Cheer and challenges as schools open doors

“As some people have been remarking, it was more stressful to reopen this time than it was ten years ago,” laughs Principal Paula O’Connor.

Merlin Woods in Doughiska is one of the luckier schools, boasting wide corridors, multiple entrances and exits, single-class bathrooms and hot water in classrooms.

Older schools can only look on enviously at their facilities as they scramble to find space to meet the two-metre social distancing guidelines.

But that doesn’t mean the major operation of reopening didn’t have challenges, as pupils are organised into pods within classes or ‘bubbles’ to avoid cross-mixing, reflects Ms O’Connor.

“We’ve staggered the drop-offs and pick-ups by family and divided them by alphabet, giving them a 15-minute window for collections. We’ll tweak it when we see how it goes next week and try and reduce it to make it more manageable going forward but there will be some level of staggering for September."

Junior infants attending their first day of school had to say their farewells to parents at the door as parents are no longer allowed inside the school unless by appointment – with some exceptions for children with Autism or other special needs.

“They really were super saying their goodbyes – it was emotional for parents, it really was very hard because normally it’s a joy having parents in, but we had sent them a virtual tour of the school to let children know what to expect.

“They were all happy with the features in place and were very secure leaving their child off – because we have to be mindful they’re really very young.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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