May 15th: Parents survey, Class zoom get-togethers, virtual assembly, Photography competition, Virtual graduation and transfer to 2nd level

​Dear Parents,
The longer this goes on the more questions arise for us and for all schools and school communities!
We have settled our school calendar for school year 2020-2021 which we will send out to you at the beginning of June. According to our calendar, school reopens on Thursday 27th August 2020.
However, we have no direction yet from the Department of Education as to how many children will be allowed in the building or in any classroom at any one time. So arrangements continue to be very fluid and uncertain. No decisions as to how schooling will look in September can be made until we have clarity from the Department. As soon as we have the information we need, we will share it with you. All decisions that will be made will be in line with the guidance we receive from the Department of Education and Skills, with health and safety of children and staff being paramount to all decisions.
Parents Survey
Thank you to all parents who responded to our Parents survey. We were delighted with the kind comments from you and we got very useful information. We have individually contacted parents who had specific concerns about technology and/or access to books and hopefully some (if not all) issues have been addressed. I particularly liked the suggestion from one parent who wanted to know whether the teachers will be buying Yankee candles for the parents this June.  I enjoyed that one!
Remember -You can contact Linda at [email protected] or myself [email protected] if you have any further concerns that you would like to discuss with us.
Remember also  to contact [email protected] if you are having technical difficulty with Seesaw,  Edmodo or Zoom. Catherine also has asked me to remind you to contact her [email protected] if you are looking for any advice or materials for supporting children with special needs.
Class Get- togethers
One comment that came up from many parents in the Parent Survey is that they would really like Zoom Classes Get- together for pupils and teachers. We agreed at our virtual staff meeting that each class teacher will host get togethers for their class once a fortnight.  Each week for the next six weeks there will be either a live Friday Assembly or a class get together.
Next Friday there will be an assembly as scheduled and the following week each class will have their own Zoom get together. Each class will be given plenty of notice about the Zoom meeting from their class teacher. We believe that the children will really benefit from meeting up with their teachers and themselves in this way.
Assembly and Photograph Competition
The theme for next week is “Happy at Home” and we are announcing this week a photography competition reflecting this theme.
Children are asked to use their imagination and artistic talent to create a scene/scenario  to photograph, or simply to take a photograph of something that conveys joy or happiness.  Children should give their photograph an individual title and make sure that their name and class accompanies their photograph.  Photos can be sent to [email protected] or through the class platform, Seesaw or Edmodo. The children might take a number of photographs but they should choose the best one to enter the competition. One entry per child.
There will be three prizes of gift vouchers (suitable for online use) sent to the three best entries as judged by Catherine, Colette and Gemma. These prizes will be sent to the winners the week after the assembly. 
Remind your child to give their photo a title and to include their name and class.
Virtual Graduation for 6th class pupils on the 19th June. Teachers are meeting (virtually) on Monday to begin preparations and we will be in touch with 6th class pupils soon to start the process of  preparation. 
Transfer to Second Level
Linda (Home School Community Liaison Teacher) will be in touch with parents and pupils of 6th class in the coming weeks with tips for smooth transfer from 6th  class to 1st year in Secondary School. if you have specific concerns about your child's transfer to second level, please contact Linda for advice. 
I hope to see your children next week at Assembly on Friday at 2.30 pm
Please encourage your children to get involved in the competition.
Have a good weekend everyone.


Colette