Thanks for the reply. I'm a teacher and felt the same as you about the board having to make that decision. Hope you and yours keep well.
I think that principle did the right thing. Good timing to be fair, with the midterm next week also.But not a decision I'd envy either.
It's all a bit of a mess really. A bit of an over reaction to close the school in the first place maybe but I don't envy the school board with the decision they had to make. They obviously felt it was the right thing to do.
Saying that I don't see why they wouldn't just leave it closed until Friday and let them off on mid term. A lot of parents we know aren't sending the kids back for the week now as if it was so unsafe that they had to close a couple of days ago they aren't very comfortable with sending them back.
I assume you have children in the school? You obviously know more than the rest of us if so. What do you make of the situation? From the outside I would've thought letting them stay online for three more days would've been a sensible move considering the number of cases they had.
Sorry, didn't mean to interrogate you! Just curious to hear your perspective.
Just got a message that school is reopening tomorrow following talks with board of education (CBS primary Wexford)
20 past 9 at night we were informed of this
I just saw on the news that the CBS primary school in Wexford is reopening to students tomorrow following instruction from the Department of Education to do so. Meanwhile a school in Wicklow has reverted to online teaching but I think that was on advice from public health rather than a local decision.
Didn't say straight away, I said we could order them, and even if delayed they would eventually come. Baffled by the resistance to something that helps improve the health, safety and learning outcomes of our kids, irrespective of covid. But I'll leave it there.
sovits taking Samsung 4 months to get 51,000 at 5 times the cost and they have not yet demonstrated they will deliver, yet we could have 50,000 straight away at €15.5m
Victoria are paying $125m AUS for 51,000 units, roughly €80m.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/centralcoast/programs/breakfast/hepa-filters-in-schools/13554852
So your cost estimate would appear to be understated by a factor of at least 5 ?
I meant the full units. The Department of Health in Victoria has negotiated with Samsung to supply 51,000 air purifiers to be rolled out to their schools over the next four months. Samsung are one amongst many who would happily enter negotiations with the Irish government. It's entirely doable.
There are no doubt millions of hepa filters siting in warehouses. They are useless with out the systems in which to use them however, and to believe sourcing 50,000 of the heap filtration systems is a trivial matter is naive in the extreme.
Do you have some in stock?
How is that not a reason to order them? Even if they're delayed, they'll come, and they'll be worth it.
Besides which, HEPA filters are a mass market commercial and residential product, there could easily be hundreds of thousands of them waiting in warehouses just waiting to be installed.
Are people genuinely not aware of the supply issues with electrical components in general and this type of equipment in particular. Sure there are 50,000 HEPA filter units sitting in a warehouse just waiting to be installed.
We already know that the reason the CO2 monitors are not available was a manufacturing fault.
Theoretically, it would take days. These are plug and play units, no need for installation or construction.
Decent HEPA filter can be got for €300. Our own school has 16 classrooms, so could be done just under 5000. I don't know current figures, but I think for 2018/19 there were 3,240 primary schools, but assuming they're all double stream schools (some will be one, some will be more) that's an investment of €15.5m nationally. A drop in the water compared to what's being pumped into testing/hospitalisation etc. Also, the Department currently advises that schools can invest in these if they wish, and has suggestions for schools, but just not the will to actually do it.
If the state were negotiating do bulk order thousands of units, I'm sure they could get them for substantially cheaper too. Ideally, they would be really investing in proper mechanical ventilation systems and retrofitting, but you're looking at thousands per unit in that case, so unlikely.
HEPA filters are not a magic wand, and need to be used in combination with open windows/monitors etc., but they're a big part of the puzzle that can help to reduce all airborne infections in a classroom. Useless against nits though ;)
I do think it's awful that although the school followed the guidelines provided that Covid still spread and I also think it is awful that they had to take the difficult decision to close. That's hardly a controversial opinion to hold.
You got a cost for that, even off the top of your head? Also how long would such a project take?
But the point is the Department should be putting in HEPA filtration regardless of Covid, it mitigates hugely against all respiratory illnesses, hugely reduces absenteeism, aids concentration etc. It could have helped your child last year.
It's a just a no brainer, really, but would have the added benefit of reducing covid transmission. I mean, why not?
personally I think it very obvious that they are letting it rip through schools in the hope of herd immunity for under 12s
My child caught a respritory infection in school last year. It wasnt covid. She was hospitalised for almost a week. Dont see the department employing factors to keep other illnesses away. Ever. My child wasnt ok, hooked up to machines, ECG, chest xray, nebulisers and oxygen. Id put it out there that none of the kids from this school end up as bad as my child who had a chest infection and not covid. Ireland is facing into a PTSD pandemic
Still no co2 monitors as promised.
Not a mention of anyone being sick, i think some people can't see the woods for the trees if this is regarded as awful, it's an overreaction and won't age well.
Very hard to understand the attitude towards schools. Yes keep them open of course, but also contact trace and isolate as required. And as you say, put things in place that could actualy help keep them open. That said, I hope this is an isolated incident.
but they mightn't be all ok and there are such simple mitigation factors the Department could be employing to help keep them safe. It baffles me that they won't outfit every classroom in the country with HEPA filters. Cost is miniscule compared to testing etc.
The kids are kids and the teachers are vaccinated. Of course all are almost certainly ok
Jesus reading about this type of thing is awful. Hope all involvd are ok and that it isn't a situation that is replicated elsewhere in the country. Really feel for the principal, awful situation.
id say thats why they might be serially disruptive, because there never a sanction. The child is 15 and she admitted to it when questioned. Only got a day suspension but thats a very serious offence imo, tampering with the school facilities its basically vandalism because a lot of class time was lost turning off the alarm. same as touching a fire extinguisher.Definite suspension and next stop for someone on that would be out the gate for good. Cant handle pandering to bold kids in a school.
All schools were sent a Circular by the Dept of Ed in August to say that Covid measures were to stay the same in schools this school year 21/22. There’s been some other contact since that basically said, definitely until Christmas, we’ll be in touch. Circular below;
Do you have a link to that announcement by any chance?
No. All current measures are to stay in place in schools until Christmas.
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