Headmaster's Message #26
Monday 11 May 2020
Good Morning All,
Parents Consultations. Reminder.
Dates: Between Wednesday 13th May to Wednesday 20th May.
At this point Section Heads have been in touch with detail of appointments starting this Wednesday.
Please stick to the allotted time that you are given. If you need to discuss further the teacher/Section Head will end the conversation and get back to you with another time slot.
IT Survey. We need your feedback
Recently we asked for parent feedback on our social media presence. The point of this survey is to improve our service to our community. If you have not already done so can you please complete this very short survey.
https://forms.gle/W3xNDjpnKW5GndiA6
Appreciation from parents
When this ‘new reality’ hit us there was a steep learning curve for everyone, teachers, parents and children. It has taken an adjustment from everyone. It has required empathy from all stakeholders, each for the other, we are all different. As with many aspects of education there were more than enough opinions on what is the best way to approach on-line learning, the correct platform, the correct number of lessons, the use of different sites, whether sites were appropriate, what other schools were doing, whether a break is needed, the list is endless.
One major aspect that we focussed on at SEC was the recognition that we needed to find a sustainable balanced approach that would be manageable for a great variety of children, teachers and parents. We have received so many emails and notes of gratitude from parents that I felt compelled to share some of them.
My point here is to return the appreciation from SEC, teachers and management, for the manner in which you as parents have understood and managed to facilitate learning for your children. I know that in any given class there are parents who will appreciate more recorded lessons and an equal number who will want more ‘live’ lessons. At the end of the day it is the classroom teacher who knows all the boys in the lesson and is the professional who can best judge the correct mix.
We have had a very few parents who would have liked us to approach learning in a different way, this is to be expected with a parent population of over 1300. But the vast majority have been, as I said, understanding of the fact that we do not simply teach their child but many children in any given class.
Thank you for taking the time to be in touch and express your gratitude
Sincerely,
Mr Nollaig Mac an Bhaird
Headmaster
Must congratulate the school for acting very professional during all times during this time. Well done for sending the invoices on time (not before as other schools did!) when things have settled down and also for reducing a further Euros 90 per student. This was appreciated by most parents especially by those who were hit hard financially.
Year X lessons are all going along just fine. And even Year Y lessons. Kudos to all the teachers involved. Everyone is doing his utmost to make sure the boys are understanding in these circumstances.
Very happy to hear that parents consultations are also going to be held. Thank you!
Once again proud to be part of this community.
Well done to you and to all the teachers involved.
I just wanted to thank you and all the staff at SEC as things in Section ‘L’ have improved considerably after the Easter holidays. All teachers are using Microsoft TEAMS and all homeworks are posted through the same channel. Almost all teachers are giving live lessons which is very helpful as the boys can ask there and then when they have difficulties.
My other boys, both in Section ‘M’ have been working smoothly since the very beginning. Mr L, Ms M and Ms N have been fantastic.
One last point, we really appreciate that the administration of the College has waited until the financial assistance from the government was confirmed before actually sending the invoice and giving us further discount on top of that. In the current situation every little helps.
Hoping that our boys will be back at school sooner rather than later!
Thank again because at the moment we are depending on my salary only. But greatly appreciate what the school is doing and the teachers' work too.
Thank you ... I do appreciate what you are doing, re lesson planning etc. Very well organised and is just right for year ‘Q’. As a school, you don't need to justify your work and efforts through 6hrs of online teaching for year ‘Q’s (I know St. ‘Y’s do it …) It would have done more harm than good for the students- is not psychologically healthy to sit straight for those hours for that age. As you said, young kids don't have their own IT gadgets, and also don't need their parents all the time next to them, so works impossible for working parents.
So keep up the good work. You know me well by now- I always speak highly of our school and still do. The school was also fair with fees, very understandable and cooperative. You should be proud of what you are doing.