Home » Covid-19 Updates – March to December

Covid-19 Updates – March to December

School Closure Contact Details

Email: admin@lucancc.ie

Emergency number: 016282077

Principal’s Summer Message for Students/Parents 29 May 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students

Summer holidays have finally arrived and with the holidays comes a break from schoolwork, assignments, tests, Teams updates, text messages and emails – a welcome relief for us all. I want to thank each and every one of you for trusting us, working with us, communicating with us and helping us to adapt since we started out on our strange journey on 12th March 2020. We know that strong relationships and mutual respect are two of the most important qualities in the educational experience that we create in Lucan Community College and while we know that it was very challenging to move from the school environment to the home environment and yet keep the learning going we really appreciate the strong supportive relationships that were maintained throughout.

A big thank you to everyone who works in Lucan CC who has kept the building in repair, the administration and finance systems working through emails and phones, to everyone who is a part of our strong student support networks especially year heads, tutors, career guidance counsellors and resource/support team, to all the teachers who have kept the learning going and to the Deputy Principal team who have worked very hard to support everyone and keep the show on the road.

Students we are really proud of how you have adapted to all of the changes that landed on your lap since 12th March. You are adaptable, resilient, engaged learners and we know that many of you remotely collaborated and helped each other when technology proved unreliable or difficult to manage. The work/photos/projects/video interviews in which you participated showed us what you can achieve when you put your mind to it even though many of the most enjoyable parts of school (meeting friends, sports, activities, trips, events) could not take place.

Parents/guardians, we are aware that many of you have been balancing difficult personal situations, younger children, older relative, illness and loss while encouraging your son(s)/daughter(s) to engage remotely with us and we really appreciate your support.

We also thank our Parents Association, Board of Management and our patron body Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board for their support and assistance during the last few months.

We will be in touch during June as usual with booklists, reports, school calendar, uniform updates and other information for the 2020/21 school year and will put plans in place for our start-up in August as we receive HSE and DES guidance. We also hope to arrange for lockers to be emptied during the month of June and will put plans in place for that to happen safely. Please continue to use the contact details shared at the top of this page to get in touch if you wish to communicate with us.

I hope that you have a lovely Summer and that you and yours will stay safe and well in the coming months. Please continue to follow the HSE guidelines as restrictions slowly ease and keep safe and well until we see you all again.

As I write this message the Taoiseach has announced that schools will reopen at the end of August. I am sure we are all looking forward to returning to face to face teaching and learning and engaging again with friends, classmates and colleagues.

I leave you with some links to some school success stories also available on our Latest News section.

The Aontas Project
Part-pupil Mark Lombard used his digital media skills to create a wonderful short video piece for use at our farewell student assemblies last week. Aontas/Unity is our school motto and we wanted to create something to show how we were managing to still be a strong school community together, while apart. Ms Brady and Ms Malone who gathered images for the project would like to thank everyone for sending in such lovely photos capturing the time of school closure. Unfortunately, we were not able to include all due to the short timeframe available during student assemblies but we are working to have an extended version available some time in the future. A little piece of school history in the making I think! You can view our Aontas video here: Lucan Community College Aontas Video

Students of the year announcements (Watch video of announcements here: Students of the Year 2020):
1st year student of the year – Roisin Duddy Class Collison
2nd year student of the year – Louise Bredin Class Lir
3rd year student of the year – Séamus Mullan Class Clandillon
Transition Year student of the year – Niamh Sim Class Clarke
5th year student of the year – David James Griffin Class Beckett
6th year student of the year – Emma Fallon Class Liffey
Overall Student of the College – Alex Hanley Class Shannon

Great Language Success
Congratulations to Ms Clarke and her team of TY students Rebecca Reade, Enya Braha and Thomas Roche who entered the inaugural Trinity College TY language competition winning the German language section and finishing joint runners-up in the overall competition. Further details available here and photos and article from our students to follow.

Music students welcome the sun
Music gladdens the heart and calms the soul and our Lucan CC music students worked with Ms Conway to produce a lovely video to the song Here Comes the Sun to send us on our way this Summer. I hope you enjoy it. Music Video available here.

Take care and have a good Summer break.
Diane Birnie (Principal)

Principal’s Update for Students/Parents re locker access 18 May 2020

Dear parents and students

As the Covid 19 virus restrictions are starting to gradually be lifted we had planned to start the process of allowing access to the school for students accompanied by an adult to empty their locker. Unfortunately we have been asked to hold off on this process for now by our patron body Dublin and Dun Laoghaire ETB.

Up to now we have only been able to provide access to a small number of students/parents who contacted us with particular need to access lockers. This small scale process took a lot of time and we were anxious to do our best to adhere to HSE guidelines to ensure safety for students, parents and staff. My thanks to the caretakers and team of Deputy Principals who facilitated this access.

When we are instructed that it is safe to do so we will be in touch with you again to arrange for locker access in a safe manner and will explain that process in more detail when we have it completed.

Please continue to use admin@lucancc.ie to email any queries you have and use the emergency mobile number on the website Covid19 page if needed.

All of the assessment schedules sent to students a week ago are now also on our website for parents to view. Please encourage your son/daughter to try their best at all assignments Links to assessment details under Quicklinks.

The very best of luck to our 6th years at their Virtual Farewell Assembly on Wednesday at 12 noon this week and to our TY students who have their online assessment interviews this week.

Also please remember that we would like you, our school community, to reach out to each other virtually. To support our school ethos of Aontas and each other, we are asking students and parents to send a picture or short video to aontas@lucancc.ie by Monday 18th May 2020. Looking for positivity and creativity.

We thank you for your continued patience as we try to manage all of the various changes that have been visited on us as a college in recent days and weeks and for your help and support with keeping your son/daughter engaged in the learning and assessment process from home.

Take care and stay safe,

Diane Birnie
Principal

Principal’s Update for 6th Year Students/Parents/Guardians 10 May 2020

10 May 2020

Leaving Certificate 2020 Update

The Minister for Education and Skills announced the cancellation of the Leaving Certificate and the Leaving Certificate Applied Examinations 2020 on 8th May. He also outlined plans that the DES has put in place to award calculated grades to students. Details are available here: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/2f07eb-leaving-cert-2020-information/

Lucan Community College will now consult with the DES and Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board and other relevant stakeholders around the proper procedures to be followed.

At this time it is not possible to engage with individual queries as this could result in incorrect or mixed messages being given to students or parents. When more information becomes available we will communicate it to you through the usual channels. We are aware that some of you have very specific circumstances that need to be addressed and we will engage with you further when it is appropriate to do so.

