Update Letter 3-4-20
Dear Parents/Guardians and students,
We hope that this letter finds you and your family healthy and well. As we come to the end of this term, we would like to pay tribute to students, parents and teachers and your remarkable achievement of transforming our school to an online community in 3 short weeks. Of course there were hiccups and frustrations along the way, problems with receiving work, uploading work, not having textbooks, broadband issues, siblings arguing over who gets to use the laptop next, teachers getting to grips with new technologies. We are sure that at times households were like pressure cookers! However, hopefully, we have all found our rhythm and are now in a routine.
We would like to especially mention our 3rd years and particularly our 6th years who are trying to prepare for their upcoming exams. Ordinarily, this time of year is a very stressful time for them. It has been made even more so by the exceptional circumstances in which we find ourselves. No other exam groups have ever had to deal with the challenges they are facing. They have risen to this challenge with gusto and have engaged really well with their work. They are a credit to themselves and you. To date, we have not received any update on the state exams, once we hear we will let you know immediately.
There are unfortunately, students who are not engaging with the work. We have been in contact with them and understand that there are a whole range of issues relating to broadband, IT issues and family circumstance. If you have any difficulty at all with any of these issues please let us know by emailing info@ccn.ie and we will do our best to help you. There are also those, unfortunately, that have just gone off grid. If any of the students have friends in that category please encourage them to get in touch with us, it is never too late! Work is continuing, courses are being covered, progress is being made. It is entirely probable that schools will remain closed for a period after the 19th April, if this is the case, it will not be possible to go over this material again. So we urge any student who has a friend in this category to have a chat with them and maybe nudge them our way.
That’s it for the moment. Below are some ‘useful reminders’. We wish you all a very Happy and Healthy Easter.
Kind regards,
Colm Ó Corcora Marie Sheehan
Principal Deputy Principal
Useful Reminders
* All e text books are available for free by the publishing companies. Please check our twitter account @ccn_school, Instagram account ccnschool and our facebook account colaisteanchroinaofa for information on how to access them.
* On our website www.ccn.ie under News you will find short videos on how to submit work to schoolwise and how to join a MS Teams on line class
* Ms Hearn, the Guidance Counsellor is available to parents and students on mhearn@ccn.ie
* The National Educational Psychology Service (NEPS) has provided information on the following which you may found useful.
• Advice for Young People While Schools are Closed
• Guide for Parents Supporting Children with Routines
• Plan for the Day
• Relaxation Techniques – podcast/document
• Talking to Children and Young People about Covid-19: Advice for Parents and Schools
You can access this information here:
