Covid-19 Information for Parents
Summer Newsletter 2020
We hope you and your families are safe and well at this time. Following the recent Government announcement, schools will remain closed for the duration of the 2019/2020 academic year. We are currently awaiting guidance from the Department of Education and Skills regarding the current closure. We will provide this information to families at the earliest opportunity along with details regarding re-opening of school, booklists and the 2020/2021 school calendar.
Summer Term
The summer term in All Saints’ is an exciting and engaging time with a focus on revision, learning outdoors and enjoying excursions. We endeavour to provide pupils with interesting, engaging and creative opportunities to learn from home over the coming weeks. The teachers are planning virtual tours, a virtual ‘Sports Day’, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) assignments, extra-curricular activities and fun educational tasks over the coming weeks.
Remote Learning
We hope you are finding remote learning a positive experience. It is important to find a routine that works for you and your family. The teachers will continue to provide learning plans for the remainder of this term. We encourage pupils to work on literacy and numeracy activities daily and to keep up their reading. We will continue to assign wellbeing activities to promote mental health and wellbeing at this time. The pupils will also participate in active tasks and games. We are always pleased to receive feedback and to hear how things are going.
Seesaw
The Seesaw application is an educational platform which offers opportunities for communication between teachers and pupils. The teachers assign learning tasks across a wide variety of subject areas. The learning opportunities include projects and activities, wellbeing assignments and teacher announcements. There is an option to submit assignments for teacher approval and feedback. Please note pupils may only view their own work and communicate with the teaching staff. Once pupils login they can view messages, learning links and assignments. If you wish to access Seesaw, please email your consent to allsaintsnscarnew@gmail.com. Please let us know if you would like further information.
Standardised Tests & Report Cards
The Department of Education and Skills recently announced the cancellation of standardised testing in all primary schools this year. Standardised tests are generally administered to pupils from 1st Class upwards during the summer term. The MICRA-T test provides teachers with information regarding the reading level of pupils in their classes. The SIGMA-T test is used to assess progress in Mathematics. As a result of the cancellation of these tests, the results will not be provided on the end of year report cards this year. However, report cards for your child/children will be forwarded as usual in June.
2020/2021 Academic Year
We wish to assure you that even though we are not in school, we are providing the pupils with learning opportunities to ensure the continuation of learning in all areas of the school curriculum. When school reopens, an emphasis will be placed on revision with a particular focus on the core subjects. The teachers will continuously assess and monitor learning. Further guidance is expected from the Department of Education over the coming weeks to all schools as we prepare for a safe and welcome return to school life. Even though this has been an unprecedented time, it has provided an opportunity to learn and communicate in a variety of new ways and enjoy quality time with families.
6th Class
Our thoughts are with the parents and pupils of 6th Class as they prepare for a new adventure in their lives. We are very proud of all the pupils have achieved during their time in All Saints’ N.S. and we wish them well over the coming weeks. It has been a pleasure watching them flourish into the incredible young people they are today. We wish them well in their preparations.
We wish you good health. We are looking forward to seeing everyone on our return to school. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can provide further assistance. We are available to support you and your family at this time.