In the meantime we encourage our Leaving Certificate students to use these days to reflect on how this situation affects you and write down any questions you would like answered having read the information provided above. We will gather your questions and seek guidance on answers where necessary. Please allow us some time to do this. You can input your question into this survey: https://tinyurl.com/ya3wvoyr

Please continue to check your 365 email and Teams as we will continue to use those platforms to communicate directly with you going forward. We will be in touch shortly about plans for the remainder of the term.

The DES document also confirms that any outstanding Leaving Certificate Examination Fees should not be paid. Any fees already paid will be refunded by the State Examinations Commission.

We thank you for your patience during these stressful times. Lucan CC is thinking of you all as you negotiate the rough waters of Leaving Cert 2020. Maybe there was a good reason why your classes were named after rivers. May you pass through these white water rapids and emerge safely to the calm blue waters beyond.

Stay well and stay safe.

Ms Birnie, Mr Brett, Mr Purcell, Ms Malone, Ms Clarke and tutor team and all at Lucan CC.

Principal’s Update for 3rd Year Students/Parents/Guardians 30 April 2020

30 April 2020

Dear 3rd year students and parents/guardians

I am sure that you are aware of the latest decision from the Department of Education and Skills on 29th April 2020. Full details of the announcement are available here. We hope that it will be better for the wellbeing of our students to finish their Junior Cycle over the next month rather than having the possibility of exams looming in September. We will be consulting with teachers over the coming days to decide on a whole school approach to assessing and reporting on our students achievements over the three years of Junior Cycle.

It is likely that different subjects will use a range of evidence to inform their assessment of students’ achievements. These may include:
• Evidence available from assignments, tests, mocks, projects, practical and other work completed over the course of second year and third year
• Classroom-Based Assessments completed in second year and third year
• School-designed examinations, projects, assignments, essay style questions, presentations, or other tasks chosen by the teacher from the range of approaches agreed at school level.

Any end of year assessment we set will be mindful of the disruption you have had to your learning and will not be equivalent to a full Junior Cycle State Examination paper. We will do our best to try to ensure that students’ progress and work prior to school closure will be the major influence on the final subject assessment but we would also like to recognise the wonderful work that students have been engaging with remotely. If a student has any difficulty completing the work or assessments arranged by any teacher it is important that that student or their parent communicate this to the teacher.

Once we have compiled the approaches that will be used in each Junior Cycle subject, we will communicate that to you. In the meantime, we ask students to continue to engage in remote learning with your subject teachers to the best of your ability and we ask parents to continue to encourage your son/daughter to engage. We will continue to use Microsoft Teams as the main school virtual learning platform (along with other tools that we have been using such as email, Edmodo, Duolingo, etc.)

As the HSE update us on restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we will see if we can safely provide access to the schools for gathering the remaining contents of students’ lockers.
A school report similar to our usual reports will then be issued during June and the DES will issue a State Certificate for the Completion of Junior Cycle early in the new school year.
If parent/guardians have paid the State examinations fee, this will be refunded to you by the State Examinations Commission in due course.

As a student you may have varying reactions to this news. Many will be relieved that the official state exams are cancelled. Some may be a bit disappointed that your hard work will not be recognised through the usual grades associated with the Junior Cycle.

Please remember that the work you have put in to your subjects will stand to you throughout senior cycle. In those subjects you continue to study in senior cycle, your junior cycle work will form a solid basis for your ongoing studies. You will also have formed important learning and study habits over your junior cycle years including how to motivate yourself to work more independently in less than ideal circumstances over recent weeks.
Each one of you has been dealing with a different set of unique circumstances in your home, family, friendship group and community. Our efforts to support you as you finish your Junior Cycle over the coming weeks in May will recognise that fact and will try to reaffirm your progress as learners who have had to deal with a very challenging situation.
We will shortly be passing on information about our plans for you for Transition Year and encouraging you to get thinking about the wonderful opportunities that await you for an exciting year ahead.
Students, please mind yourselves, follow social distancing protocols, keep the learning going and engage with your teachers over the coming weeks as they roll out the final weeks of work and any final assessment strategies to mark the end of your Junior Cycle experience. We all miss seeing you face to face.

Take care,
Diane Birnie, Stephen Brett, Úna Twyford, all of your 3rd year tutors and all of the staff of Lucan Community College.

Principal’s Update 23 April 2020

Lucan CC remote learning survey
Dear parent/guardian
We are urgently trying to get feedback from you as to how your son(s)/daughter(s) is/are managing to engage with their learning and also what kind of technology is available for use in the home.
Please spend time with your child(ren) as you answer the survey we have sent to you by text message. This information will help our future planning for this period of school closure and help us to offer support to students who have challenges engaging with learning. If you can complete it by Friday 24th April at 3pm that would be very helpful, but we will leave the survey open over the weekend also.

Lucan CC remote learning update
Dear staff member/parent/guardian/student,
As we continue the period of remote learning a number of frequently asked questions are arising from all sides. I thought it might be helpful at this stage to send a consistent message to all of our Lucan CC community to address some of the issues being raised.

Q1 Why hasn’t a clear remote learning plan been for all year groups been outlined and training offered?
Our government issued an instruction for schools to close without warning or time to prepare. Ideally if launching a virtual learning platform as a school support to teaching and learning we would have introduced it gradually and held training and offered support for staff, students and parents before expecting everyone to be experts in using the system. We would have checked our teacher and student access to technology in the home and tried to ensure that everyone had access to an appropriate device and good broadband. The situation we are in is very far from ideal and we are trying to roll out remote learning without the usual communication channels being open to us.
I am continuing to ask for all to be patient and to first stop and remember how challenging and serious the situation in which we find ourselves is and to understand that we do not know what any individual’s personal situation or context is at this time. Please do not rush to judgement if the situation is not as you would like it to be.

Posing questions, making positive suggestions, offering help and support, taking a self-temperature check and managing your personal stress levels – all of these things are helpful in these times.

Q2: Why are all classes not being taught as live video conference classes?
We are aware that students have very different facilities and contexts in their homes and are trying to monitor the current level of engagement with Teams/Email and other learning platforms. We are being cautious about moving to a method that not all students are able to access.
Teachers also have very different access to and training in use of these remote learning platforms and we are working hard to offer training to those who would find it useful.
Initially our management body DDLETB advised us not to engage in live classes as sharing audio or video footage from teachers’ and students’ homes posed possible threats of child protection issues, issues about sharing personal data and challenges to managing inappropriate online behaviour. DDLETB are now planning to roll out training on the use of Teams to enable teachers to engage in more interactive approaches to engaging with students but change will be slow to occur as teachers and students become more familiar with the technology.
While a lot of the learning so far has been revision/review work set by teachers for students, some of our teachers are now trialing different ways of teaching new material to students and will share these methods with colleagues going forward.

