Dear Parent / Carer

Firstly Happy New Year to you all! Let’s hope that 2021 is a better year for all of us.

I’m sure most of you have heard the Minister’s announcement yesterday regarding the reopening of schools after the Christmas break. The Minister has stated clearly that Special Schools will open next week as planned but have advised that Monday 4th January could be used as a planning day, to ensure that everything is in place for the safe return of our pupils. As a result of this Castle Tower will now be open to pupils from Tuesday 5th January unless we are told otherwise by the Department of Education.

We do understand however that many of you may be concerned about your children returning to school in the current circumstances with the increase in Covid cases and the new variant.

To reassure you, if your child is not able to attend because of concerns regarding Covid, they will still be marked as present using a DE supplied Covid code.

If you are planning for your child not to attend school for a period of time could you please inform your Teacher via SeeSaw or by phone on Monday morning. Could I also ask you to inform your bus driver directly, to avoid unnecessary journeys.

We look forward to better times in 2021 and the opportunity for things to return to normality for everyone in the Castle Tower family.

Many thanks

Raymond McFeeters