In a bid to continue on with the wonderful learning that has been taking place in the school, we have designed a ‘weekly plan’ of work for each class.
This will be uploaded every weekendfor the girls before they are due to start the activities each Monday. The first pack will be uploaded on March 29th 2020, and will continue until our return back to school.
SOME NOTES ON USING THE PACKS:
Click on the class and the week of work to gain access to it.I suggest that you read through all the content provided before beginning any work in the event that a specific item may be required for a task e.g paper/ colouring pencils etc. on a given day.
2. Each teacher will include in the plan their email address for the submission of work/ point of contact in supporting the girls with their learning. Please be mindful that we to are working our way through this process in these unprecedented times, but are here to support. We will endeavour to respond to submitted work and queries about the content where possible.
3. Some of the work may require a stable internet connection, however, there are some activities that can be done in the home without any internet or devices. If you do not have access to the internet, or only have so intermittently, please encourage your child to do the other activities assigned.
4.We have been considering various ways that will ensure you as a parent/guardian are supported to be enabled to assist your child from home. We are aware of the many stresses this current environment has placed upon the whole school community and do not wish to impact on these stresses unnecessarily. If you or your child cannot find the time to complete the content within this email, that is within your rights as parent/guardian not to do so.
5. For families who find that there is too much/ too little work for their child I encourage you to do only what suits your family and the timetable you have set up. We do not want to increase anxiety or stress at an already difficulty time, but rather hope that we can support the children in their learning.If you feel that there is not enough content, please continue to look at other websites around the topics and activities given to further promote your daughters learning.
6. No work will be assigned on Fridays but rather this will be a day to ‘ catch up’ on any content not completed and have some family time.
7. Extra work has been provided by our Special Education Team for any of the girls receiving additional support. Click on the teachers name and the class for additional support around the English language, Dyslexia etc
If you have concerns outside of this I urge you to contact Ms. Coen on tullowgns.ias@eircom.net and I will do my best to respond promptly.
Please remember to monitor your child whilst they are using the world wide web and only use sites that are child-friendly.
For GDPR and Child Protection reasons please do not send images/ videos etc of your daughter/ family via email.
In these challenging times I urge us all for the sake of ourselves and our loved ones to stay apart in order to stay together. Please, please put your health and safety at the forefront of everything. If anyone needs assistance outside of academic support please contact me on tullowgns.ias@eircom.net.
An announcement was made regarding the further closure of schools until 19th April 2020 to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.
This is in line with the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team.
All pupils and students, from pre-school to third level are urged to continue to practice social distancing, and to minimise physical contact with each other, to help avoid the spread of Covid-19. This should include minimising social contact, avoiding meeting up and keeping physical space between them.
Parents and guardians are urged to support their children to maintain this approach.
The Government, in conjunction with the public health authorities, will keep the situation under ongoing review. Any change to that date will be communicated widely.
Work for the children can be found on the ‘ Learning Packs for Covid 19’ page on this website. Please click the class and week to gain access to some suggested activities for your daughter. Our support team has also provided activities for children who receive additional support in the school.
Just letting you know some of the things that we are doing as a response to the COVID 19 Coronavirus shutdown. We felt it was important to send you this information out of our legitimate interest in ensuring that you are supported, and aware of the various services available to you at this time.
As you can understand; in the interest of keeping everyone healthy and saving as many lives as possible, we are not meeting people face to face or hosting any groups for the next few weeks.
Instead we are offering the following supports to parents and young people to help them through this challenging time.
We are gathering resources and information from everywhere that we can and putting them on our Facebook page, and Twitter. We understand that the amount of information going around at the moment can be overwhelming, so contact us if you there is specific information that you need.
Although some of us are working remotely, our team are still available to support you in whatever way we can.
Maxine or Martina will be answering our office phone (0599180010) between 9am and 1pm from Monday to Friday. If you call outside that time and leave a voicemail, we will get back to you as soon as we can the following morning.
Liga, Denise, Nicola and Michael can be contacted directly by phone or email. We are also using; WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom, and Google Hangouts – so that you (or your child) have the added option of video calls for those who may prefer them.
Some of our homework support and sounds right participants will be receiving video links and resource packs, all we need is your email address to send them.
Regular support will be given to parents, and young people who need help keeping occupied while at home. We will have information and guidance on how to mind your mental health, how to talk to children about COVID, how to structure and organise a day at home and help with getting school work completed.
For those who do not have access to a printer, we will post you activity packs or print some learning resources if you need them.
We are currently running a poster competition and hope to post some other fun activities over time.
Please be reassured that if we do not have current consent from you, or if we do not receive any call or email from you regarding our services or supports, we will not contact you again.
However, if you think we can help in any way, please give us a call or send us an email.
Create a poster using the slogan “By staying apart, we are working together”
Submit your entries by sending us a picture of your poster through messenger. Please send entries via a parent or guardians facebook account if you are under 18years old.
Please include your name, age, class and school with your entry.
There will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize in two categories; primary and post primary.
Category 1: primary students from junior infants to 6th class
Category 2: secondary students from 1st year to 6th year.