Q3. My child is being set too much/little work to do. What should I do?
As in any classroom situation, some students take longer to do a piece of work than others. The most important element is communication. Ensure that your child is keeping in touch with their teacher by responding to work set, by explaining if work is taking to long by arranging to not complete all work if they are under pressure. Teachers will understand.
If your child needs more work to keep them occupied and to enhance their learning, consider using the remote learning resources on our website or encourage them to try to learn a new skill online. There are many free courses available. If they need extra feedback or work in specific subjects, send the teacher and email and seek advice.

Q4. I am frustrated with the whole remote learning situation.
This situation is indeed very frustrating. As a school we are particularly aware of the challenges for our 6th years, the confusion around how 3rd years will be assessed after their three years of work and the disruption in continuity for other year groups especially our 5th years who have missed weeks of Leaving Certificate and Leaving Cert Applied preparation. Our staff are engaging in email and phone call support as parents/students make contact and let us know that this would be helpful. But we have to learn to manage our emotions and feelings and to deal with the situation in which we find ourselves as calmly as possible.

Teachers are finding it frustrating when there is no response from students and we are spending a lot of time trying to follow up with students and their parents if the student is appearing not to be engaging with the teacher and the learning. Time that teachers would normally be spending preparing lessons and teaching face to face in the classroom is now being spent in explaining how to access email/Teams/Edmodo from different devices or talking to a stressed and worried student or following a training course to learn how to manage the remote learning environment. Teachers are also working from home and managing family and community life and the challenges that this presents.

Some parents are finding it frustrating that students are not showing them how teachers are communicating with them, what work is expected, what feedback is being give. Some parents are comparing Lucan CC to other schools and expecting more from us. Some parents are sending in message of thanks for all the help/support/engagement that we are doing. Some parents have suggested that we are not informing them what we expect of students. Others are finding it hard to keep up with the text messages/emails/website updates and sitting with their child at a laptop to see how the school is engaging with them and trying to support them.

Students are frustrated too. Remote learning is like having all of the schoolwork to do with none of the nice parts of school to look forward to – no chats with friends, no extra-curricular activities, no concerts, quizzes, lunchtimes, informal chats with teachers, no end of year trips, no foreign tours. With state exams affected our exams years are naturally worried and concerned about what happens next? Other years are worrying about summer assessments and what they will look like. Some students are working diligently to do the work assigned by teachers. Others are not. Many students are missing being able to raise a name and ask for help from the teacher or SNA in the room beside them. Self directed learning is very different to classroom learning. A very small number of students have misused the remote learning technology and DDLETB are now reviewing what aspects of Teams they will disable and enable for our use. This is also frustrating for all.

Q5. So what advice do you have moving forward?
Students – thank you for adapting to a very strange situation and for doing your best to stay calm and engaged. Try to follow the advice shared on our website – have a structured routine for the school day and try to engage with as much of the work being set as possible. If you need help or feedback just ask your teacher – you can contact them through the chat feature of Teams or by email. The school email address and emergency phone number is also on our website. Keep in touch with your classmates and friends as they may be able to help if you can’t upload work for your teacher to see or if you are having other difficulties. We will be working hard to ensure that you can catch up on your learning, that some planned school events are rescheduled and that normal life in school can resume once we are advised that it is safe to do so. And don’t forget to enjoy this lovely weather – time outside in the fresh air while maintaining social distancing and staying within 2km of home is good for your health and wellbeing.

Parents – thank you for your patience. We understand that trying to manage a job or lack of a job, the finances, family health issues and also trying to keep your son/daughter motivated and engaged in their school work is difficult. Remember that we only have parent mobile contact numbers and student email addresses set up for use so we are relying on parents and students sharing information with each other to help messages to be communicated. While we are trying to update the website with communications sent out this is a huge task for such a large school. The main aim is to try to keep up the habit of study and learning. We will work hard when back in school to catch up on any course work missed and we will continue to try to learn and adapt to make the best use possible of the available technology. Don’t forget that you our your child can contact an individual teacher by email if you have a subject related query. We have also communicated the school email address and emergency phone to you on the website. Don’t forget that as staff are using personal mobile phones to make work phone calls, they have been advised to hide their phone number when calling parents. Please try to answer calls where the phone number is hidden. If you get a missed call, listen to a voice message if one was left and email the teacher to make a plan for a suitable time to talk by phone. Please try to be a reassuring voice for your son/daughter. There are lots of voices to be heard raising concerns and issues and worries. They may need you to be the calm presence offering a more positive message. And please mind yourself. The role of parent has changed a lot over these months and you need time to mind yourself and your wellbeing too.

Students and parents due to start in 2020 and 2021 are without the usual communication channels of the school office to check in with us and see what is the next step or what is the status of the weighting list. Please use the school email address to pose any questions you may have and we will do our best to respond. We will be in touch with our 2020 entrants in June to inform you of subject choices, uniform and book sales as our usual process will have to change somewhat as a result of the pandemic.

Teachers and staff members – thank you for adapting to a situation that we could never have imagined. As a school community who value the importance of relationships in our day to day jobs, you are being asked to try to carry on as normal when nothing about this situation is normal. Trying to teach remotely without having had time to learn and share ideas when face to face is difficult. Every day brings new questions and challenges. We appreciate the work you are doing and the Trojan efforts you are making to link in with students and keep them in the habit of learning. We know that trying to give feedback remotely on 30 assignments is much more time consuming than it would be if face to face with students in the classroom.

We thank those working in administration who are trying to keep things running smoothly and deal with requests and issues that arise. We thank our caretakers who are trying to ensure that our building and grounds stay in good repair while the school is closed. Our SNAs are preparing to engage in remote support for those with additional learning needs and may also be redeployed to other essential services if needed.

Our career guidance counsellors are following up to support students who are finding things particularly challenging at the moment. Please let us know if you think your child needs to additional support. There are supports available online also and we have made those available through our website. 6th years are now being offered individual virtual meeting slots to discuss the CAO change of mind process, Susi grant applications and other important career and further study issues.

Our Resource team are connecting with parents of students with additional needs to see what support we can offer.

Where our assistant principal teachers have roles that can be carried out remotely they are working extremely hard to keep that work going and to support colleagues and students to adapt to the current situation.

Our Year Heads and middle management team will continue to respond to issues raised by teachers, tutors, parents and students. They will continue to put plans in place for different year groups to help and support student learning. They continue to strive to reach out and help and support as much as possible.

