School Closure Update

Dear Parents/ Guardians,

First of all, I hope you are all keeping well, safe and healthy. We are, without any doubt in very unprecedented and scary times. On many different levels this is frightening for everyone and takes adjusting to come to terms with a new reality. Children are very quick to pick up on things if something is not right. The novelty of being off school may be starting to wear off now. 

So, as a school our main priority is to support you in giving our children the best possible opportunities to engage with learning. In relation to school work, teachers made every effort possible to send home two weeks of work and are currently preparing more work to be uploaded to the school app. In all reality, it is looking highly unlikely that schools will re-open any time soon. Therefore, we are currently putting plans in place for a longer school closure and will keep you updated on these once ready. 

The following is the important part of my message. Every child in Ireland is in the same boat. Families are now experiencing new and immense levels of pressure, worry and anxiety in these very uncertain times. Your child will not fall behind if he/ she does not get every bit of work done or every website suggestion or activity complete. These are guidance and suggestions to help keep a structured day for your child. It is important to remember that even though your child is in school from 8:50 until 1:30/ 2:30 they are not sitting at their desk writing for that whole period of time. They are engaging with other activities with their friends like oral work, reading, PE, yard time, Art activities, science experiments, GAA activities, busy breaks, jobs from the teacher, maths games, drama activities in both English and Irish, projects, choir etc etc…the list goes on! These motivational factors will not be present at home in the same manner so you may find it difficult to keep them on task and if that is the case…please don’t worry. Do not allow this to add to any stress or worries that may be present due to current circumstances.  It is OK if you have days where you get loads of work done and some days where you might get very little done! This break from formal education will be taken into account once we are all back in the classrooms. 

Everyone is finding this time difficult and this is going to cause a certain level of unease and anxiety for both adults and children. We are extremely lucky with our Scoil Bhríde family – students, staff, parents, PTA, BOM. So it is important at this time that we look after each other and ourselves. We all want the best for all the children but at this time we must make sure we are doing the best to look after every aspect of our health also – both physical and mental health. What will the children remember most from this time at home? Will it be the maths or writing they did at the kitchen table or the time spent doing PE in the garden with parents or time spent together reading or simply putting on music and doing some silly dances! In the midst of all the worry and stress of this pandemic, it is an unusual and unique opportunity to create some new memories with family. 

From our side we will keep the system going, school will be ready and waiting for you all when we are allowed return. We will keep you updated with any directives from the Department of Education. If you have any queries it is best to email [email protected] which we are checking regularly.  There will be some links uploaded to the school website later – these are only suggestions so please do not feel that you have to visit all.

In the meantime I wish good health for each and everyone one of you, may God protect you and keep you all safe and well,

Íde (on behalf of the staff and Board of Management of Scoil Bhríde)