Remote Teaching & Learning – January 2021
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope that you and your families are keeping safe and well in these uncertain times. As you are aware, schools will move to a remote teaching & learning model for the remainder of the month of January. Although not ideal, we accept that it is a necessary measure to assist in reducing the level of infections nationwide which is a cause of huge concern.
On Monday, January 11th, we will hold a staff meeting remotely to finalise plans for the coming weeks. Consequently, your son/daughter will not have any contact with their teachers on that day.
As part of the delivery of remote learning, teachers and students will only interact using the school approved platform, Microsoft Teams. Please note that students will not have online classes throughout each school day – a blend of face-to-face teaching; setting of learning activities & tasks; pre-recorded sessions; PowerPoint presentations and student independent work (e.g. project work) will be used. This will vary from year to year and from subject to subject. Furthermore, a temporary Remote Learning Timetable (available on the school website from Monday evening) has been compiled for each year group so that students can structure each day accordingly. We are acutely aware that the availability of broadband and devices in each household will impact on each students’ ability to engage, as such, it is very important that students email their Year Head if they encounter such difficulties or if they cannot log in to their school account.
Year Head email addresses:
1st Year – keithbailey@wwetb.ie
2nd Year – sandrahennessy@wwetb.ie
3rd Year – tinawoods@wwetb.ie
4th Year – michellebrowne@wwetb.ie
5th Year (LC & LCA) – maiokeeffe@wwetb.ie
6th Year (LC) – lindacusack@wwetb.ie
6th Year (LCA) – annbarron@wwetb.ie
Students are reminded that all school policies, notably the Code of Behaviour and the Acceptable Use Policy, apply during these online lessons. As the virtual classroom provides an opportunity for face-to-face interaction and participation, students are reminded of best practice i.e. a quiet location, appropriate dress; no personal information visible in the background etc. Students are asked to follow teacher guidance in relation to submitting homework and assignments and should contact the subject teacher directly on Teams before 5pm if they run into difficulty.
All students are reminded that no recording or screenshots of the virtual lesson should be made by any means. This is to respect the privacy and personal data of all – students and teachers. The recording and onward sharing of personal data is unlawful. All online communication should be respectful to everyone.
We in school appreciate your support to ensure that the best learning outcomes are achieved for our students. Please encourage your son/daughter to avoid the negative influence of social media – unhelpful speculation about infections, exams etc. We will continue to provide Learning Support and Guidance support to all students and will communicate directly with students on their Teams platform in relation to this.
If you need to contact the school by phone, our admin staff are currently working from home and can be contacted on 0873616270. We will update you as more information becomes available over the coming weeks. In the meantime, take care and stay safe.
Yours sincerely,
Fiona McDonnell