Our Deputy Principals are linking in with their year groups and following up on all of the issues and plans that need to keep moving forward. They are also maintaining contact with our staff and ensuring that advise and support is available where needed. All of the usual school administration needs to continue also so plans for next year are well underway.

As Principal, I am aware that our school community is finding this time difficult. Not knowing how long this will last and how we will manage to return to some sort of normality is very hard. I find it helpful to focus on the here and now and on what is in my control rather than the many things I have no control over. You have often heard me quote our motto – Aontas/Unity. It is certainly easier to work together as a community when we can be present together and can talk, eat lunch together, have tutorial time, hold assemblies, play sport, go on trips, hold staff meetings and parent evenings. But I believe that we can successfully manage this situation which demands that we remain physically apart, if we ground ourselves in our strong relationships and draw on the mutual respect and trust that we have built for each other as staff, students and parents. What we can do in these challenging times will not be the same as what we could do if things were normal. But we need to accept this and continue to try to do the best we can. That’s all we can do – try to do our best.

Each day I hear a story or see an incident that reminds me how important little acts of kindness are at the moment. Keep being kind, keep inspiring each other. Please take care, mind yourselves and look out for each other. We will come through this and when we do we will be a stronger community as a result.

Diane Birnie
(Principal)

Principal’s Update 11 April 2020

Dear students and parents/guardians

I hope you and your families are all keeping well in these challenging times. We are thinking of anyone who is ill at this time. To those of you who are part of the front-line medical services or who are part of those services deemed to be essential in these times, we offer our most sincere thanks. To all who are staying at home and following the guidelines of the HSE, we congratulate you – it is not easy to stay at home, but you are saving lives by doing so.

The latest announcements concerning education on 10th April 2020 will have different effects on each of you depending on your current year or stage of education and on your plans for the immediate future.

It will take some time for the Department of Education and Skills to work through the consequences and detail of the implementation of this announcement and to engage and consult with other educational bodies. Individual schools will also need to figure out how this announcement will be managed in their specific contexts. So for now we ask that you continue to be patient and calm.

Unfortunately we do not have answers to the many questions you probably have at the moment and it will take some time for the school to work through plans and decisions for the future as we are only hearing the announcements from the HSE and DES at the same time as you are.

For now the best advice we can give is to follow the advice being sent on by your individual Year Heads and other school personnel. We encourage all students to check in with their teachers again on Teams/Edmodo/Email from Monday 20th April as term restarts. Continue to engage with the work teachers assign as well as you can. Check out the remote learning links on the school website. Help out at home or in your local community while adhering to the HSE guidelines.

Feel free to send any questions that you have about your individual situation to your tutor/year head or admin@lucancc.ie and they will help to inform our discussions.

When term restarts on 20th April staff will be holding virtual meetings to discuss how to manage the end of this school year and the start of the 2020 year given the announcement that schools are closed until further notice.

6th years: Follow the advice that Ms Clarke emailed to you all yesterday – “stay calm and just take each day as it comes. Do a little bit of study each day but also take breaks too.” More details on your Leaving Certificate exams and other assessment will gradually be announced by the State Examinations Commission. Any end of year events on the school calendar are now uncertain but we will continue to work towards preparing for alternative ways of marking your graduation when circumstances allow.

3rd years: With the June Junior Cycle exams cancelled it will be difficult to keep motivated in your learning. Some arrangements are being planned to assess your learning in Junior Cycle early in the new school year. We have no idea what that will look like as yet. We don’t yet know the status of any outstanding CBAs or Assessment Tasks. So the best advice is to keep engaging in the work that your teachers assign. It will be useful in your assessment and will also form a good foundation for senior cycle.

1st, 2nd, 5th years: With schools closed until further notice, your Summer assessments and end of year events and school trips are now uncertain. Keep engaging with your teachers once term restarts and remember that your work is building towards a Junior Cycle or Leaving Certificate (or LCA) qualification and any time you engage with your learning is an investment in your future.

Transition Years: Continue to follow the advice being sent on by your Year Head Mr O’Connor and your TY coordinator Ms Higgins. Check in with your teachers again on Teams/Edmodo/Email from Monday 20th April as term restarts. Continue to engage with the TY work as well as you can. Check out the remote learning links on the school website. Continue with any projects assigned and with the preparation of your TY portfolio box. While the end of the year events on the calendar are now very uncertain, we will see what can be salvaged when circumstances allow.

For those students who are joining us as 1st years in 2020 and for anyone who was hoping to apply for a transfer place to another school year, we will be in touch after Easter and will try to ensure that the enrolment or transfer application process can proceed as smoothly as possible.

Parents/guardians – we thank you for your ongoing support and your engagement through the various text messages, emails, website notices, surveys, video and other remote forms of communication. We miss our face to face meetings with you and look forward to re-engaging with you at meetings and events very soon.

We hope that all of our colleagues who work in Lucan Community College are managing to relax and recharge the batteries over the Easter fortnight. It looks like we will be again working to make the most of the remote learning environment that has been thrust upon us after Easter.

In the meantime, try to enjoy the good weather and the Easter break, take care, stay safe, stay home and keep in touch with each other.

Principal’s Letter to Parents/Guardians and Students 3rd April 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students

To add to the Easter 2020 video message we recorded for you today, I want to send my thanks to all those working as part of a year management team for all of the work through phone calls, emails, Teams and Edmodo. Great work is being done to follow up with students who are finding it hard to engage with remote learning and who need help and support in other ways. The overwhelmingly positive response from parents/guardians who have received a phone call is very reassuring and many of you have asked that your thanks be passed on for the personal links we are trying to maintain between school, parent and student.

As Easter holidays approach we know that students other than examination years would normally not have much homework assigned over this period, so please encourage your students (and yourselves) to take a break from school work during that fortnight. Why not offer to help around the house a bit more – prepare a meal, sort and tidy an area of the house, bring a parent a cup of tea, bake some scones, bring the dog for a walk, wash the car, weed the garden. Every little helps!

Teachers of 3rd and 6th years will probably assign some revision work for over the Easter as usual but will not normally check in remotely with students during this time. Don’t forget though that there are plenty of resources available on our website to support any students who wishes to continue their remote learning journey over the Easter holidays. Thanks to Mr Carey for continuing to upload great resources onto our website.

The school email address (admin@lucancc.ie) and the emergency phone number (0874546577) will be monitored every so often over the Easter holidays – but not daily. A list of support services are be available for students and for parents on our school website on the news section www.lucancc.ie.

