Dear parent,

I trust this finds you well and that you are all settling in to what is everyone’s new reality for the foreseeable future. I wanted to keep in touch with you over the next few weeks by sending a weekly correspondence to you. I may not always have much to say or any new information to give, but I think it’s important to stay connected as a school community. As we have all had plenty of time to do recently, I have been reflecting on a few things in relation to our situation and wanted to share them with you.

HOME LEARNING

If my experience so far as a dad has shown me anything where home learning is concerned, it is that the best laid plans for the day rarely come to fruition. Already in our house we have started a few days with great gusto only to find that by 11.30am, everyone is fit to be tied!! I suppose what I’m saying is, while it is crucial to keep a focus on learning, we should all be kind to ourselves and our families as we learn to adjust to life as it is at the moment.

By way of reminder, packs were sent out to the children for this two-week period up until Easter – you should focus on these at the minute. After Easter, P1-P4 parents should keep an eye on the school website for timetable updates and P5-P7 children should begin to use Google Classroom. Children should have received their log in details for this. If you have any difficulties with this, please contact me and we can get it sorted.

Don’t forget to take a well-earned Easter break from Mon 6 April to Friday 17 April with a renewed focus on school work on Mon 20 April. But remember, be kind to yourselves!! It’s simply not worth that family argument!

REFUNDS FOR TRIPS ETC.

I am aware that quite a number of parents are due refunds for things like school trips that have been cancelled, swimming lessons, Greenhill and Edinburgh. Obviously in these tight financial times, we are keen to reimburse parents as soon as possible but this will take time to organise from a logistical point of view. Once these are ready, we will be in touch. Your patience in this regard is appreciated.

THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE…

On my drive in to school this morning, I noticed many homes had stuck rainbows in their windows and I must say it brought a smile to my face. Everything we know has changed, but this thing will end, and in the same way that storms are often followed by rainbows, life will one day return to normal. When it does, I am convinced our school community will be stronger and more together than ever before.

Remember, keep well and be kind to yourselves and each other.

Please pass on my thoughts and best wishes to the children. We miss them all. Feel free to drop an email to myself on dcorbett546@c2kni.net if you have any queries or just to let us know how you’re getting on as a family.

Warm wishes

D Corbett

Principal.