12th March 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians

Re: Coronavirus Contingency Plans

We in Aquinas are aware that there is understandable concern regarding the Coronavirus and the associated media coverage.

We wish to assure all in our community that we are following all advice being issued by the Department of Education in conjunction with the Public Health Agency and can be viewed at

https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/news/covid-19-coronavirus

In line with current guidance we are adopting a ‘business as usual’ approach, alongside a number of general precautions to help prevent the spread of infection – washing hands with soap or sanitiser, use of and disposal of tissues, increased cleaning of the school etc.

However, as this is a rapidly evolving situation, we have been doing some contingency planning so that we will be ready to deal with a number of different scenarios, including school closure.

In the event of a closure, the most important thing will be to ensure that teaching and learning can continue, particularly for those who have public examinations this summer. Most subject areas will provide on line access to teaching and revision resources through Google Classroom and C2k email. With this in mind, we are asking that pupils ensure that they have checked their C2k passwords, checked they can access Google classroom for their particular subject and can log on to My-School from home.

A guide on accessing C2k email from home is available on the school website:

Accessing Google Apps Using C2K Account From Home

In the interests of effective communication please can I advise that you are able to access the following communication tools:

Our Website:   www.aquinasgrammar.com

Our Twitter Feed:       @aquinasgrammar

May I take this opportunity to thank all in our community for their continuing support and assure everyone that we will continue to do all in our power to support our young people in their health and their studies at this time.

Yours sincerely

Barry Kelly

Principal