At the end of week four again my thanks to parents for their continued sharing of the delivery of students' education. One more week to mid term and you can take a break.
We had a great response to the “Teacher’s Pet” competition during the week and next week we start “A Step in the Right Direction” where different class groups compete with each other to see who can do the most steps. After mid term it will be students versus teachers!! Amid the pressures of study it is good to take a break and take a walk. My thanks to the teachers who are videoing, live streaming and using visualisers to make classes as active and real as possible.. When the going gets tough………... And here is a video presentation of the Athy College Students of the Month (December 2020). We have had to exclude pictures for GDPR reasons. Well done to all nominees Well done to many of the junior Home Economics students and their teachers and parents for continuing with the practical elements of the course remotely. Students completed the work at home and sent in pictures of their progress. The Great British Bake Off is only trotting after us.
As we try to include a little bit of fun in our school day many thanks to the students and teachers who took part in the “Teacher’s Pet” competition today. Guess the teacher from the pet.
Sineád Ní Nualáin
With great shock and sadness I heard of the passing of former colleague Sinéad Ní Nualláin who was principal of Athy Gaelscoil for many years. As a united team on the Education Campus we met monthly for many years as we began our journey together in our new home. Sinead was an inspiration, friendly, full of enthusiasm and commitment and a pleasure to work with. The education world is a lot poorer at her loss and so many members of our community, teachers, parents and students have much to thank her for. Our sympathies to her parents and her brother and her teaching colleagues. Slán Sineád PARENTS
Thank you again at the end of a third week for helping to deliver remote learning. As a school we thank you very much for your support and kind messages. Our VSware app has been a great success for keeping communication open and for you to be able to monitor attendance, etc. The students mightn’t tell you but - you have done a great job! We promised we’d have a fun element for both students and parents. One of the first fun pieces is a competition for you to identify the staff member by a picture of their pet (or child). We will also give details this week of a “step/activity challenge” between class groups to encourage students to get active between and after classes and we have a little video dance challenge planned for Seachtain na Gaeilge (first 2 weeks of March) where we would love parents to get involved. We hope to get back to the classroom and we thank you, our extended family, for making this lockdown as productive as possible. There is no word yet on how the Leaving Certificate examinations will take place but we will keep you informed as soon as we know. Mind yourselves and each other. At the end of the second week of remote learning again I want to thank parents for their commitment to making this work. We have extremely high attendance and engagement by students and this is due to your work in adjusting to the new normal. Thank you. In the media we see attempts to create division between the different partners in education but thankfully we have learned to work together. From a school viewpoint I have never seen teachers work harder to prepare and deliver high quality remote classes and we have never felt the support of parents as much as these recent weeks. Students are attending and we are all working together. The loss of “real” school time is not due to teachers or unions, it is due to a virus. It would be much easier for us all to be back to open schools and it will happen as soon as it is safe to do so. We have been led to believe that some decisions will be made on this and on exams this week. In the meantime, please stay safe, try to keep stress levels down both in yourself and the students. I have put a section on “Wellbeing in education” on the frontpage of our website which has some good tips for parents and students. For Leaving Certificate students our Guidance Portal - also on the frontpage of our website has information on applying for sources, open days (virtual), etc If students have issues with devices or other difficulties please feel free to contact us. We are in this together. End of week one and I know that I have certainly learned a lot.
When we called parents our “partners” in education little did we realise that many of you would be sharing in the supervising and delivery of classes. I can’t express how much we appreciate your cooperation and support. For the moment this is the way that classes will be continuing and most teachers and parents are reporting that they are working very well. Some students may find it difficult to adapt to the new online learning so please keep us informed if there are any problems. I think that nearly everyone has a device/Chromebook and internet connection because the attendance figures are extremely high. If you have any difficulties please contact us. Some students may have books/devices left in school that they need. If you contact the tutor or year head they will arrange a time. The best (easiest) way to contact teachers, check on attendance, explain absence, etc is through the VSware app. Let us know also if you have a problem. For Leaving Cert students let’s continue with our studies and whatever the examination method you will be well prepared for it. Predicted grades or seated exams or whatever we will be there to give you every support and you will not lose out. Once we get classes more established we will build in a few “wellbeing” initiatives - maybe we can get parents to participate as well!. Above all, let’s mind each other, allow time for a laugh or two, and collectively share in delivering the best for our young people. Thank you. From Monday we move online for all students.
At this stage all students should have got or collected their Chromebooks to allow teachers to deliver classes to them. (Google Classroom can also be accessed through XBox or Playstation 4) We pride ourselves on being the first Google Reference School in Ireland and have staff well trained in delivery of class material through electronic means prioritising Google Classroom. Classes will be delivered according to the normal timetable which students have followed in school ( Also available through VSware) Every effort will be made to follow the timetable with teachers using Google Hangouts and Google Classroom to replicate the classroom experience as much as possible. Attendance We appreciate that complications may arise during this current rise in infection but we would ask parents to encourage as much engagement as possible. Parents will be able to check “virtual attendance” through our VsWare app and teachers will also be able to communicate with parents and vice versa through this app. Homework We will endeavour that most of the work will be completed during the class period in order to minimise on homework outside of class time. Leaving Certificate Additional work may be assigned for Leaving Certificate students. Just prior to the Christmas break we held intensive classes for LC students to assist with some of the practical work. Special Needs We will be contacting the relevant homes to see how we can best assist to engage with the students who may need support Please feel free to contact us if you have any difficulties either through the VSware app, [email protected] or 059 8631663 To allow students to collect their books/Chromebooks for online classes which begin on Mon 11th the school can be accessed on Friday 10am -12noon for junior students and Saturday 10am -12noon for seniors. If you need to collect items please wear a mask, sanitise on entry, wait until invited in (keeping 1m distance).
Details of arrangements for Leaving Cert students will be posted here later. www.athycollege.ie |
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