Bailiúchán leabhar / Book collection & Zoom. 31/1/2021

Nóta maidir leis na scoileanna a bheith dúnta

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope this message finds you safe and well. The Department of Education announced On Friday that schools will remain closed for a further undetermined period and as such remote teaching and learning will continue in Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Álainn for the foreseeable future.

Feedback from pupils, teachers and parents in relation to our current system has been excellent up until now and we’re delighted that we seem to have the vast majority of our school working with us on a daily basis through seesaw. We’re also very aware of the difficulties being experienced by everyone during this particular lockdown however and children are no exception to this.

Currently our SET team of teachers have been working tirelessly with various children throughout the school mostly via zoom, while most of our classroom activities are focused on work shared via Seesaw with a 10 minute zoom session on Fridays.

As this particular period of school closure is to continue we’ve decided to introduce the following changes to our system for a trial period of 2 weeks;

• Zoom
  • A weekly Zoom call with the whole school community is currently being arranged for 12.00pm on Fridays.
  • Class zoom calls are being arranged twice a week and a timetable for these zoom calls will be sent home by the class teacher on Sunday evenings.

The zoom guidelines that are being sent home to all parents along with this email will need to be followed by ALL that participate in all zoom activities.

This new arrangement is being put into place on a trial basis for the next two weeks (up to the February mid-term break) and although we are aware that zoom classes may not suit everyone, the system will be reviewed again at the end of our 2 week trial.

Please do not forget that we are all very aware of the pressures that some families are currently facing. Please ensure that you work with your class teacher to ensure the educational wellbeing of the child is being adequately catered for but do not put yourself or others under pressure. Do what you can, when you can but always put the wellbeing of your own family situation to the fore.

Seesaw

The following YouTube videos and guidelines outline how Seesaw works. https://www.lec.ie/seesaw-videos.html

https://www.pdst.ie/DistanceLearning/Platforms/Seesaw      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9FyB1SCbeM

• From Sunday 31^st January work will continue to be sent home by teachers for their classes every Sunday evening. These messages will be sent via seesaw and will contain suggested work and activities for the children in their class.
• Links for the 2 weekly zoom meetings will also be sent home to parents at this time.
• Work for the week will once again be divided into daily expectations by the class teacher and this will be shared with you on Sunday evenings. A daily reminder for the following days work will be posted every day at 2.30 from Monday to Thursday – ie. A reminder of the work to be completed for Tuesday will be sent to parents at 2.30 on Monday.
• In a change from the system up until now zoom teaching will take place on two specific days every week. Work via seesaw may be altered on those days at the discretion of the class teacher.
• Seesaw will be used as a space for children to upload their work for their teacher. This online platform will also allow the teachers to interact with the children in their classes during the week. As with all of our remote learning efforts up until now please put the needs of your family and your child to the forefront of all the decisions that you make in relation to remote learning. Children are encouraged to participate in the lessons and activities as laid out by the school but neither child nor parent should feel under any pressure to get the work completed. As already stated above please do what you can, when you can.
• Optional activities may also be sent home from the school using our website, school App & email. Please ensure that you’ve downloaded our school app and that your email details are up to date.
• Although parents will be able to respond and use Seesaw at any time, teachers will be responding between 9 and 2.30 only, Monday to Friday

Finally, please remember that proper teaching cannot take place in these circumstances. While teachers will be coordinating remote learning to try and maintain some form of normality for the children, please remember that the priority at this time is the health, safety and wellbeing of everybody.

Collection of Books –

A lot of books need to be sent home / collected.

Please read carefully and make the necessary arrangements if necessary.

• All bar 3 classes (Clár D – R.4, Conchúr – R.4 and Eilish – Naí Mhóra) need to send home material for children. Therefore arrangements have been made to open the school on Monday 1^st February, from 12 pm onwards to accommodate the collection of school books for the various classes. Parents from Rang Máire P, Máire L, Siobhán, Fionnuala, Aoife, Gavin, Clár L, Gearóid, Lisa T, Niamh and Clodagh are asked to arrange for someone to call to the school on Monday to collect books and other class specific items. These items have already been arranged in the school hall and we ask all families make the necessary arrangements to ensure that the books are collected then. Unfortunately, parents / children will not be able to go to classrooms at this time and the book collection will happen in the school hall as has happened in the past.
• Please email me at gaelscoilga@gortalainn.ie if these arrangements do not suit you or your family and we will try to arrange something else for you.

