Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope this post finds you and your families safe and well. It has been an unprecedented two weeks for the whole of the country and we would like to congratulate all the children, parents and school staff for the way in which we have managed to work together during that time.

I am aware that some schools are opening to allow people come to collect books. Unfortunately, from a health and safety perspective, given our student population of over 300 pupils, it is not possible to open the school grounds to that amount of people to come and collect their books. We understand your frustration at not having access to the physical books but the health and safety of both our school community and local community has to take priority at this time. The school is aware, that some families are finding it challenging to juggle online work with multiple pupils in the one household. We know that this situation is not ideal. The tasks assigned are not compulsory, and some may not always be possible for children to complete.

If your child has completed the work assigned by his / her teacher here are some extra activities for this week. The MAJOR emphasis is on reading. The older girls from 3rd to 6th class should be encouraged to continue with AR, reading for at least 20 minutes daily. The younger pupils could access stories online at https://www.storylineonline.net/. We would also suggest pupils try out the following activities this week:

1. Reading – younger children may listen to stories being read aloud and chat about them. Older children can read independently.
2. Physical Exercise – do half an hour exercise class with Joe Wicks each morning.
3. Art – design and make an Easter card for their grandparents or other family member, who they currently cannot physically visit due to the social distancing rules.
4. Engage in some baking activity – this allows your child to weigh and measure items and develops their mathematical and scientific skills.
5. Gardening activity – if you’re lucky enough to have a garden, plant some seeds and watch them grow!
6. Watch RTE Home School Hub from 11 to 12 daily on RTE 2 (caters for pupils in 1st – 6th class). There is also a RTE Home School Extra broadcast daily at 4:15pm.
7.  Choose an activity from the websites listed under useful websites.

Children learn best when engaged in play so continue to play with your child inside and outside, make jigsaws, play board games and spend quality time together.

Keep well and stay safe.