Dear Parents/Guardians,
Survey of Parents and Students
We had a strong level of engagement with the surveys circulated to parents and students last week. The feedback has been largely very positive with parents and students reporting regular, varied and meaningful interaction with teachers. We are very grateful for how parents and students complimented and showed appreciation for their teachers’ efforts and hard work. The stand out issue raised by students was the feeling that many of them are struggling or are overwhelmed as they try to navigate their way through an ever changing timetable of classes, pre-recorded lessons, heavy workloads, the absence of exercise or down time and the uncertainty around Pre and State exams. Please click on the link below for the feedback results;
Online Learning Plan Survey Feedback
In attempting to address the concerns that students and parents have expressed, we have reminded teachers of the advice that has been shared previously. We have again asked all our teachers to:
- share, or reiterate, their timetable for live classes at the beginning of the week with their students and try to stick consistently to this schedule to help students establish a routine. This should help provide clarity for online engagement for students and parents.
- finish their classes (including assigning of homework/classwork) 5-10 minutes ahead of the designated finish time so that students (and teachers) have adequate time to be ready for the next class.
- assign work to students in manageable, bite size chunks. We have asked teachers to be mindful when issuing additional homework or assignments to students.
- be conscious of the combined workload on students of assignments from all their different subject areas
- establish a weekly routine with their students to provide clarity around the structure of their programmes and the planned interaction with teachers, both live classes (synchronous) and online assignments/recorded lessons (asynchronous).
- encourage students to use the Google Calendar App to create their weekly timetable and to help organise their time
- send notifications to students where possible within school timeframes. Students do not wish to be receiving adhoc notifications on their phones at night-time or during their free time.
Parents are asked to note that Year heads have held online assemblies to explain that the Pre Junior Certificate and Pre-Leaving Certificate exams will not take place as planned before the mid-term break. It is our intention to hold the Pre-Exams, as soon as its safe and practical to do so and once we’ve had an opportunity to connect with our students in school. For now, students are advised to continue to follow their study plans in the firm belief that the State Exams will take place in June. We will inform you immediately about any updates and developments regarding the State Exams, as we know this may be an anxious time for some.
Microphones
Feedback from teachers is indicating that a considerable number of students, particularly in junior cycle, appear to be having difficulty with their microphones thus preventing them from participating fully in class. We are asking parents to please check with students over the weekend that their device is fully functional, as this impacts on students’ ability to interact meaningfully with teachers.
Monday 8 February 2021
Parents are asked to note that, as per our agreed calendar, all our staff will be taking part in JCT subject cluster training on Monday 8 February 2021. This professional development will take place throughout the full school day and consequently, teachers will not available to students on this date.
Examinations 2020 Issue of Results to Candidates
The State Examinations Commission (SEC) wishes to advise that the results of the deferred 2020 Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied and Junior Cycle Examinations which were held from 16th November to 11th December 2020, will be made available to candidates on Tuesday 2nd February 2021. The date of issue of the results has been notified directly to candidates. From 12 noon on Tuesday 2 February, over 2,000 candidates who sat the Leaving Certificate Examinations across some 40 subjects, can access their results on the Candidate Self Service Portal available at www.examinations.ie and on www.gov.ie/leavingcertificate.
Transition Year – Work Experience
Please view the (separate) update posted to the school website today, Friday 29 January 2021, for details of the plans for our TY students during the next 2 weeks when students would be traditionally taking part in work experience.
Transition Year Pupil/Parent/Teacher Meetings
A reminder to parents that the deadline for teachers to provide feedback to 4th Year parents has been extended to next Monday 1 February 2021. Parents will be notified by text next week when comments are available to view on VSware.
Have a nice weekend.
GCC Senior Management