The school would like to extend its deep appreciation and thanks to our wonderful Deputy Principal Mrs. Lee on her retirement last Friday. Mrs Lee was a wonderful teacher and colleague and will be greatly missed by the school community. We wish Marie, her husband Anthony and her family, daughter Siobhan and son Francis every health and happiness in the future.
Date 29/09/2020
Re: Confirmed case of COVID-19 in fifth year at Elphin Community College, Roscommon
A confirmed case of COVID-19 in the fifth year of your child’s school has been notified to the Department of Public Health HSE West. A public health risk assessment has been undertaken and all close contacts have been identified.
Your child has NOT been identified as a close contact in the school setting. In line with public health advice, your child does not need to be tested for COVID-19 at this time and does not have to stay home from school or self-isolate.
If your child develops symptoms (such as a cough, a fever, shortness of breath or breathing difficulties, loss or change in sense of taste or smell) – they should be isolated immediately and you should phone your GP for further advice, and any siblings and any other individuals sharing your accommodation should restrict their movements, as per current public health advice.
Outside of the school setting, if you are not sure if you/your child could be a close contact of a case, please review the advice at https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/close-contact-and-casual- contact.html and contact HSELive if you have any additional questions or would like someone to talk you through it.
Further information on COVID-19 is available at: www.hse.ie www.hpsc.ie and www.gov.ie Yours sincerely,
Dr. Emer O’Connell FFPHMI MPH MRCGP
Consultant in Public Health Medicine
MCRN 016424
Elphin Community College letter for casual contacts – Printable Version
Re: Confirmed case of COVID-19 in sixth year at Elphin Community College, Roscommon
A confirmed case of COVID-19 in the sixth year of your child’s school has been notified to the Department of Public Health HSE West.
The Department of Public Health HSE West is also aware of cases of COVID-19 infection in the North Roscommon area.
A public health risk assessment has been undertaken and the parents of any children deemed to be close contacts of the confirmed case have been contacted and advised accordingly. If your child has not been identified as a close contact at this time, your child does not need a test for Covid-19, they can continue to attend school, and no further actions are required at this time. For more information on determining contact level please review the advice at https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/close-contact-and-casual-contact.html and contact us if you have a concern.
If your child develops symptoms (such as a cough, a fever, shortness of breath or breathing difficulties, loss or change in sense of taste or smell) – they should be isolated immediately and you should phone your GP for further advice, and any siblings and any other individuals sharing your accommodation should restrict their movements, as per current public health advice.
Further information on COVID-19 is available at: www.hse.ie www.hpsc.ie and www.gov.ie Yours sincerely,
Dr. Emer O’Connell FFPHMI MPH MRCGP
Consultant in Public Health Medicine
MCRN 016424
Wearing a face covering or mask does not negate the need to stay at home if symptomatic.
Wearing of face coverings – a requirement
Staff and students, at post-primary level, are required to wear a face covering. The exemptions to this are set out below.
Cloth face coverings
Cloth face coverings are recommended for staff and students. Cloth face coverings act as a barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets from travelling into the air and onto other people when the person wearing the face covering coughs, sneezes, talks or raises their voice. Cloth face coverings are therefore intended to prevent transmission of the virus from the wearer (who may not know that they are infected) to those with whom they come into close contact.
Face coverings must not contain any slogans/logos/images that may cause upset or be deemed offensive to any member of the school community.
Visors
Cloth face coverings are more effective than visors. In the limited circumstances where a cloth face covering cannot be worn clear visors must be considered. The alternate use of a clear visor can also be considered when a staff member is interacting with students with hearing difficulties or learning difficulties.
Exemptions
A medical certificate to certify that a person falls into a category listed below must be provided to the school by, or on behalf of, any person (staff or student) who claims that they are covered by the exemptions below:
the cloth face covering or visor, for example persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental health conditions, sensory concerns or tactile sensitivity.
In circumstances where a medical certificate is not provided that person (staff or student) will be refused entry to the school.
Directions for effective use of face coverings
Whilst staff and students may wish to utilise their own face covering on a day-to-day basis, schools should have a stock of additional disposable or multi-use face coverings (or if appropriate, visors) for staff and students in case a back-up face covering is needed during the day or where required on an ongoing basis.
Use of medical grade face coverings
Schools should consider the specific circumstances where the use of medical face masks (to EU Standard EN 14683) may be more appropriate for staff as part of their risk assessment for employees returning to work (for example where staff by necessity need to be in close and continued proximity with students with intimate care needs such as SNAs.
Students using school transport
All students on the post primary transport scheme should are required to wear face coverings subject to the exemptions above.
The very best of luck to all our students receiving their Leaving cert results this morning.
The State Examinations Commission will publish the results of the Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme and Leaving Certificate Applied Calculated Grades process on Monday, 7th September 2020 at 9am.
Key Dates
The following grid outlines the key dates associated with the 2020 Calculated Grades process.
| 7th September at 9.00 am | Results of the Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme and Leaving Certificate Applied Calculated Grades will issue. |
| 7th September | UCAS offers received by students |
| 11th September | Deadline for return of Forms A, B, C and D, reconciliation sheet (where applicable) and school sign-off form to the Calculated Grades Executive Office. |
| 11th September | CAO first round offers |
| 14th September | Students can access their estimated percentage mark and calculated mark through the student portal. |
| 14th September | Appeals application process open to students through the student portal from 9.00 a.m. |
| 16th September | Appeals application process closes at 5.00 p.m. |
| 23rd September | CAO round 2 offers |
Students will be able to access their grades online through the Student Portal which they used to opt-in to the calculated grades process.