Prizes in both categories are:
1st prize: 50euro one for all voucher
2nd prize: 25euro one for all voucher
3rdprize: 25euro one for all voucher.
Closing date for entries is Thursday 2nd April at 12noon.
Firstly I hope that you are all keeping well. I am sure everyone is practicing social distancing and is continuing with hand and respiratory hygiene- well done and keep it up!
You may have been completing some work with your children, and thank you for your continued effort and patience.
To help with the task of keeping the children active and productive (as well as keeping us all sane), I have included some resources and ideas – not to overwhelm you but for you to have a store of items to refer to over the coming weeks. Here are some tips you may find useful:
Setting up a routine / basic timetable to put some structure on your day.
Set clear expectations for children around work time, play time, free time, screen time, exercise, meals etc. Pick what interests your child and what skills you wish to either impart or develop. I suggest you use some of the resources here to fill other parts of your day. Netflix has good ideas for educational TV time. The art lists have good ideas for creative time. There is plenty of info on GAA training tips, relaxation tips, reading challenges, Lego projects, etc. Music practice is also an opportunity here. I have included some links to music sites- daily practice is not always required 🙂
Keep the routine / timetable varied to ensure there is a healthy balance of movement and exercise in between quieter times and academic work. Make a personalised rubric with older children that is filled with challenges they choose with you. That should achieve buy in and motivate them. Built in motivators for work through this time might include screen time, baking, etc. Giving children an element of choice here will achieve the buy in you need to keep the children on task, so perhaps making a list of motivators or a choice board would be a useful initial activity to do. This can help maintain focus and redirect concentration.
A family project to work on might be making a time capsule. This could take a week or two to complete. Decide as a family what to put into the capsule; newspaper articles, photos, letters, drawings, and so forth. Decorate the shoe box or whatever the capsule is made of, and eventually bury up in the attic to be opened in 10 years’ time. We are living through a strange period in history – to store evidence of these times will develop your child’s ability to process what is happening currently and will develop their skills as historians.
Another family project can be systematically approached with grandparents – which will help with connecting with grandparents at this time of isolation. Telephone / Facetime / Skype connections will be the necessary tools here.
You know your child’s needs best, particularly if they have special needs. If you want any ideas for skill development e.g. Fine motors skills (pencil work/cutting/beads etc), dexterity, gross motor skills, emotional regulation, concentration etc. send an email to the school email address and I will try to get back to you with some suggestions.
So, to summarise:
* Set up a timetable
*Set up learning target/ expectations with your children by making a rubric (grid) of things they (and you) would like to achieve or learn – outside of schoolwork.
* Set up a choice board with rewards and motivators.
* Start your first family project – the time capsule
* Consult the websites below for ideas, activities, links to worksheets etc.
This is a strange time, but in it lies an opportunity to connect with our children in a way we have possibly craved for in the past. As a staff we will be working together on contingency plans if further school closure is announced. We will communicate the same to you as soon as possible.
Take care and if you need further assistance please contact the school email on tullowgns.ias@eircom.net. I will be checking this daily from home and will endeavour to respond to you as quickly as possible.
Le meas,
Marie Coen
Sample COVID-19 Daily Schedules
These are sample daily schedules that may help create routine for pupils during school closures.
Body and Mind
HIIT Homework
Stick on your favourite upbeat playlist and try out these exercises one after the other. To give yourself a bigger challenge, do each circuit twice or three times or more! Spotify is free to download and has lots of songs.
Session 1 – 5 x 25
Session 2 – legs moving
Session 3 – up and down
25 jumping jacks
25 squats
25 seconds run on the spot
25 push ups
25 seconds plank
30 seconds run on the spot
30 seconds high knees
30 seconds jumping jacks
30 seconds butt kicks
30 seconds jog on the spot
30 seconds jumping jacks
30 seconds mountain climbers
30 seconds run on the spot
30 seconds plank
30 seconds burpees
OR
Have a family disco – stick on your favourite tunes and bop around the room for 20 minutes!
Get Outside
Try out as many of these exercises outside (keeping social distance!) that you can and tell your teacher which ones you’ve done.
Cycle your bike for 10 minutes
Go for a walk
Ride your scooter for 10 minutes
Draw your own hopscotch with chalk and play
Throw a ball against a wall and catch
Create your own obstacle course
Run for 5 minutes
10 minutes of free play outside
If possible walk home from school one day
Jump on your trampoline
Walk your dog
Bubble bashing – get someone to blow bubbles for you to try and burst all of them
Do 3 laps of your house or up and down the hall 10 times
Keepie uppies – how many can you do in a row?
Skip sideways up and down the garden 5 times- be sure to check out Mark Mc Cabe on Facebook for tutorials that the girls have done as part of the skipping wokrshop. Now is a chance to perfect the skills!SkipnRope
Skype with a Relative
This can be a nice idea if you have a family member who may have to self-isolate or
who you may not be able to visit. It’s a way for children to use oral language and it might be a nice kind of game to play to keep boredom away.
Ideas include:
Play 20 questions – take turns in thinking of an object and the other person can only ask questions which have a yes or no answer.
A-Z – Pick a topic and take turns in naming something beginning with A then B then C and see if you can get to Z Without skipping any letters.
