Vivienne Clarke
The principal of a primary school in Dublin has said that her school will consider mask wearing for pupils if it would help allay their fears.
Tonya Hanly, of Lourdes NS, Inchicore, told RTÉ Radio that some children had already opted to wear their masks in school as it made them feel more confident and safe. She was excited about the return to school, but said that the new variants and continued high numbers would be challenging.
Ventilation
Ms Hanly said she had missed the children and was confident that the return to school would go well once the practical guidelines were adhered to, such as ventilation.
One of the greatest challenges will be with regard to communication, she added, to ensure that concerns were heard and that the school community continued to support each other.
Ms Hanly’s experience with public health measures to date had been positive and reassuring, she said.
However, Séan Twomey, principal of St Aloysius College, secondary school in Carrigtwohill, Cork told Morning Ireland that he did not have the same level of confidence in public health as his experience with contact tracing following an outbreak in his school before Christmas was not good.
Contact tracing
Getting contact tracing improved would be the most important thing about the return to school, he said.
Mr Twomey said he was looking forward to the return of students, but he said there would have to be “a little bit of caution”.
On the issue of ventilation, he pointed out that the provision of a ventilation unit for every classroom in the country would be very expensive and “a big ask”. In his school, they would keep doors and windows open.
Everyone would have to be sensible — staff, parents and students and some would be nervous. The priority would be preparing Leaving Cert students for this year’s exams or predicted grades.
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