On Monday 14th September, students will have access (via student portal) to the calculated grade awarded by their school. At that time students will have not have access to their ranking position within their class. At a later date, the D.E.S will publish the mechanism for students to follow as to how they can access their class ranking. Students should check their student portal on Monday 14th to view instructions as to how to access their ranking.
Appeals Process
Students who are unhappy with their Calculated Grades results will have access to an appeals process. The appeals process will be an administrative process and students may not appeal against the information provided on their behalf by the school as these have already been subjected to a school alignment process and oversight by the school principal.
Students may lodge an appeal through the student portal from 9.00 a.m. on Monday 14th September to 5.00 p.m. on Wednesday 16th September.
Stage1: Checks will be undertaken to ensure that the intended information was recorded correctly by the school and that the information was transferred correctly into the data collection system.
Stage 2: There will also be a review to ensure that the data was correctly received and processed in the national standardisation process conducted by the Department.
Data checks will include a check to ensure that the rank order of the class group for the subject and level taken has been preserved in the standardisation process and that students placed on the same school-estimated mark in the same subject and at the same level taken by the school are conferred with the same calculated mark conferred by the Department.
Stage 3: Students unhappy with the outcome of this process can seek a review by Independent Appeal Scrutineers.
All students will have the opportunity to sit the postponed Leaving Certificate Examinations which are scheduled to begin on 16th November subject to public health advice.
Student Supports
Where students would like to speak to our Guidance Counsellor, they should phone or email the school and an appointment will be arranged for advice by phone later in the day or later in the week.
The Leaving Certificate student helpline, at 1800 265 165, which is provided by the National Parents Council post-primary will be available from 11.00 am on 7 September for students to reach a guidance counsellor with any queries that they may have.
This helpline will operate until after the CAO first round offers and is staffed by qualified guidance counsellors. Further details can be found at https://www.npcpp.ie/leaving-cert-helpline/
HSE/HSE-funded service providers will be available to support students through the provision of e-mental health services. https://www2.hse.ie/wellbeing/mental-health/covid-19/minding-your-mental-health-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.html
Wellbeing resources developed by the National Educational Psychological Service are available at www.gov.ie/leavingcert
CGEO helpline will be available at 1800 111135 or 1800 111136 from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm from Monday 7 September to Wednesday 16 September. Outside of these hours queries may be e-mailed to lcsupport2020@education.gov.ie. Please note this helpline is provided for queries relating to the Calculated Grades results only and cannot provide advice on any other matters.
Information available from the Central Applications Office (CAO) at www.cao.ie
Click on Link to Bring you to Gov.ie Website
From Department of Education and Skills
Published at:
Last updated
Below are four videos we have created with some back to school advice for parents and children attending primary and post-primary school. You are encouraged to watch these videos with your child before they return to school.
Everyone has been working very hard to ensure a safe reopening of schools for staff, students and their families.
Most students will be looking forward to going back to school and will feel happy and excited. Some may feel a little anxious about returning. That’s a normal response at a time of change. Most will settle back in soon once they get used to the new rules and routines.
For more information and a downloadable flyer click here
Up to date information on what to do if your child has symptoms of coronavirus, how to get urgent medical help if your child is unwell and how to protect your child from the coronavirus can be found here.
Here is some guidance on key issues relating to school reopening that schools and parents may find helpful in answering some of their questions:
Assessment Arrangements 2021 – Printable Version
This document sets out the adjusted assessment arrangements for post- primary students taking certificate examinations in the 2020/21
school year. These arrangements are designed to take account of
the disrupted learning experienced by students during the 2019/20 school year. The adjustments have been arrived at through discussions between the Department of Education and Skills (DES), the State Examinations Commission (SEC) and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and keystakeholders.
As schools have significant autonomy in determining how to sequence
and pace learning for students in their schools, no centrally prescribed adjustment of the curriculum and courses of study would be effective for students taking the certificate examinations in 2021. Consequently, the most appropriate way to reflect and take account of the challenges for students that have occurred in 2019/20 and may occur in 2020/21 is to incorporate adjustments to the certificate examinations in 2021.
As the loss of learning through school closures will have affected students’ engagement with their course of study in different ways, the adjustments put in place will play to student strengths by leaving intact the familiar overall structure of the examinations, while incorporating additional choice. In some cases, theadjustment measures will provide more time for tuition by, for example, reducing preparatory work for practical examinations. In addition, briefs for coursework will be issued at least a month earlier in the school year to provide certainty for students.
Changes to the national assessment arrangements have been made with due regard for the principles of equity, fairness and integrity as these principles apply to assessment and examinations and refer to student- to-student, subject-to-subject, and year-to-year comparisons.
Overall, the changes can be viewed as reflecting and recognising a loss of learning time in the 2019/20 school year in a fair manner, with some contingency for future learning loss that may occur during the 2020/21 school year also built in. They provide clarity, certainty and reassurance to students, their parents/guardians,teachers and schools in advance of the start of the 2020/2021 school year.
The document details the adjusted assessment arrangements for every subject/ module descriptor in the Leaving Certificate Established, Leaving Certificate Applied, Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme and Junior Cycle programmes. When you click on the relevant subject title, you will be brought to the page detailing the particular arrangements for that subject.
Minister @NormaFoleyTD1 provides further update ahead of schools reopening https://t.co/6UXBmGTl2Z
— education.ie (@Education_Ire) August 21, 2020
