Dear Parents/Guardians,
I am sure at this stage that you are aware of the decision taken by our government to close all schools with immediate effect until March 29th in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, St. Aengus N.S. will be closed tomorrow, Friday the13th of March, and will reopen on Monday the 30th of March. The date for reopening may change, and we will be informed of this by the HSE and Department of Education.
Many of you, as will the teachers, will be concerned about the lost tuition time, and I can assure you that when we return we will do everything we can to ensure that the curriculum is properly covered. In the meantime, the children will be bringing a number of their books home with them, and I would encourage you to work with your children revising the work already covered this year. Reading, tables, spellings, and handwriting are all activities that can be practiced and reinforced at home, particularly with younger children. Underneath this letter, there are headings with different activities that your class teacher will set. These will be updated over the next few days. Underneath this, there is a list of useful websites that can be used.
Our first priority must remain the children’s health and safety, and I would ask you to remind your child to follow the HSE guidelines on handwashing, sneezing and coughing.
I will keep you informed of any developments from the Department of Education and Skills, and in the meantime, we can do is follow the HSE advice and guidelines. Hopefully, the decision to close the schools will help limit and control the spread of Covid-19 virus. The official Department of Education letter can be found underneath.
Parents will receive a text message and there will also be updates on the website.
Take care of one another and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to the school in the near future,
Séamus
Junior Infants & Senior Infants:
Reading books in bags/folders
Practise high frequency words and sounds
Practise number and letter formation
Practise rhymes (senior infants)
1st class:
Mental Maths-next 2 weeks
Reading-novels/PM readers/library books assigned to children
2nd class:
Mental Maths-next 2 weeks
Reading-novels/PM readers/library books assigned to children
3rd Class:
Mental Maths-next 2 weeks
Reading-novels/PM readers/library books assigned to children
Children can complete a project, if they so wish, on a topic of their choice
Children can use their GetEpic.com reading accounts (class code is ynb3561)
4th Class:
Mental Maths – next 2 weeks
Reading novels/ library books assigned to children.
Table Champions – next 2 weeks
Children can complete a project, if they so wish, on a topic of their choice
Children can use their getepic.com & readworks.org accounts
5th class:
Reading- class novel, library books,
www.getepic.com (use class code to gain access)
Mental Math weeks 24 and 25
Busy at Math- Have a look at Chapters 19 and 23
6th class:
Mental maths unit 24&25
Reading, library books and
www.getepic.com (use class code to gain access bem2727)
Spellbound Unit 24 & 25
Have a look at Busy at Maths unit 25 & 27.
Children can use their seesaw accounts
Useful maths websites
http://mathscircles.ie Useful problem solving exercises.
http://nrich.maths.org/frontpage NRICH is a team of qualified teachers who are also
practitioners in RICH mathematical thinking.
http://www.haveyougotmathseyes.com/Real life applications of mathematics
http://seandelaney.com/2011/11/15/how-parents-can-help-their-child-learn-maths/#more412Ideas from Dr. Sean Delaney on how parents can best help their children with their
mathematics
http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com Online educational video games
http://worksheets.theteachercorner.net Word puzzles e.g. Why is a manhole cover round?
http://ie.ixl.com IXL is aligned to the Irish national curriculum.
http://www.mangahigh.com/en_gb/gamesShort versions of free Maths games. Students can
play full length versions for free if you create a school account and issue them with logins.
http://nlvm.usu.edu Resources for various strands available. Scroll down to grades 9-12 for
second level resources.
http://www.thatquiz.org/ Very good quizzes and tests against the clock.
http://www.mathplayground.com/geoboard.html Interactive geoboard
http://www.theteachercorner.net/ A collection of educational worksheets, lesson plans,
activities and resources for teachers and parents
http://www.cngl.ie/ailo/ Puzzles in language, logic and linguistics
http://www.jcspliteracy.ie/num_jcsp_resources.php Access to JCSP numeracy resources
http://www.mathsisfun.com/Puzzles, games and worksheets
http://www.tes.co.uk/ Useful resources for all subjects
http://mrbartonmaths.com/ Maths resources for teachers, parents and student
http://www.studystack.com/ Mathematical literacy tool
http://amathsdictionaryforkids.com/dictionary.html An animated dictionary
Useful Apps
Kings of Maths: Very good for mental arithmetic
Maths Quiz Gameshow: Quizzes on various maths topics
Digiwhiz: Very good for number fluency
5 Dice: Exercises combining five numbers and operations to reach a target number
Wolfram Algebra-Course Assistant: Multi-representational approach to algebra
Maths Bingo: Good for basic arithmetic
Algebra Touch: Demonstration of basic rules of addition/subtraction
Fraction Basic: Lessons based on the different aspects of fractions
Tangrams: app for puzzles and shape
NumbersGame: An app which combines foreign languages and the numbers 1-10
Math Gr5: topics such as number and operations, fractions and measuring etc are
included
Wolfram Pre-Algebra Course Assistant: Multi-representational approach to algebra
Conundra Math: Exercises combining three numbers and operations to reach a
target number
Offical Department of Education letter.
An announcement was made this morning by the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD of the closure of schools, pre-schools and further and higher education settings, for a period until 29 March 2020, to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19. This will take effect from 6pm this evening, Thursday 12 March. This is in line with the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team.
All pupils and students, from pre-school to third level are urged to practice social distancing, and to minimise physical contact with each other, to help avoid the spread of Covid-19. This should include minimising social contact, avoiding meeting up and keeping physical space between them. Parents and guardians are urged to support their children to maintain this approach.
In order to minimise the impact on teaching and learning all schools will be asked to continue to plan lessons and, where possible, provide online resources for students or online lessons where schools are equipped to do so. Schools are asked to be conscious of students that may not have access to online facilities and to consider this actively in their response.
Schools are asked to prioritise supporting exam classes to continue to prepare for State examinations.
Physical classes in universities and higher education facilities will not be held during the closure. Institutions can make other arrangements for teaching and learning and other activities in line with their business continuity plans and contingency planning.
Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD said:
“I am deeply conscious of the impact that school and education setting closures have on students, on families and on the wider community. This is a necessary and proportionate measure that we are taking as a pro-active measure to help contain the threat of Covid-19.
“This is the right decision at the right time. It is taken in the best interests of our children, our young people, our school and college communities and our wider society.
“At this point in time the closure is planned for two weeks, from tomorrow until 29 March. The Government, in conjunction with the public health authorities, will keep the situation under ongoing review. Any change to that date will be communicated widely.
“Pupils should take their books and learning materials home with them this evening.
“This is a very challenging time for our pupils, our teachers, our students and our colleagues in further and higher education.
“Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine – we all live in one another’s shadow. If there was ever a time for us to appreciate how closely we are connected, how much what we do matters to others, how much we rely on each other, this is it. This is a time where we all need to work together for the best possible outcome for our students. The support of everyone across the sector is vital, as we all strive to ensure that this threat is dealt with as effectively as possible.”
The Department of Education and Skills will remain open and will continue to provide supports to the education sector at this time.
The Department of Education and Skills has been liaising closely on a continual basis with the Department of Health in relation to Coronavirus/Covid-19 since early January. This will continue.