Planning work for students remotely is certainly more challenging than in a classroom setting. Different teachers are using different approaches:

Some students like a small amount of work uploaded several times a week – others find that too challenging to schedule.
Some teachers are setting work once or twice a week for their classes with work to be submitted in a few days or a week.
Teachers will try to let students know what approach they will take and students should feel free to contact teachers through Email/Teams/Edmodo during working hours of term time if they have questions.
As parents/guardians you may need to help your son/daughter to decide how much work is appropriate for them to do. The same task can take different amounts of time for different students to complete. Talk to them about what is reasonable and what is their best effort.

Different schools are managing this situation in different ways. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we try to negotiate the steep learning curve we are on as we learn to manage remote teaching and learning.

Let’s remember that we are members of a school community; teachers usually meet our students every weekday; our teaching and learning strategies work best when they are face to face and when teachers and students can be enthused by each other, have questions clarified, be helped and challenged in the supportive classroom environment that we build and we use ICT as a teaching and learning tool to support the learning. Working remotely we can never hope to build the same classroom environment as face-to-face. A successful classroom atmosphere depends on building relationships. And that cannot be done as successfully remotely. So, let’s keep trying to make do the best we can in these challenging situations and keep our own expectations and that of others at manageable levels. Let’s keep trying to help the students to keep up the habit of learning, reading, engaging so that when we are all back together again we can take up where we left off and celebrate the joy of being in a busy hectic and sometime chaotic school environment.

Support advice for parents/carers has been shared on our school website and may be particularly useful during the Easter holiday period.

And to finish, we would like to share some more stories from the chalk face/whiteboard face computer-face!

One of our senior students is doing trojan work with the Order of Malta to assist the HSE and many of your family and friends are working to help the essential services at the moment – we wish them all good luck and good health;
We keep in our thoughts the family members of students and staff who have contracted the Covid19 virus or who are otherwise unwell. Stories of people who are ill or need medical attention for other reasons at this time are getting ever closer to home for many of us and we send each other encouraging virtual hugs, high-fives, smiles, freshly baked scones, cups of coffee/tea, bars of chocolate and whatever it is that keep you going!
Many members of our school community are the designated shoppers for members of their family who are now cocooning;
News from those of you with children in primary school gladdens the heart as schools reach out to try to motivate our younger learners resulting in Bear hunts in windows, Stay Safe posters on display and chalk pictures on the footpaths!
Our 6th year team have rolled out the student reference process and 6th years completed a survey to reflect back on their time in Lucan CC and to record their accomplishments and activities over their up to 6th years. Of course, they also received some photos of recent activities to help them to recall some good times!
Some of our TY students engaged in the Gaisce programme have been linking in with older people in the community via Skype to check in on them or taking up additional hobbies and skills to ensure they fulfil their 3 areas of achievement in Gaisce.
TY students and parents are completing their choice of option subjects for 5th year.
In a Global Quality of Air research study, Lucan CC is at the ‘good’ or ‘very good level’ in terms of air quality which is great for a school so close to Dublin city. If you want to reach the excellent air quality you may have to move house to Kinsale, Mayo or Carndonagh by the looks of things!
Shout-out to many students/parents/staff who are on a steeeeeep learning curve grappling with all this computer stuff as we all battle to flatten the other curve by staying apart;
We are hearing news of some of our past-pupils involved in the front-line support of Health Services also and are so proud of all of them as they continue to practice Aontas in their adult lives;
Realising that we all miss the classroom filled with the faces of our learners giving answers, asking questions and telling us about their lives; the enthusiasm of our teachers sharing their knowledge, skills and attitudes and the comfort of being surrounded by classmates, colleagues and friends;
Realising how much we rely on tone of voice, facial expressions and other non-verbal clues in our interactions with others and trying to avoid the ‘guess what I am thinking trap’ when communicating through the written word.;
Realising how much our staff miss the informal and extra-curricular part of our school lives and how much more our students miss that;
Walking the dog seems to be the perfect form of exercise – and you can get as close to your pet as you like – hugging included! Dog lovers might enjoy this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLX5wHt1NGk;
Some members of our school community have borrowed neighbour’s gym equipment or are tuning in to video-link exercise classes to ensure they keep fit during our period of self-isolation;
Do you want to take part in the #Flags4Frontline campaign by flying a club, county, provincial or national flag to show support for those working tirelessly to keep Ireland safe? Check out Twitter;
2kmfromhome.com is helping people to figure out their walking routes;
Some of our Home Economics students are baking/cooking/sewing and entering the competition @ATHE_HomeEc;
A big thank you to Ryan McMahon who officially finished with us in his current capacity on Friday and who will be rejoining us in a new capacity once the school re-opens. Thank you Mr McMahon for keeping the learning going while Ms Doyle was on leave.
Welcome back to Ms Doyle who rejoins us now that her leave finishes this Friday.

Some great advice that I have found in these times is to identify what is within our sphere of control. What aspects of the current situation can we influence and manage? Social distancing, hand hygiene, keeping in touch with family and friends, helping others where we can, keeping positive, minding our own wellbeing, etc. And try to distance myself from that which is outside of our control. Easier said than done, but perhaps a useful thing to strive for.

I am sure that the Government will continue to keep us updated about the changing dates and deadlines over the Easter holidays but as of now we are due to reopen on Monday 20th April. We will let the school community know through our usual channels if and when that instruction changes.

Have a wonderful Easter break, stay safe, mind yourself and mind each other. May the signs of spring and new growth and the extra daylight in the evenings serve as positive reminders of happier times ahead.

Email to 1st year students 3rd April 2020

Good morning students and parents.
I hope you are all well in these challenging times?
In normal circumstances, I would be visiting 1st yr classes this morning, to wish everyone a happy Easter. So, even though I am unable to see you personally, I send you my very best wishes. I know your tutors are thinking of you also and send their regards.
I want to commend you for engaging so well with your teachers and doing your work. I know it is incredibly hard. Some of you are minding younger siblings, have poor internet and many other challenges.
You are doing great. It is not necessary to try and replicate a full school day, although you can if you want! Remote learning can be very intensive with 3 hours equating to almost double that in a regular class setting, since there is no disturbance or the need for differentiation.
Over the holidays, try to wind down and get some rest. Your teachers will probably not be communicating with you until 20th April.
The school emergency number can be found at the top of this page.
Try and engage in regular exercise, healthy eating and of course social distancing and regular hand washing.
Most importantly, stay safe and well.
Happy Easter,
Genevieve Casey
(Year Head, 1st year)

Email to 1st year students from Mr Purcell 24th March 2020

To all 1st year students (and parents/guardians).

Firstly, Ms Casey, all the 1st year tutor team and myself hope that you and your families are all keeping well and minding yourselves in these unusual and unprecedented times.

We would ask you and your parents/guardians to read this email together in conjunction with a notice for all students and parents/guardians that Ms Birnie will be uploading to the school website later today.

