Easter Update - Friday 3rd April
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope you and your children are keeping well and staying safe and healthy. That is what is most important. I know that all families are doing all they can to cope in these very difficult times. Please remember that each of us can only do our best.
As we approach the end of the term, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the students and teachers for the magnificent way in which they have engaged with our distance learning efforts. Everyone has worked extremely hard over the last number of weeks on the various platforms that the school uses.
Padlet:
At this stage, in previous years, we would be winding down for our Easter holidays and would all be very much looking forward to the break.
We will be reducing the amount of content and general communication sent out during the Easter break. We want to give the children (and you) a break!
However, to support you, we have created online padlets to access some fantastic sites, links and resources which you might find helpful throughout the duration of the school closure. We feel the information contained within each padlet may be useful to engage the children. During the 2-week Easter break we would encourage pupils to keep up their reading and other learning activities, especially fun games, that they have enjoyed at home over the last few weeks.
Junior Infant & Senior Infant Padlet:
1st Class to 6th Class Padlet:
NEPS Resources:
Eileen Devitt, our NEPS Psychologist, has forwarded the following resources that NEPS has developed around advice and resources for keeping children and young people well during these challenging times as follows: These resources can be found on www.education.ie
Advice from the Department of Education and the National Educational Psychology Service (NEPS) on how to speak with your child about Covid 19 is available here:
The Department and NEPS have also issued “A Guide for Parents on supporting children and young people with daily routines while schools are closed”. It is available here:
Both of these documents contain simple and practical advice for parents. They are well worth reading.
After Easter:
If the closure continues into the 3rd term of the school year, teachers will continue to provide suggested work for parents to do with pupils at home on a weekly basis starting again on 20th April.
RTÉ School on TV:
RTÉ school started on Monday last, 30th March, and will broadcast from Monday to Friday every morning from 11.00 to 12.00 throughout the school closure. It is aimed at pupils from 1st class to 6th class. Pupils could include watching it as part of their daily routine. Here is a link with further information: www.rte.ie/news/2020/0320/1124339-rte-to-launch-school-on-tv-teaching-initiative/
Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs:
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has issued advice and “Top Tips” for parents. The materials have been developed by Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists. More resources and advice will be added in the coming days. The advice can be accessed here: https://ncse.ie/online-resources-for-parents
Stay safe and continue to follow government advice. It will make all the difference!
Thank you for your continued support.
Sinéad Pigott
Principal
