Dear Parents,
I am writing to you at the end of what has been a very long and a very difficult school year for us all. It is one that we would sooner forget, and yet it is one that we have worked through together. We faced the challenge presented by Covid-19 and especially the lock-down full on as a community, and we can be justifiably proud of the progress we have as a society and as a community here in Littlepace.
As principal of the school I want to thank you for the support and the goodwill you have shown us throughout the lock-down. We did not know what lay before us when schools were closed on the 12th March, but we were determined to give it our best shot, and I believe that is exactly what we did!
I also want to thank all the staff of the school for their unflinching support to me as school principal in seeking to lead the school through this unprecedented crisis.
But most of all I want to thank the pupils in the school who sacrificed so much in the interest of the greater good. We all salute you and commend you for your fortitude, your resilience and good humour throughout! I have put together a very short End of Year Video for your child, which hopefully will help them to bring closure to their school year. I hope they enjoy it!
The link to the video is here:
Link to Third Class End of Year Video
Link to Fourth Class End of Year Video
Link to Fifth Class End of Year Video
Before we finish the school year, there are a few matters to bring to your attention:
Teachers Allocated to Classes for 2020/21 School Year
We have been planning for the forthcoming school year, including the allocation of teachers to classes. I have endeavoured, as far as possible, to ensure that teachers would carry their class on for a second school year, in order to provide continuity for the children in their care.
We have only recently received permission from the Department of Education and Skills to being the process of recruiting new teachers for next year. This process is on-going. As soon as I have these positions filled, I will let you know.
Competition Winners
We have posted the winners of our end of year competitions on the school website. Congratulations to all who submitted entries, who were highly commended or who won prizes at their class levels.
A special congratulations to the following overall winners:
Winner of the Aaron Ebriome Perpetual Trophy
for his Art Competition Winners entry:
Josh Cussen in Ms Leyden’s Class
Winner of the Dermot Gannon Perpetual Trophy for her
Creative Writing Story:
Pearl Chioma Orji Mr Curtin
Full details of all those who were highly commended or who won prizes at their class levels are on the school website.
School Contribution for 2020/21
As always we are grateful to parents for their support to the school, by means of the voluntary school contribution. The contribution of €70 is used by the school to cover the cost of parallel readers, photocopying, art materials, additional diagnostic tests and class materials. The charge for a second family member in either the Junior or Senior school is €40. (A maximum of €110 per family should be paid.)
Marie will shortly be setting up a payment request on Aladdin in order to facilitate payment of the contribution.
School Survey
We are anxious to hear from parents on their experience of distance learning throughout the Covid-19 lock-down. To this end, we would like to hear from parents of their experience. We would be most grateful if you could complete a short survey so that we can have a full understanding of how the distance learning experience has been for you and your child. It will also help us plan for distance learning in to the future, should the need arise. All responses will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.
The link to the survey is at:
Finally, I would like to end by wishing you and your family the very best for the Summer. We look forward to better times, and seeing you all back in school on the 1st September! We will keep you updated on any new information that comes to us over the Summer months.
Take care, and Stay Safe!
Enda McGorman