Letter to the Parents/Guardians of KS3 pupils

Dear Parents/Guardians of pupils in Key Stage 3

I hope this letter finds you and your families in good health.  Our thoughts are very much with those who have been affected by the current pandemic.

As we embark upon our Summer term and recommence our online learning, I would like to reassure you that we, as a school, are doing all that we can to ensure that we continue to provide our pupils with a high standard of education.  Our primary platform for online learning is the ‘Show My Home-Work’ app. Many of you will have been using this app in recent weeks to access learning materials provided by our teaching staff.  I would encourage you to continue to support your children in their online learning.

In these times of great uncertainty, we still have many decisions as a school to make.  These include how we manage Summer assessments and how we prepare for the 2020-2021 academic year.  We are however, working hard behind the scenes to ensure that despite the closure of our school building, the heart of our school continues to beat.

I myself have a son in Year 9 and so I understand the pressures that we, as parents can sometimes feel as we try to adjust to this new way of life.  I also have a daughter in Primary school and so I have been busy during the day being a mum, teacher and cook.  Our lists of daily tasks can seem endless, but we must remember that we are all in this together.

Looking after the mental health and well being of our pupils in Years 8, 9 and 10 is of the utmost importance to us.  We have been posting advice and guidance on how to look after your mental health on our Facebook page.  Please continue to engage with these suggested strategies.

I strongly recommend that our pupils log-in to the ‘Show My Home-Work’ app at least once a day.  Where work has to be returned to teachers, this should be done to ensure we can continue to provide effective feed-back and reassurance.  Pupils should complete all tasks which have been set.  This will enable teachers to
continue with the Key Stage 3 programmes of study in all subjects on our return to school.  Pupils can also leave comments for their teachers if they need any further clarity or answers to questions.

I want to conclude by thanking you all for your support during these unprecedented times.  Our school sits at the very heart of the community in Larne and we endeavour to play our part in keeping everyone safe.

I wish you and your families good health.  Please tell all our pupils in years 8, 9 and 10 that we miss each and every one of them and send them our good wishes.

Kind Regards

Mrs D McDougall (Senior Teacher:  Key Stage 3)