IPPN

Published: 23 December 2010

Bad weather
Based on the large volume of calls received by the IPPN Support Office, a significant number of schools were affected by the severe weather conditions of the last 2 weeks and were unable to open. There is a very bad forecast for this coming weekend and the early days of next week, which may impact on a large number of schools. The following articles provide advice and guidance on the most common issues which may arise should the weather deteriorate further.

1. How to safeguard your school against the severe weather conditions Read more
2. To open or not to open? Who has the authority to close a school and what factors should be considered in closing a school. The DES has issued a statement in recent weeks on the issue of school closures. There was also an E-scéal issued on the subject in January of this year. Read more

3. Do I need to make up the time lost due to an emergency closure? Read more

TextaParent.ie
TextaParent.ie has proved to be an invaluable tool for schools to communicate with parents during the bad weather with over 700,000 text messages sent during the last bad spell. The service has allowed schools to keep parents updated on last minute developments as school circumstances change. Please ensure that your school has sufficient credits in your TextaParent.ie account in the event of emergency.

The re-developed TextaParent.ie website features a host of new features including online payment and scheduled message that have made using the service easier than ever. If you have any queries about your account or would like to register for the service, please do not hesitate to contact the TextaParent.ie team on 1890 401 501 or email info@textaparent.ie.

Positivity week
A number of Principals have recently noted that some children are acutely conscious of the implications of the recession and are worried that their parents will not have enough money to keep the family unit afloat. The idea of a 'Positivity Week' was raised by a small number of Principals on networking recently and some ideas on how such a week/day could be made a success were floated.

IPPN feels that this is an innovative and worthwhile idea which should be sold nationally to all schools in the run up to Christmas and following a Budget that was the harshest in the history of the state. If you have any novel ideas that would contribute to the concept of a 'Positivity Week', please forward them to the IPPN Support Office, where a template for such an initiative can be drawn up. Please email info@ippn.ie

Is sinne le meas

Seán Cottrell & Pat Goff