.00pm Monday to Thursday

                                    2.15pm Friday – to be reviewed at the end of September

Note the earlier times for Nursery and Primary One to allow for transition. 

* The normal finish time of 2.00pm for Primary One will begin on 27^th September.

Nursery – all queries regarding nursery children should be directed to each Nursery teacher via the class Dojo.

Further points to note:

1  As a school we intend to retain our class bubbles throughout September at the end of which the situation will be reviewed.

2  Full school uniform to be worn by all pupils.  Tracksuits should be worn on PE Days only. (Class teachers will inform parents of PE days in September).  School bags are permitted (preferably small).  All belongings will be kept in the classes.

3  Adults are asked NOT to enter the school building without a pre-appointment with the Principal.

4  There will be NO BELLS throughout September.

5  Remote learning: In the event of a Covid-19 outbreak affecting a child/ren the school will provide remote learning to the child/ren concerned.

6  Please note that all school meals must be ordered and paid for through ParentPay.  If you are unsure about how to pay by ParentPay please contact Mrs Morrow in the office on 028 3832 2450.  The dinner menu is available on our school website.

7  The most recent guidance to schools is that adults are asked to continue to maintain 2 metre social distancing when in the school grounds and to wear face coverings.

8  Parents are asked NOT to send their child/ren into school if they are feeling unwell and to inform school (Tel: 028 3832 2450) immediately should any member of their family return a positive Covid test.

9  Continued good hygiene practice will be followed in school by all staff and children.

10 Well ventilated classrooms are very important in combating Covid-19 and we will endeavour to have all rooms well ventilated at all times.

Finally, Covid-19 is still very much with us, however we hope that the procedures we have in place and with the co-operation of all our parents we can reduce the effects of the virus across the school to a minimum over the coming months.

T Shields

Principal

Click on the link below to view our P7 Leavers’ Virtual Choir video:

https://www.kingsparklurgan.com/p7-leavers-2021/

Sophia Calvert (P4O’H) has completed the challenge ‘A Mile a Day in May!’ She has raised an incredible £2803.57 for her chosen charity Children’s Heartbeat Trust. A big well done from everyone at King’s Park, such an achievement!💛 

25 June 2021

Dear Parent/Guardian,

I would firstly like to thank all of our parents/carers for your understanding and support throughout this past school year which is now drawing to a close.

The 2020/21 school year will be forever remembered by us all.

Looking forward it is our intention to re-open in September with a return to as near a normal timetable as possible, while following the guidance to schools from the Department of Education and the Public Health Agency.

We have recently received the following correspondence from the Education Authority dated 15 June 2021:  

Managing Covid19 response in Schools from September 2021

At this point in time there are a number of possible models for virus impact over the coming months. This makes the process of providing specific detailed guidance for September 2021 extremely challenging at this time. However, we would ask that you plan for the new term using the following assumptions:

· The Covid19 Virus will still be present and circulating in Northern Ireland and we will continue to implement current mitigations to reduce its transmission.

· We need to plan to be ready to implement all restrictions again if required, but it is hoped that the number and level of restrictions can be reduced.

· Rapid testing should be offered to all staff in primary and post-primary schools and to post-primary pupils in Years 8-14. (LAMP testing should continue in Special Schools)

· We need to plan to be able to transition to remote learning for some or all classes if pupils/staff are identified as a close contact(s).

· Support and advice will continue to be available from EA and the PHA, but this may be reconfigured based on feedback and learning throughout 2020-2021.

Moving Forward

The process of adjusting and adapting to Covid19 in our society is well underway, and your school is providing a leading role in supporting your staff, children and young people to overcome many of the challenges and barriers created by the pandemic. It is clear that Covid19 will continue to create disruption for some months to come, but we are hopeful that the disruption will dissipate and become less frequent as we move forward. There is a need to plan to be ready when needed balanced against the hope that our plans will not be required.

EA plan to issue further guidance in mid-August, ahead of the new school term, which will provide a more detailed picture of the mitigations you will need to implement and the currently imposed restrictions that you can relax. This will be based on the most up to date medical information and advice available at that time.

We, in King’s Park, will be emailing all of our parents/carers immediately once we receive the re-start guidance referred to above from the Education Authority.

Uniform Update

From September we are planning to return to full school uniform for pupils, with the tracksuit worn on PE days only.  Our uniform can be purchased from the following: Victor Stewarts, SD Kells and Maxwells.

Finally, we wish all of our children and families a safe and enjoyable summer holiday and trust we will all return safely on the 1^st September.

Yours sincerely

T Shields

……………………

DTO Shields

Principal