Update from the Principal

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,

We know that this has been a very difficult, frustrating and anxious time for our 3rd years who have been left in the dark in relation to their Junior Cycle. Today, we finally received clarity with the announcement from the DES that:

1. All students are to be awarded a State Certificate for the completion of Junior Cycle.

2. Schools have been given autonomy to assess their own students and report on their achievements in a School Certificate.

Since the shutdown, our teachers have been making every effort to keep students focused on their work and to prepare them for their transition from Junior to Senior Cycle. However in the absence of any clarification from the DES, we have seen student engagement lessen. We believe that it is important for 3rd years to finish their Junior Cycle with some recognition for their hard work and commitment over the last three years and to recognise their engagement with their work during these difficult and unprecedented times.

I would like to outline how the school will assess our third years. I believe this will be a fair and reasonable way of assessing how our students have performed over the last three years and will allow the school to recognise their hard work in the form of a School Certificate. It is our hope that working toward this final assessment will keep them engaged for the remainder of the term. It will also, give them a sense of completion on their Junior cycle and will prepare them for their Senior Cycle.

Subject Departments will assign a certain percentage, for students’ work completed up until schools closed. This may include a combination of Pre-results, November tests, project work etc. The remainder, not more than 40%, will be for a timetabled online exam which would take place in the last week of May. We will be asking parents to supervise these exams at a time that is convenient to you on a date specified by the school. We know that this is an inconvenience and we really don’t want to burden parents further, but we believe that it is the best solution in the circumstances. We know that circumstances differ from home to home and urge you to contact us with any issues you feel you may have.

I will contact you on Monday to provide you with a timetable for the assessments and to give you a breakdown of how each subject will apportion percentages for work done and the final test.

These are worrying and troubling times. The wellbeing of our students is at the heart of all our decisions.. We want our students to finish the year with a sense of accomplishment and completion, enjoy their Summer holidays and be ready to start the next academic year refreshed and energised.

For those of you who have a student in 6th year schools have not yet received any further information regarding Leaving Certificate, but we will communicate any updates when they become available.

Thank you for your co-operation to date. We wish you and your families good health and good peace of mind,

Colm Ó Corcora Marie Sheehan

Principal Deputy Principal

(On behalf of the Board of Management)