Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope you are keeping well and safe this week.  The weather has been colder but hopefully Spring will follow soon!  As I write this snow is falling and it would be lovely if we got enough snow to build a snowman! Our news is as follows

• Last week all the wifi access points in the school were upgraded. It will mean faster and more reliable wifi in all the classrooms. This will be very helpful when we return to school.
• Thanks to our fundraising efforts last year we have an order placed for a set of IPADs for use in the school. These will be delivered soon and will be used particularly in the Junior classrooms and for pupils with Special Educational Needs.   
• Juniors have been learning all about sneachta (snow) in Irish this week. Let’s hope they can experience the joys of playing in the sneachta before it melts.  
• Again I have seen some amazing work on seesaw this week. So many pupils (and parents) are putting in a huge effort.  Please remember if you or your child is finding it difficult please contact your child’s teacher and we will support you in any way we can.
• Next Wednesday will be Wellbeing Wednesday. For that day the focus will be on wellbeing and looking after our mental health.  There will be a few short activities to do that day across the school. The teachers will send them out via seesaw before Wednesday. This lockdown has been difficult for all of us and it is important to be kind to each other.
•  Just a reminder again that Shannon Family Resource Centre are offering free telephone counselling to any parents that find themselves struggling during lockdown. The service is available on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6.30pm to 8.30pm and the number is 085 2829955. The counsellor is fully qualified and has been working with families and children for over 20 years.
• We are on mid-term next Thursday and Friday so there will be no school activities to do. The classes who normally have a zoom link up on Thursday and Friday will rearrange them for earlier in the week so the pupils will not miss out linking up with their class next week.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank our amazing staff who have been so dedicated and hardworking over the past few weeks. We all hope we are back to school in person soon. For next week I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable mid-term break. Stay off screens, take a break and stay safe.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope this week has treated you well. Our news is as follows

• Parent/teacher meetings have started this week and will continue up until midterm on 17^th February. Your child’s teacher will arrange a time to contact you by phone at a time convenient to both of you. If you need to contact your child’s teacher at any time please use their email address provided and the teachers will be happy to assist in any way they can.
• Shannon Family Resource Centre are offering free telephone counselling to any parents that find themselves struggling during lockdown. The service is available on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6.30pm to 8.30pm and the number is 085 2829955. The counsellor is fully qualified and has been working with families and children for over 20 years.
• We sent out details yesterday via email on a free online course for parents called “Keeping your child safe online”. This is being run by the National Parents Council Primary with sessions at 10a.m. Mon-Fri next week or 8p.m. Mon-Thurs. To book into a session click on this link  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/InternetSafetyOnline2021
• I have popped into seesaw for various classes this week and have seen some amazing work. Well done to Seniors who are working so hard. They have been reading and writing some fantastic stories. Keep up the great work Seniors. Well done to 2^nd class also who are working so hard on their maths in particular as well as other subjects. 5^th class are producing some great work too. I was delighted to see many of the pupils in 5^th taking responsibility for their own learning and sending a message to their teacher on seesaw if they needed clarification on something. This is very mature of 5^th class and well done. I will be visiting other classes on seesaw in the coming days also.
• Our weekly zoom check ins continue. Teachers love to see everybody in the class and it is an opportunity for pupils to see each other and also to ask teacher any questions they may have. It’s great to see so many families logging into Cruinniu. The link for tomorrow’s cruinniu taking place at 10a.m.  has been sent with this newsletter.
• We still have no details re reopening of schools. It looks likely that remote teaching will continue for the coming weeks. Teacher are moving on with new concepts. It is important that pupils are engaging in some way with the learning. Most pupils are doing a brilliant job -as are parents! If for any reason your child is not engaging or it is proving difficult please contact us and we will work together to help resolve this. You can email us at office@tolasns.com or ring 061 362894. The office is not manned every day but leave a message and we will come back to you as soon as possible.

Stay safe.

Kind regards,

Mary Dunlea Fitzgerald, Principal