Sunday 19th April 2020

It is now one month since schools in Northern Ireland closed due to Covid 19 restrictions. The two weeks before the ‘official Easter Holidays’ and Easter itself have been the strangest imaginable.

The impact of this coronavirus crisis has been far reaching and has affected everyone and I would like to thank you for your support and encouragement over the last month and during the few weeks of uncertainty leading up to Stormont’s decision to close schools.

As we enter what would have been the start of Term 3 on Wednesday 22nd April we are fully aware of the continued difficulties faced by everyone. These include juggling working from home, to getting essential items, entertaining children and then thrown into the mixture, ‘home learning’.

The idea of ‘Home Learning’ is a complex one and it brings with it many anxieties from parents who ask themselves, ‘Am I doing this right?’ ‘Will my child be disadvantaged by me?’ ‘How do I balance working from home with my child’s learning?’

This is not a normal time and anything you can do at home with your child will be beneficial. Take this opportunity to spend time teaching your children some of the ‘life skills’ they require such as an appreciation of the World Around Us (Talk about the local area as you do your daily exercise etc.), helping with cooking and household chores, this will create children who can ‘self organise and manage themselves’.

As a school we will provide work uploaded onto the school website (Parents Tab - Home Learning). This work should be completed in the class work books that were sent home. Should you require more class work books over the coming weeks please contact the school office between 9am and 2pm daily and we can arrange for you to collect extra class work books. Teachers are available daily by email should you have questions. Answers to the class work will be uploaded along with the work on the website so please check this daily.

Teachers will endeavour to provide activities at your child’s level but obviously the ability to teach new concepts has been greatly impeded but these are exceptional circumstances and we must keep our expectations in perspective. The reinforcement of concepts is hugely important and will greatly aid your child’s development when school ‘returns to normal’.

Choose how much you feel is appropriate/manageable for your child given your personal circumstances. We have purposely kept our work focused on Literacy and Numeracy because we are aware of so much online content available to you e.g. Joe Wicks PE etc.

Please be reassured that by doing your best you are doing enough for your child! Please look after yourself too and remember that as a school we are here to help you and your child.

Best wishes,

Mr I Bayne