While each family’s circumstances are different, I hope that all 1st year students are partaking in some educational learning each day. Please spend a reasonable amount of time doing and completing some study, class, reading or homework assignments.

Schools will NOT open next week as has now been confirmed by the Minister for Education so:

I want to make sure that you can all access Microsoft Teams:

Earlier this year, all 1st years were given their Office 365 Microsoft Account username and password and this should be stuck in your journal.
For Example: Joe Bloggs 1st year – email address is J.Bloggs19@lucancc.ie (19 being the year you entered Lucan CC) and VSware log in is J.Bloggs

If you are having difficulties – ask your parents to email me at my school email address below and I can try and help.

Both these Office 365 and VSware accounts are accessible from the front page of our school website also www.lucancc.ie

NB: I want all 1st year students to log into their Office 365 account. You can then log into TEAMS and see that many teachers have uploaded work for you to do in each subject area. It may take sometime to maneuver around this site but I will add links at the bottom of this email to help you.
Office 365 Microsoft Teams Help for students/parents/guardians is available here.

Please organize your day/week with a alternative timetable that suits you and your family but also your school work and don’t forget that you should get some exercise in too (whether indoor or outdoor).

Students – if you are worried that you may be missing out on work for any particular subject, we encourage you to email the relevant teacher at firstnamesurname@lucancc.ie or to send an email to admin@lucancc.ie and it can be forwarded on.

We also have a link to a long list of remote learning resources on our lucancc.ie website (Quicklinks section and Useful Links) that will help any student who is seeking additional work to support their learning.

Students – please be appreciative of your parents/guardians and teachers and especially the front line workers in these extraordinary times. Sometimes a simple ‘Thank You’ can have a hugely positive effect. Be nice.

Emergency school mobile number (0874546577) – please use only in case of an absolute emergency only. Please email the admin email (admin@lucancc.ie) or my email (andrewpurcell@lucancc.ie) for any general enquiries.

We all look forward very much to the time where we can see you again during a normal school day.

Take care and mind yourselves,

Mr Purcell (Deputy Principal 1st Year link; Ms Casey (Year Head); 1st year Tutor Team

Email to 2nd Years from Ms Malone 3 April 2020

Dear 2nd year students,

Delighted to hear from Mr Grimes that so many second year students have taken on the challenge of remote learning and are working away independently.

I know that this has been a very strange time for you – you are no doubt missing your friends and surprisingly for some actually missing school too! Do remember that you are an important person in our school community. If you need any support please contact us. Your teachers,tutors, Mr Grimes and myself want the best for you.

At this stage I think all of you should have access to Teams and your email accounts. If you have any problems with your accounts just let us know and we will try to resolve it for you.

If you are still getting used to Teams there are many ways you can submit work to your teachers. Teams will allow you to work on an on-line version of Word & PowerPoint, upload a photo of some written work that you have done, upload from a desktop version of Word etc., paste a project into a desktop copy and upload as a PDF.

Here is a Youtube video of how to use assignments in Teams.

Try your best to organize your day and week with time for school work along with some free time. You will have a sense of achievement having completed an assignment. It is important that you use your time wisely.

As we approach the Easter holidays I want to wish you and your families a safe and peaceful break. Please continue to follow the regulations regarding Social Distancing. This will help us return to school as quickly as possible.

At the moment the school is due to reopen on Monday 20th April. If we receive any further instructions changes to this date we shall communicate with you through our official channels: our website, twitter, parents texts and emails.

In the words of Victor Hugo:”Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”

I very much look forward to seeing you all back at your lockers in M soon.

Take care and please mind yourselves.

Best wishes,

Gráinne Malone
(Deputy Principal – 2nd year link)

Email to 2nd year students from Mr Grimes 1st April 2020

To all second-year students and their parents/guardians

I hope you are all well and coping with these changed circumstances. I want to thank you for your positive engagement with this new learning environment. Please take note of the following:

Organize your schoolwork day/week with a timetable that suits you and your family. It’s important to include some physical exercise.
If you are worried that you may be missing out on work for any subject, I encourage you to email the relevant teacher at firstnamesurname@lucancc.ie or to send an email to admin@lucancc.ie and it can be forwarded on.
All 2nd years should have their Office 365 Microsoft Account username and password. For Example: Joe Bloggs 2^nd year – email address is J.Bloggs18@lucancc.ie (18 being the year you entered Lucan CC) and VSware log in is J.Bloggs
All students should have access to Teams. If you have any issue with Teams please email: admin@lucancc.ie.
Office 365 Microsoft Teams Help for students/parents/guardians is available here

I have included a link here to a long list of remote learning resources on our lucancc.ie website that will help any student who is seeking additional work to support their learning. Here is a reading list from PDST that might be useful for reading for pleasure: JCSP Library Project – Recommended ReadsEmergency school mobile number (0874546577) Please use in case of an absolute emergency only. Please email the admin email (admin@lucancc.ie)Happy Easter from all the second-year team.Take careMr Grimes
(Year Head 2nd year)

Email to 3rd year students from Mr Brett and Ms Twyford 1st April 2020

Dear 3rd year students,

I hope you that you are well and have been keeping yourselves busy with schoolwork and revision since the school closures were imposed on March 13th.

I know that this has been a very difficult time for you – please remember that we as a school and each of your teachers are there to support you. If you need help, guidance or assistance just ask. I am available by email at stephenbrett@lucancc.ie

At this stage I think all of you have access to Teams and your email accounts. If you have any problems with your accounts just let me know and I will try to sort it out for you.

If you are still getting used to Teams there are many ways you can submit work to your teachers. Teams will allow you to work on an on-line version of Word & PowerPoint, upload a photo of some written work that you have done, upload from a desktop version of Word etc., paste a project into a desktop copy and upload as a PDF.

Here is a short You Tube video of how to use assignments in teams: Youtube video

Please keep your parents updated on your efforts with your schoolwork and studies. Show them what you have done and chat to them about it. This will give you a real sense of the great work you are achieving at home and equally make them proud.

These are difficult times and I know each of you are really trying your best. Remember that we are so proud of your efforts in keeping your studies going remotely. Please continue to follow the regulations regarding Social Distancing especially as the Easter Holidays are upcoming – this will help us return to school as quickly as possible.

At the moment the school is due to reopen on Monday 20th April. If we receive any further instructions changes to this date we shall communicate with you through our official channels: our website, twitter, parents texts and emails.

Keep up the effort but equally mind yourselves and your wellbeing.

