MESSAGE FROM LEAD WORKER REPRESENTIVE OF THE COVID-19 RESPONSE PLAN
Alicia Devlin-Byrne, LWR at ETSS Wicklow
Hello everyone and thanks for visiting this page to learn more about our Covid-19 Response plan in what has been an extraordinary year for education and for the world. As LWR (Lead Worker Representative) my job is to work closely with the school’s management team, staff, students and parents to ensure the school community implements & adheres to all possible measures to prevent Covid-19 entering our school community and if it does, to reduce the spread by limiting close contacts and the chance of community infection.
This year we have implemented several measures to keep our community safe, including temperature checks, regular cleaning of high touch areas, sanitising of desks and restricting the number of visitors allowed into the school. As we are in a highly fluid time with new information becoming available regularly, we are constantly looking to improve our plan. We welcome suggestions from staff, students and parents who have different perspectives on how our plan is working and want to share ideas about possible improvements both in terms of our physical and mental wellbeing. Below you will learn about a number of our wellbeing initiatives and you can also read our response plan and important information from the HSE.
Ice Cream for Everyone
It was always going to be difficult to adjust to a very strange set of new rules for this year - masks, hygiene, social distancing, new seating configurations etc..., but everyone at ETSS Wicklow has shown great resilience in finding ways to work well in these conditions.
Activity Clubs take place at lunch times and we've had lots of theme weeks such as Diversity Week, Active Week, Languages Week and Mathematics Week. We even organised an ice cream van to visit the school one Friday afternoon.
Congratulations to everyone for keeping our school safe and finding ways to improve our quality of life during these extraordinary times. ETSS Wicklow Covid-19 Response Plan is available at this link.
Interactive Mathematics Games for the
Socially Distanced Classroom
ONLINE LEARNING PLAN
During periods when the school is closed, our online learning plan includes the following protocols:
LIST OF WELLBEING INITIATIVES organised this year
1. Ice Cream Afternoon
2. Bingo Afternoon
3. Student Assemblies by Zoom
4. Club Activities at Lunch Time
5. Christmas Variety Show
6. Livestreaming Classes to Students in Social Isolation
7. Drama Workshops for Every Class - Wellbeing Theme
8. Online Training Day to Prepare for a Non-Stressful Transition to Online Learning if Necessary
9. Launch of Morning Yoga Classes in December
10. Students' Council raising the flags of the school, the country and the EU for celebration days
11. Pancake Day - start the day with pancakes before first class
12. Student v Parent Debate by Zoom 'Covid-19 is a hoax' (students proposing, parents opposing)
13. Online Chess Competition
14. National Debate Competition for all Educate Together secondary schools
Thanks to everyone for playing your part in raising spirits, keeping to the plan and helping the work of the school continue.