Please don’t hesitate in making contact with me if you have any queries in relation to the above proposed plan and please ensure that you read the school guidelines and rules regarding the use of zoom which can be found immediately below this message.

Best wishes to you all and stay safe.

Le gach dea ghuí.

Deaglán

   Rialacha maidir le Zoom                        30 Eanáir 2021

Beidh cruinniú zoom ar siúl i rith na seachtaine. Beidh an amchlár agus an nasc dos na glaonna zoom á sheoladh abhaile ag na múinteoirí tráthnóna Dé Domhnaigh. Bí cinnte go léann tú na Moltaí ar son Zoom / Guidelines for Zoom Meetings thíos freisin.

Zoom teaching with individual classes will begin on a trial basis from Monday. The timetable and the link for these zoom calls will be sent home by individual class teachers on Sunday evening. Please ensure that you’re online at your allotted time (or before it).

Moltaí agus rialacha ar son Zoom

• Beidh Zoom eagraithe ag an scoil go seachtainiúil – ag am agus ag dáta faoi leith.
• Beidh an Múinteoir ranga (nó Deaglán) mar ‘host’ don chruinniú.
• Le bheith cinnte nach mbíonn ach na daltaí agus na múinteoirí ranga i láthair beidh ID don chruinniú agus pasfhocal don chruinniú seolta do thuistí / caomhnóirí na páistí. Beidh seomra feithimh ann freisin agus beidh ar an múinteoir nó ar Dheaglán cead a thabhairt don pháiste teacht isteach sa chruinniú / comhrá zoom.
• Ná roinn sonraí an chruinnithe le duine ar bith taobh amuigh den rang le do thoil.
• Bí cinnte go bhfuil tú lonnaithe in áit oiriúnach don chruinniú.
• Bí cinnte go bhfuil go leor cumhachta i do ríomhaire / taibléad.
• Bí cinnte go bhfuil ainm oiriúnach agat ar do ríomhaire / ar do chúntas. Úsáid ainm do pháiste.
• Bí cinnte go bhfuil daoine gléasta in éadaí oiriúnacha don chruinniú.
• Beidh fuaim gach duine múctha ag tús an cruinniú.
• Beidh ort an fuaim a árdú agus an ceamara a chur ar siúl.
• Níl aon cead ag aon duine na cruinnithe seo a thaifeadadh.
• Níl aon cead ag aon duine grianghraf a ghlacadh don chruinniú.
• Níl cead aon duine aon rud ón gcruinniú a roinnt ar na meáin shóisialta.
• Ba choir duine fásta freagrach a bheith i láthair na cruinnithe ach gan a bheith ar an scáileán
• Beidh na rialacha céanna i gceist ar zoom agus mar a bíonn sna seomraí ranga.
• Is féidir le Deaglán nó an múinteoir ranga deireadh a chur leis an gcruinniú ag am ar bith.

ZOOM – Guidelines and Rules.

• Weekly Zoom classes / meetings will be pre-organised by the school with a given date and time.
• Deaglán or the class teacher will be the ‘host’ of such a meeting.
• To ensure that only a member of the class can join the meeting, we will be sending a Meeting ID and password to parents/guardians. The Waiting Room feature will be used which means Deaglán / the class teacher has to ‘admit’ each child into the meeting.
• The login details cannot be shared with anyone other than the participants that the class teacher has invited.
• Please set up for the meeting in a space where there will be minimal disruptions.
• Please ensure that your device is charged or plugged in before entering a Zoom meeting.
• Please ensure your computer username is appropriate as it will appear on the screen.

    – If possible, use your child’s name.

• All members of the meeting should be appropriately dressed for the meeting – no pyjamas.
• All members will be muted on being admitted to the call.
• The volume will need to be up on the device you are using.
• The video needs to be activated.
• Recording of such meetings is not and will not be permitted.
• Photographs of meetings are not permitted.
• The sharing of content in relation to such meetings (e.g. on social media) is not permitted.
• A responsible adult should be in the vicinity of the child at all times but NOT on screen
• The video conference room is a virtual classroom space and the same school behaviour and codes of conduct apply to this environment.
• Deaglán or the teacher may end the meeting at any time if he/she thinks it is necessary.