I hope you are all doing as well as possible in the present circumstances.
It's hard to believe it is now nine weeks since the school closed. As of the time of writing, we still await communication from the Department in relation to the safe re-opening of schools & what that may entail in the future.
Please be assured that when any directive is issued, we will inform you as & when it is made available to us.
Many thanks for taking the time to respond to the survey we sent you last week. It was great to get your feedback so promptly:
- In relation to pupil work, the vast majority of parents agreed that they wish to keep suggested weekly work the same & wish to see little or no change in work for June.
- The overwhelming majority of parents replied that their children enjoy the weekly challenges, either sometimes or all of the time. We made the decision very early on that a creative challenge each week would be a lovely way to keep everyone in touch & I know that the children really enjoy seeing photos of their friends & looking at each other's work every week.
- Some parents said that their children have limited or no access to a computer or laptop at home. Please contact me if your child has no way of accessing online content (The on-line books/Splashmaths/Touchtyping/Readtheory etc)
- It is understandable that you are worried about your child(ren) falling behind academically & that you are concerned about the negative effect of the school closures on your child's emotional & mental health. As parents, you know what's best for your child & developing a good structured routine in a loving household is probably the best thing we can try & do for our children at any time, but especially now. When we return to school, we will be focusing on revision & the main priorities will be literacy & numeracy. Children are probably more resilient than we give them credit for & it always amazes us in school just how quickly they adapt to new situations.
Best wishes from all the staff in St. Patrick's N.S
Trevor Larke
