Covid Letter February 2021

12/2//’21

Dear Parent,

I hope you and your families are all well. I also hope that the children are engaging with the online teaching and learning.

We will have our Mid-term break from Monday 15^th to Friday 19^th of February. There will be no online teaching and learning and there will be no keyworker support this week. Both the online teaching and learning as well as keyworker support will resume on Monday 22^nd February at 9am.

The next packs will also be available on Monday 22^nd February.

Please collect the packs from the children’s classrooms on Monday 22^nd February. I am starting with oldest first, if you have more than one child, collect the packs at the same time. Just walk around to the classroom exterior doors as you normally would and collect the materials from the classrooms. Here is the timetable below:

P.7. 9am

P.6. 9:30 am

P.5. 10am

P.4. 10:30am

P.3. 11am

P.2. 11:30am

P.1. 12 noon

(As stated, if for example, you have a child in P.6. and in P.4. collect at the earlier time slot i.e. 9:30am.)

The work in the packs reflects most of the work on Microsoft Teams and Seesaw. However, the online work will provide more opportunity for the children to practise and extend their skills.   Additionally, the pack is also a ‘back up’ to the online aspect where technical problems can occur.

We ask you to please return reading books. We are struggling at the minute to get these back. These books will be needed to give to other groups. Please leave the books in the children’s classrooms when you are collecting their pack.

I want to stress that if you are having any problems, no matter how small you might feel they are, I want you to let me know and I will do my best to support you and resolve them.

World Book Day

This year, World Book Day is on Thursday 4^th March and Book Character Day is on Friday 5^th March. To mark the event, this year we are asking our pupils to create a model / structure of one of their favourite books. This could be making a book from a cereal box. We would love to see all your creations, so please send them to us.

In previous years, we have celebrated Book Character Day with all the children coming to school dressed up as their favourite book characters and parading around the hall showing their costumes to the rest of the school. As we are unable to do that this year, we would encourage you to have a virtual ‘dress up at home’. Again, we would love to see your costumes, so please send them to us. We are also having a ‘Design a Book Mark Competition’. Information on this will be the children’s packs.

Science Week

This year, Science Week will run from Monday 8^th to Friday 12^th March. Last year we had a very successful school science fair, where children in Primary 5, 6 and 7 presented their science projects to the school and also to their parents. This year we are unable to have our science fair in school, so we have decided to celebrate Science Week 2021 online. Watch your Microsoft Teams for more information.

The Remote Learning Policy has also been uploaded onto our website today. I ask you to please read through this and complete the Microsoft Form at the end with your feedback.

Again, I know that children are missing the social aspect of school. Please reassure and remind them that time will fly and that we have already completed six weeks. This situation will change, and before they know it, they will be back with their friends.

I hope you and all the children enjoy their Mid-term break.

My Very Best Wishes to You All and say a big hello to all the children and tell them we are all missing them very much.

Ms. O’Neill.