The Big Interview – child prepares 10 questions they’d like to know about the relative and then asks them
Even if you can’t speak Irish, there are some great ways to pick up some vocabulary. One really easy activity is to pick a topic, for example: food, household objects, colours, and so on, then write down 20 words associated with that topic in a list. Next go to https://www.focloir.ie/en/ and translate the words. The great thing is that almost every word on the website has an audio recording of it so you can listen to how to pronounce the words! As a family, you could try and learn a few words every day!
For more advanced speakers, how about doing any of the tasks in the grid through Irish? The news is probably the easiest one to do as Gaeilge.
This task can be done with any age from Junior Infants to 6th class. It can be done in a number of ways but here is a suggestion for 2 different age groups:
Infants to 1st Class
2nd Class Upwards
Child tells you the news they have for the day. Stick to things in their own life rather than focusing on the news on the radio or TV.
The day, the date, the weather outside
1 or 2 things they did yesterday
Write down what they tell you on a whiteboard or piece of paper.
Child either types out what you’ve written or copies it down in a journal or copybook.
You can create your own little newsroom on the kitchen table or you can use Green Screen apps on an iPad and record your child reading their news.
You can upload the video to Google Classroom or send it to loved ones to keep in touch.
Child writes/types their news as well as news happening outside the world.
You can create your own little newsroom on the kitchen table or you can use Green Screen apps on an iPad and record your child reading their news.
You can send it to loved ones to keep in touch.
Read a Book with a Parent
Snuggle up on the couch and spend ten minutes reading for no other reason than the joy of reading a book. Of course, there are loads of benefits to reading every day but what a nice time to drop everything for a short time.
Family Tree
Make your family tree with your child. You can do this digitally or by hand and you can go back as far as you want!
BIGGER PROJECTS
These instructions are for these projects:
The History of my Family An extension of the Family Tree Project – tell us m about your family
Peace What does peace mean to you? How will we get there?
Who is your favourite artist? Tell us something about your favourite artist – A singer? A painter? A poet?
My Holiday Tell us about your last holiday
A Sketch A Day
If you have a copybook or sketchpad, this would be useful but you don’t really need anything except paper and a pencil. Your job is to create one sketch a day for the duration of the project. The only catch is you have to pick a theme. Choose from:
Healthy Foods
Happy Things
Things that need batteries
Famous People
Objects that are usually red
Learn a musical instrument
Do you have a musical instrument at home? If not, it’s not too expensive to get yourself a tin whistle, recorder or even a ukulele. It’s never been easier to learn with loads of apps and websites to bring you along the way.
Patterns are everywhere – some of them simple like the sequence of a traffic light and some of them are really difficult like the swirls on a snail’s shell. Your job is to make a pattern using any medium you want. You could knit a scarf in 2 different colours or you could build a tower using Lego with different patterned levels. You could even write a long sequence of numbers that follow a pattern.
Other activities
Websites for Literacy
Online Resources to Keep Young Writers Creating!
Friends of Fighting Words are offering the following to keep young minds engaged during the school closure period:
– Story prompts from Sarah Webb and Museum of Literature Ireland: Sarah Webb/Museum of Literature: Story prompts – https://twitter.com/sarahwebbishere/status/1238521677467791361
– The Animation Challenge for Kids from Jane Lee of Fighting Words Cork – a daily challenge using free animation software:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2622866517949804/members/
– Kaleidoscope Family Festival have launched HomeClub, starting March 16th: https://www.facebook.com/kaleidoscopeireland/
– Author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers plans to read and discuss his work each weekday: https://twitter.com/OliverJeffers/status/1239069008378220546
– Your local library is (virtually) open! For example, check out story time with Stillorgan Library in Dublin: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=729321630932405
Below is advice for parents and schools from the Department of Education and Skills on talking to children and young people about the COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
This is a difficult time and can lead to uncertainty about how to approach explaining it to our children.
I hope the below advice offers guidance and support.
The further announcement that all indoor mass gatherings of more than 100 be cancelled has led Bishop Denis to decide to cancel all Confirmations from today until after Easter.
For the Confirmations that are cancelled during this period he has further decided that candidates will be confirmed by their parish priests on Pentecost Sunday, May 31st.
It is hoped that the Confirmation schedule will be able to resume after Easter.
Thank you for your on going patience at this time.
An announcement was made this morning by the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD of the closure from Friday 13th March, of schools until 29th March 2020, to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.
This will take effect from 6pm this evening, Thursday 12th March.
This is in line with the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team.
All pupils and students, from pre-school to third level are urged to practice social distancing, and to minimise physical contact with each other, to help avoid the spread of Covid-19. This should include minimising social contact, avoiding meeting up and keeping physical space between them.
Parents and guardians are urged to support their children to maintain this approach.
The Government, in conjunction with the public health authorities, will keep the situation under ongoing review. Any change to that date will be communicated widely.
A list of suggested work/ activities has been sent home with your daughter for her to complete during this period. We would ask parents/ guardians to pick 1-2 activities from this list per day for completion with their child.
The work is based on a variety of subject areas. Please encourage her to read her own books and those from the library.
