Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
We hope this letter finds you and your families well. With our school closed as a result of Covid-19, we all find ourselves facing difficult circumstances. While the demands on our community around social distancing and looking after one another are the priority, your sons also face a new challenge of undertaking their studies and preparing for exams in ways they have never done so before. We as a staff are adapting to this new situation, and would appreciate if you could note the following:
While the school is closed, students are expected to engage with the online work that is being assigned to them. They should check in on the school email accounts to see any communications from teachers, and use their Google Classroom for any notes and work provided. This week, the teachers all underwent training in ‘Zoom’: an online video meeting platform that we hope to use over the coming weeks. Details on how this will be used are available on the school website in the news section. Should you as a parent/guardian or your son/s have any issue with access to Google or wish to know more about the use of Video conferencing, please leave a message at the school, or email dprincipal@stjosephsfairview.ie.
We know that in some cases, access to devices and the internet can raise some issues. We are currently discussing with our business partners in the community the possibility of getting ‘data only’ SIM cards that will be provided to students, and therefore make their phones capable of accessing school work. Exam years will take priority should this be possible, and we will keep you informed on progress.
Finally, we would advise that students work under the assumption that both Junior Cert. and Leaving Cert. exams will go ahead as scheduled in June. Other students should also assume that school will resume on April 20th until Department of Education dictates otherwise. For students who have not yet collected their books from the school, the book publishers have made access to their ebooks available in many cases. Students can check their webpages for access.
We would like to thank both you and our teaching staff for all of the effort it takes to support the students’ progress. We would also like to reaffirm that we as a staff are very much available to you during this time to help with any issues or concerns you or our students may have.
Warm regards,
Pat O’Brien………………………………Seán Stack
Principal………………………………….Deputy Principal