Dear Parents,

First of all let me express our sincere thanks to all families who have engaged so willingly with the online work which once again was foisted upon us as a result of this latest lockdown and the consequent closure of our school. Our original return date was scheduled to be on February 1st but unfortunately with the extension of the Level 5 restrictions to 5th March, this is will not now be the case. We await instructions from the Department of Education and Skills as to when we will be permitted to reopen but at the time of writing we have not been given anything other than media sound bytes which seem to indicate that the return to school will most likely be a phased one with children with special needs being the first to return and others to follow. The most likely scenario is that this will begin in the next couple of weeks but will depend on the number of infections due to COVID19 having dropped to a similar level to those which we saw in September 2020. In the meantime we ask that you continue to engage with the work on the Seesaw and Google Classroom platforms until further notice. Should you have any problems with accessing the work please contact your child’s teacher by email. The teachers email addresses are available on the school website www.iosaballyhaunis.com under the contacts tab.

Please note the following:

Online Learning.
We are very pleased with the general uptake of the online learning programme by the vast majority of our pupils. Indications to date are that most classes are working at or near capacity and that while we realise the limitations of this method of teaching and learning as a longterm strategy, it should sustain our pupils adequately until we see a face to face return to normal school life. A number of parents have contacted us with inevitable issues around access to the platforms or password issues but these have been few in number and have been dealt with satisfactorily. In order to keep things fresh for our pupils, teachers may decide to employ new methods of communication such as zoom meetings in the next couple of weeks.
However despite our best efforts, there is still a cohort of pupils who have not yet engaged with school since our return and this is a cause for some considerable concern among our school team. I have contacted most of these pupils by text where I alluded to the consequences of refusing to engage. I am also aware that the teachers have made every effort to reach out to these pupils on multiple occasions, unfortunately without success to date. The bottom line is that regardless of whether the school building is open for classes or not, all pupils are expected to participate in school work during designated term time without exception. I can categorically state that the teachers are working above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that gaps in the pupils learning are kept to a minimum. However for those who refuse to engage we will have to consider whether they will be appropriately advanced to move to higher classes at the end of the year and whether repeating years is a viable option.

School Enrolment.
Enrolment of new pupils for the 2021-2022 school year has now commenced and indications to date are that there will be considerable demand for places. As a result we encourage parents and prospective parents to register their children at the earliest opportunity. Enrolment forms may be collected from the school by appointment, can be emailed directly to applicants on request or alternatively can be downloaded from our website under the enrolment tab. The closing date for applications is April 30th 2021. Please contact either kdennedy@iosaballyhaunis.com, iosaballyhaunis@gmail.com or ccassidy@iosaballyhaunis.com

Confirmation
Our Confirmation ceremony had been scheduled for Saturday March 13th. Due to Level 5 restrictions, this will now be rescheduled. As of now we do not have a new date for the ceremony but as soon as such becomes available we will inform those concerned.

School Calendar.
The following is the School Calendar for term 2:

Mid Term Break : School will close on Friday February 12th and will reopen on February 22nd.
St Patrick’s Day: School will be closed on Wednesday March 17th.
Final Day of Term: Friday March 26th
First Day of Term 3: Monday April 12th.

Finally, we are aware that these are difficult times for everybody. We would all like to be back at school and hopefully this will be the case before too much time passes. In the meantime all we can all do is to follow public health advice, stay indoors if possible, limit contacts with other households if at all possible. Follow hygiene recommendations and wear a mask when in public buildings, shops etc.

Regards,
K Dennedy & Staff