As we enter a new month and start the fifth school week under the closure arrangements, many students will be finding it difficult to continue to engage with the online learning materials in the absence of the daily routine of school, interaction with their friends and daily face to face contact with their teachers. While remote learning is no substitute for the rich and varied experiences that can be offered in school, it is crucial that all students continue to access and complete the work set on an ongoing basis. With the prospect of lockdown continuing for some time and the possibility that social distancing measures will exist in some form for the foreseeable future, it is vital that students minimise the impact of lost learning and teaching time through the completion of the work set out in the “Working from Home” schedule.
Cookstown High School would like to acknowledge the hard work of students who are engaging with the materials and the role parents are playing in encouraging and supporting them in their work, in challenging circumstances.
Sadly it will not be possible to recap on several months of learning next year so this work will do much to ensure we avoid gaps in learning that will disadvantage children as they move into a new year group next year.
Cookstown High School staff have prepared a wide range of learning resources which have been made available to students in a variety of formats, including paper based materials and via a range of online platforms. The work that students should complete, for each of their subjects, has been detailed on a ‘Work Schedule’ document which is posted on the school website. This allows parents to support their child, discuss the work to be completed and ensure that they are actively engaged with the materials.
You will find the work schedule on cookstownhighschool.org under the working “Working from Home” section of the Homepage. You will also find a range of support documents and additional resources posted in this area.
Staff have put considerable effort into preparing these resources and remain available to support students in the completion of the work. Many are making use of forums or email to respond to questions. Documents are being shared on Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams or Fronter. Working in this manner is new to us all and there will inevitably be technical challenges to overcome and ICT skills to develop when working on these platforms. This should not deter students and they should remember that help is at hand.
We hope this message finds all of our students, parents and staff well.
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