Dear Parents/Guardians,
GCC School Pitch Development
As advised last week, our school pitch development has been sanctioned and work will begin in the coming weeks. Please click on the link below to view a drone picture of the school site currently and a graphic of the completed project. The development will include:
• A floodlit all-weather pitch (65m x 37.5m)
• A hurling wall
• A 3 metre tarmacadam walkway around our existing grass pitch
• Lighting of this walkway
The development is due to be completed before the beginning of the new school year in September.
3rd Year (Junior Cycle) Assessment Schedule
With regard to assessment at Junior Cycle the school senior management team is currently trying to identify the best way to organise and structure the assessments between now and May 21st (the completion date as advised in the DES document). We intend to present a plan to staff towards the middle of next week for feedback but, in principle, we are looking at 3 assessment windows for 3rd Years. These would take place on the following dates:
- the week beginning 26 April 2021
- the weeks beginning 10 May 2021
- the weeks beginning 17 May 2021
We are looking at the possibility of aligning the assessments to our 40 minute classes so that each subject would have 3 x 40 minutes assessment opportunities in the final term. None of these details are finalised and it is challenging to formulate a workable plan with such a complex structure of assessments being run in the middle of a full school timetable. Therefore, we are asking parents and students to understand that this schedule will not be finalised until the middle of next week and will be shared with parents and students as part of next Friday’s Parents Update.
There have been a number of queries from parents and students as to whether formal Pre-Examinations will be held for 3rd Year students. We would like to confirm that, as per the guidance from the Department of Education, formal Pre-Examinations will not take place in the final term.
Finally, parents are asked to note that all students who complete 3rd year will receive a Certificate of Completion of the Junior Cycle from the Department of Education, and will also receive a report at school level.
6th Year Additional Assessments & Leaving Cert Examinations
Please click on the link to view our assessment schedule for 6th Year students between now and the end of the school year.
6th Year Additional Assessment Calendar 2021
The schedule outlines the calendar for additional assessments up to the week ending 14 May 2021. We hope this will help to guide and focus our students’ studies. The assessments provide students with an additional opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding in each of their subjects. This affords students, who for whatever reason may have missed previous assessments and/or tuition, with additional opportunities to provide evidence of their competencies. It may also provide an additional source of evidence, together with existing evidence over the past 18months, to support teachers with their professional judgements in formulating Accredited Grades.
Whilst the additional assessments are in-class tests, the production of a calendar will help to ensure a fair distribution of assessments across the assessment windows. This should avoid over-assessment on any one day to help students prepare for their tests and also avoids disruption to the overall timetable.
1st Year Pupil/Parent/Teacher Meeting
1st Year parents are reminded that additional reporting by teachers for 1st Year students will be available on VSware next Monday 15 March. This additional reporting is instead of our scheduled 1st Year Parent/Pupil/Teacher meeting which could not be held last Monday due to current public health guidelines.
5th Year Students Return to Onsite Learning
Next Monday 15 March sees the next step in the phased return of students to school with our 5th Year students recommencing on site learning. Parents of 5th Year students are asked to click on the following link to view the School Return to Learning Form and our Covid Protocols:
https://www.glanmirecc.ie/5th-year-students-school-return-to-learning-form/
Saint Patrick’s Day
A reminder to parents that the school will be closed next Wednesday 17 March.
Finally, we want to say thank you, to you the parents/ guardians, for your continued support throughout these challenging times,
GCC Senior Management