Stephen Brett (Deputy Principal 3rd Year link) Una Twyford (Year Head 3rd Year)

Email to Transition Year students from Mr O’Connor 30th March 2020

Hello Transition Year students

I hope you are all keeping safe and well, and are managing to keep yourselves usefully occupied. I know that some people are finding this time difficult, but we should remember that all this will pass and that very shortly we will be back in our usual routines. There is support and guidance available through the school for anyone who need it, you should feel free to make contact through your tutor, myself or the school number that has been sent out by Ms Birnie ( 087 4546577). I think it is important to keep ourselves active and engaged as much as possible.

Completing Transition Year Work
If it is any consolation , I think it is better that in Transition Year you are not involved in the state exam cycle. However as Ms Higgins pointed out in her recent message there are things you need to do to successfully complete Transition Year, she specifically mentioned the completion of you journal and the preparation of your box for presentation at the end of year interview. I know that your teachers have sent out guidance in relation to the completion of projects. I know you will all complete these tasks to the best of your ability.

Fifth Year Options
We must also turn our minds to fifth year. Around now you will be receiving information from the school in relation to fifth year options. You should read this information carefully and give it serious thought. This is particularly important in relation to the optional subjects you choose and where you place them in your order of preference. The school will make every effort to give everyone their top preferences.

The Leaving Cert
In relation to the Leaving Cert. I think this might be an excellent opportunity to familiarise yourself with the course content and in some cases to read some of the prescribed texts. You can find the syllabus for each subject by googling ‘prescribed material for Leaving cert 2022’, or by going to www.education.ie. In relation to English I see there are some excellent texts such as Room by Deirdre O’Donoghue and Frankenstein. It might also be useful to find out about the main Shakespearean play, ‘Othello‘. There are also some excellent films that you may be able to access on the internet. I am sure there is equally interesting material indicated for other subjects. I think this could be a very productive use of any spare time you might have.

Useful Information on the School Website
Ms Birnie has arranged for information about potentially interesting and valuable course on to the school website, so you should keep an eye on these. These course vary from college online courses (https://www.classcentral.com/report/new-courses-october-2018/) to Microsoft Family Centre ( https://education.microsoft.com/en-us/resource/755e5a8b?ocid=FY20_soc_omc_br_li_Family_Learning) and many more. It is also worth keeping an eye on the school website for other practical information about activities and sources of support.

So in conclusion I want to wish you all well. I know some of us are disappointed at projects and activities that have been affected by the situation in which we find ourselves. I have already been in touch with students involved in the musical and hope we can retrieve something in relation to the show. I know other teachers and students were also very disappointed at having to postpone or cancel things. However we should all resolve to accept where we are, make the best of the present and plan for a bright and productive future which will be upon us before we know it.

Mr O’Connor (Year Head for Transition Year)

Email to Transition Year students from Ms Higgins Transition Year Coordinator 25th March 2020

Hi Students,
I hope that you and your families are all keeping well and that you are adjusting to our new circumstances? I know that it is not easy to process all that is going on and I am thinking of you all. I am aware that teachers have forwarded on work to you through Teams and I hope that you are all trying to work through that material. Within Transition Year there are a host of different teaching and learning approaches and this is certainly a new one for most of us.

I am remaining hopeful that we will return to school after Easter and will continue to engage in the classes and activities planned.

I have provisionally rescheduled some activities that should be taking place now (Forensics Workshops and Poetry Workshops). With that in mind I have a number of things that I would like you to be working on as we prepare for Interviews and Graduation.

Your journal needs to be filled in to a high standard as this is part of the final assessment, you can be doing that at home and guarantee yourselves a good score in that component.

The interview at the end of the year requires you to present a box containing your projects and work from both terms, I have attached some samples from previous years. Again this is something that you could feasibly be doing at home, be creative and add your own personal touch to this now that you have some time. There are marks allocated for these boxes and they form part of the presentation to your parents/guardians at the end of the year.

The theme for the year ‘Believe you can and you are half way there’ is an apt one and for any of you who are artistic/creative I would really appreciate some assistance on this front. The Art Department in school always help with this but in the absence of gaining access to school if any of you have a good idea for a display I would be most thankful- upscaling/recycling etc can be used? You can sketch ideas and email them to me.

The following is a list of activities that you have been involved in since September so I am asking you to write a note/article that could be included in a booklet for the end of year or could be used as a speech at the Graduation:

Carlingford Adventure Trip
Work Experience (any particularly interesting ones)
French Theatre
Driving School
Tour Guides
Global Development
Charity Collections- Lions Club at Christmas/ Lollipop Day/Autism
Suas Reading Programme
Tenderfoot Theatre Programme
LLN Activities
Build a Bank
Gluais
Autism Awareness Talk by Denis Sexton
3rd Age Training with old folk in the library
Team Hope box collection/talk
Junk Kouture competition
Entrepreneur Competition
Young Scientist application
German Exchange experience
Jigsaw Programme
ECDL course
Amnesty International
Climate Action Committee
Develop Me workshop on team building
First Aid module
Noel Flynn talk
Volunteer Workshop (Localise)
Any extra courses that you may have attended that were interesting and motivational
An Gaisce activities
Volunteer work in the community

As you can see there was so much happening over the past few months that so many of you have contributed to and learned from, getting involved was key. I want you to keep being actively involved and to keep contributing albeit from your homes.

Mr O Connor, the Tutors and myself are all thinking of you and hoping that we get back to “normality” as soon as possible. Take care of yourselves and your families. I miss you all.
Best Wishes,
Imelda Higgins
Programme Coordinator
imeldahiggins@lucancc.ie

Email to 5th Year students from Ms Malone Deputy Principal 2nd April 2020

Dear 5th year students,

Delighted to hear from Ms Brady that so many fifth year students have taken on the challenge of remote learning and are working away independently. It is lovely to hear from your parents and teachers stories of fifth year students helping others.

I know that this has been a very strange time for you – you are no doubt missing your friends and surprisingly for some actually missing school too! Do remember that you are an important person in our school community. If you need any support please contact us. Your teachers, tutors, Ms Brady and myself want the best for you.

At this stage I think all of you should have access to Teams and your email accounts. If you have any problems with your accounts just let us know and we will try to resolve it for you.

If you are still getting used to Teams there are many ways you can submit work to your teachers. Teams will allow you to work on an on-line version of Word & PowerPoint, upload a photo of some written work that you have done, upload from a desktop version of Word etc., paste a project into a desktop copy and upload as a PDF.

Here is a short You Tube video of how to use assignments in teams: https://youtu.be/O6XcIVR6hH4

Try your best to organize your day and week with time for school work along with some free time. You will have a sense of achievement having completed an assignment.It is important that you use your time wisely.

As we approach the Easter holidays I want to wish you and your families a safe and peaceful break.

