St Catherine’s Easter Newsletter 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians
We would like to take this opportunity to wish each and everyone of you a very Happy Easter.
This is an Easter that is unusual and special and certainly one that we, and especially the children, will never forget. How they spend their time during this exceptional period will be something they will never forget, something they will remember and talk about with their own children and grandchildren. We truly are living through history in the making. The conversations we have now, the games we play with each other, the stories we create, the pictures we take, the news we read, the news we create will be the memories we store, treasure and share. Times like this will shape society’s future but more importantly, it will contribute significantly to the people our children will become.
This is wonderful opportunity for each of us to get to know better the people we live with. I think the most important thing we can do to support each other at this time is to learn to become better listeners. To devote time to hearing what each other has to say, to give each other a chance to voice our fears and our dreams, to ask our questions, to create, tell and share our stories, to help each other shape the narrative of these weeks and months.
It is a time to forge deeper bonds with the people we love.
It is a time where we are each forced to be creative, to use our imaginations as we look to cope in a time of stress and anxiety. Children with their natural curiosity and creativity can help us enormously with this. We need to learn to play again ourselves. Let the children lead in this. You will be surprised and encouraged by where they clan take you.
Do not fret about having something to fill their every moment. Let them get bored – it is by being bored, by having to find something to do – that children discover their innate creativity. They will learn more about the world and about themselves in this way than they will in the vast majority of formal lessons.
And, as ever, read. Read with children, read to children, listen to children read to you. Write stories, act out stories. Read poems, write poems, share poems. I know form our weekly Poetry Club how many poets we have in St Catherine.
For the last number of weeks parents and children have been working diligently at home to ensure that children’s learning does not fall back during the time away from school. We have seen some excellent examples of work that parents have posted to Aladdin and by email to teachers. Teachers, too, have been working hard to ensure that children have material to keep learning going at home.
Menu of Ideas and Activities
But now, as we head into Easter, we recommend that everyone take their two weeks holiday as we would in the normal course of events. However, teachers have put together a document – please see the attached – which contains ideas that parents and children can use, should they desire to retain a routine for children over the Easter break or at any time. There are ideas for each curriculum subject and for each class level. There is no expectation that this be used over Easter but it is there should anyone like to use it.
Teachers will be resume posting work for children on Aladdin on Monday the 20th April.
Staff have agreed that work will be posted on Aladdin each morning between 8.00 and 8.15 am. To allow parents who work to access material and set up the days for their children.
We encourage parents to keep in touch. Please contact your child’s teacher by email with any questions you might have. You many also contact Mr O Se at any time at principal@stcatherinesns.ie.
In the meantime, stay safe and well and we look forward to getting back to school as soon as possible in the future.
Is mise le meas
Ger O Se