In the light of the extended closure of schools Athy College are making available Chromebooks for our Leaving Certificate students who require them for the duration. The laptops can only be supplied to Leaving Certificate students following a text message sent to their contact number today. The laptops can only be collected by a parent/guardian during the assigned time tomorrow (Wed) and the parent/guardian must sign to accept responsibility for any damage or loss. The laptops have management software installed which allow us control over the devices.
Only one person may come to collect the device and only one person is allowed into the premises at a time. Please follow our distancing policy while doing the collection. From news reports over the past 24 hours it seems we are approaching or have entered a very critical stage in the control of Covid 19. For the next 7 days particularly it is critical that we limit social contact and keep hand washing. If our health service is to have any chance of dealing with the coming surge we need to absolutely minimise social contact. Schools and businesses are only closing because it is a national emergency.
We are entering a weekend where there is a temptation for groups to meet up - please,please limit this in the interest of our community. We need you to keep yourselves and us safe. Please ensure that your son/daughter is engaging with the material being transmitted by teachers. This is school and might be like this for a while, so we are obliged to treat attendance the same as normal school attendance. If there are connection/device difficulties please let us know. In the coming week we will be contacting the homes of any “non -attenders” Your school needs you to:
Stay safe and together we can survive this difficult week ahead. Today Minister McHugh has cancelled the oral and practicals for the Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert. Students are being given full marks in these so congratulations to you all. It's the first part of your exams done and dusted.
Students are really engaging with remote learning and my thanks to teachers who have a lot more work to do than normal. They mightn't be supervising the students during the day but the preparation and typing out of each class is a time consuming job. One week today since the schools closed their doors and we hope all are well among staff, student and their extended families. Thank you to everyone who is so supportive. Together we will achieve. The school building of Athy College is now closed. Today students collected their books and equipment as the functioning of the school now moves on line.
Classes and instruction will begin on line from Wednesday and students are quite familiar with our online service. Communication to the school should be through email - mail@athycollege - and our website and social media page will be updated almost daily to keep everybody up to speed. Our Guidance service will be regularly updated and is accessed through the front page of our website and Ms Parry will be in touch with each individual LC student shortly. Forms to be signed should be posted or placed in our postbox as access to our office will be closed. Our building will not be accessible to any visitors as it will be thoroughly sanitised after the weekend. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT Athy College is now closing for the next two weeks as and from this evening.
We will open tomorrow ( 10 - 12 )for the collection of any books and equipment which students need to collect. There will be no student entry to the school after that time until further notice. Wishing everybody a safe couple of weeks The Taoiseach has just announced that “from tomorrow” all schools and colleges will close.
We are implementing our contingency plan and have instructed all students how to engage with classwork on line. We are asking that they bring an additional bag to school tomorrow to take home any books or equipment which they will need over the coming weeks. At this point I expect all buses to be running tomorrow and we will operate a normal school day. Throughout the country all social interactions are being limited with most meetings and gatherings cancelled. We are all asked to keep our social physical contact to a minimum as we collectively fight this threat. IF FORMAL EDUCATION IS INTERRUPTED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS:
For exam students remember that they at worst it will resemble a college experience where students are completing study in advance of examinations. There is also comfort in knowing that it is the same for all students throughout the country. Most of the school year is over with Mocks and their results indicating the areas that they need to concentrate on. Athy College will be using Virtual Learning Environment Google Classroom, Hangouts, Castify and other apps to deliver subject material and direction. All of the students are well practiced in these and have been using these methods for years and we have met this evening to complete additional training for teachers. We are the only Google Reference School in the country and are confident that our delivery will match any in the country Remote Learning requires broadband and a device. While we cannot assist in broadband delivery most of the students have good connections on their mobile phones which are quite adequate to access the delivered material. If students need to use a device our laptop of choice is a Chromebook BUT any laptop/desktop with internet connection can access Google and students can then log in to their school account. For all students we will be encouraging them to access their email and Google account to avail of teacher generated material which will be produced throughout any class interruption. Teachers will using many different methods to deliver material and will direct you as to how to submit work, etc For parents….sorry! The next few weeks may test the realities of working from home (for both teachers and students (and Parents)). In order to protect the lives of the most vulnerable it may be a necessary outcome. Our biggest concern must be that all of our students and families are safe. Athy College will be in contact on a daily basis through our remote learning system and through website and social media and together we can navigate this difficult time. It may not happen but in the event…………….. ATHY COLLEGE
CORONAVIRUS PRECAUTIONS What Steps are we taking?
From the coming weekend/St. Patrick’s Day:
STUDENTS WHO ARE FEELING ILL SHOULD NOT BE SENT TO SCHOOL ›WE ARE TAKING OUR PRECAUTIONS SERIOUSLY AND WE NEED YOUR HELP Athy College awarded Google for Education Reference School title.
Athy College is delighted this week to be awarded the title of Google Reference School. This status is awarded to schools that are using Google for education tools in creative, innovative or exemplary ways. Google reference school status provides recognition of our use of technology in the classroom to positively impact the education of our students and their learning. Athy College is the first Irish school to be awarded this title and follows many years of developing the use of the Google products in the classroom and throughout the school. They have also been delivering training days for a growing number of schools who are seeing the use of Google and Chromebooks as the ideal and cost effective method of using technology in delivering the curriculum. “We are lucky to have a fully qualified Google Trainer on staff and very many of our staff have trained as Google Educators. At a time when remote learning may become a necessity we are comfortable that most of our staff are proficient in Google Classroom and should be able to deliver and receive material through this medium. Most people are familiar with Google search engine, Gmail, Google Maps and Google Photos but Google’s contribution to education is both enormous and exciting. We are delighted to be recognised by Google for leading out in the use of technology in the classroom” said principal Richard Daly. Athy College |
Athy College FleeceMedical Info
This is a place for parents/guardians to upload any health conditions of students
Past Exam Papers |