Please continue to follow the regulations regarding Social Distancing.This will help us return to school as quickly as possible.

At the moment the school is due to reopen on Monday 20th April. If we receive any further instructions changes to this date we shall communicate with you through our official channels: our website, twitter, parents texts and emails.

In the words of Victor Hugo:”Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”

I very much look forward to seeing you all back at your lockers in L soon.

Take care and please mind yourselves.

Best wishes,

Gráinne Malone (Deputy Principal Link for 5th years)

Teams messages to 5th Year students from Ms Brady March/April 2020

Join typing class here

Take some time to destress here

23rd March 2020

Morning everybody! Hope you and your families are keeping well…..and away from other people!! Goal is to stay well, keep learning and living but at a distance of 2M. To help you kick start the day why not join Joe Wicks each morning with anyone in your house…..it will help you get energised and focused (and stop you snacking every 15 mins!). The exercises can be modified (changed for every level of user) and you will feel better physically and mentally after. (Long time ago I used to teach aerobics in LCC as part of night classes so trust me…..exercise very important now for us all!) If you subscribe you will get a notification as a reminder. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz0go1pTda8

Watch Lamh video here

Watch the ‘Make your bed speech’ here

Email to 6th Year students from Ms Clarke 10th April 2020

Dear students,

I hope you are all keeping well and making the most of your Easter Holidays in these strange times we are in. I am sure by now you heard the news that this year’s Leaving Certificate examinations have been postponed until late July or early August. (see link below this message)

I am thinking of you all and hoping that today’s news is not causing you too much worry. It is certainly a very unusual time we are in and something we have never experienced before.

It is important that you do not get stressed about all of this. You are all fabulous, level-headed students and all have abilities and qualities which belong to you. I know that everyone deals with situations in various ways. But I am asking you all to stay calm and just take each day as it comes. Do a little bit of study each day but also take breaks too. As I always say to you…a balance is important. Time for a walk, a little exercise too, time to chill.

It is not an easy time for you all. In fact, it is not an easy time for us all. Young or old. But we all have to be positive and do our best. So stay focused on the exams as best you can and on the 20th April, on the day we were due back to school, I would like you to liaise with your teachers and make sure you are engaging and keeping them informed of the work you are doing. Teachers want to help and guide you along this journey but you need to communicate with them too and let them know if you have difficulties with a particular topic area and keep on top of your work. Then you will not feel as stressed. Remember too, that you have done a lot of work to date and you can only do your best.

Look after yourselves and stay safe. I will be in touch again after the Easter Holidays. I just wanted you to know that I am thinking of you all. Also, thanks for your articles and photos for your yearbook and graduation. Thanks for filling in the survey too.

Take care.

Colette Clarke (Year Head, 6th Year)

Here is the link to the DES announcement.

Email to 6th Year students from Ms Clarke 3rd April 2020

Hi everyone.
Thanks for submitting the survey, you received the link on Wednesday. There are a very small number of you who still haven’t sent it yet…I am figuring there were computer issues…so please get it sent by the end of the day. By doing this survey, it is the best way for us to do your reference which you will receive at the end of this academic year. We want it to be personal and include all your involvement in LCC. So thank for your involvement.

I was looking through photos last night for your yearbook and also received many from some of you…they are brilliant so I will send a few you now to enjoy.

Your tutors have been continuously in contact with me and I am delighted you have been a liaising with them through Teams. You have a caring team who wants the best for each and everyone of you. It is not an easy time for you working and studying at home every day of the week and being cooped up and being unable to get out, but hopefully we will be back to normal soon.

Have a relaxing Easter, but try too to get some study and assignments done.
Enjoy the photos attached. Stay in touch.
Colette Clarke

Email to 6th Year students from Mr Brett 1st April 2020

Dear 6th year students,

I hope you that you are well and have been keeping yourselves busy with schoolwork and revision since the school closures were imposed on March 13th.

I know that this has been a very difficult time for you – please remember that we as school and each of your teachers are there to support you. If you need help, guidance or assistance just ask. I am available by email at stephenbrett@lucancc.ie

At this stage I think all of you have access to Teams and your email accounts. If you have any problems with your accounts just let me know and I will try to sort it out for you.

If you are still getting used to Teams there are many ways you can submit work to your teachers. Teams will allow you to work on an on-line version of Word & PowerPoint, upload a photo of some written work that you have done, upload from a desktop version of Word etc., paste a project into a desktop copy and upload as a PDF.

Here is a short You Tube video of how to use assignments in teams: https://youtu.be/O6XcIVR6hH4

Please keep your parents updated on your efforts with your schoolwork and studies. Show them what you have done and chat to them about it. This will give you a real sense of the great work you are achieving at home and equally make them proud.

These are difficult times and I know each of you are really trying your best. Remember that we are so proud of your efforts in keeping your studies going remotely. Please continue to follow the regulations regarding Social Distancing especially as the Easter Holidays are upcoming – this will help us return to school as quickly as possible.

At the moment the school is due to reopen on Monday 20th April. If we receive any further instructions changes to this date we shall communicate with you through our official channels: our website, twitter, parents texts and emails.

Keep up the effort but equally mind yourselves and your wellbeing.

Stephen Brett (Deputy Principal 6th year Link)

Principal’s Letter to Parents/Guardians and Students 24th March 2020

Dear Parents/Guardians and students

I write to update you about Lucan Community College’s response to the Covid-19 crisis.

As you can imagine things have been busy (albeit a very different kind of busy) since the Taoiseach’s announcement on Thursday 12th March that schools were to close. It was announced today that the earliest dates for schools to open now is Monday 20th April 2020.

Luckily in advance of this announcement we had formed an Infection Task Force with a team of teachers putting great thought into briefing staff about possible actions to take to prepare for possible future scenarios and teachers were busy chatting to students about work they could do from home in case of illness or school closure. Students were also advised to bring books home as they left school. So on Thursday 12th March students and teachers parted ways somewhat prepared for the fortnight of closure.

Since then (just over a week ago), teachers and year heads have been communicating with their students on Microsoft 365 Teams (a virtual learning platform), Email and Edmodo with some staff phoning parents to check in also. Guidance staff have been checking in with 6th years especially since the DoES announced the cancellation of orals and some practicals. It is a worrying time for students and parents and our staff are providing great support. Please ask your student to check their Email and Teams every weekday.

Parents and students have been contacting us through email and an emergency mobile number number (0874546577) provided on our website as the school office phone is not being monitored for voice messages. Text messages have been sent to update parents/guardians and emails sent to students to update you all and to alert you to resources being added to our website.

The school grounds stayed completely closed for a week and have now opened for essential services only (e.g. cleaning, maintenance, deliveries, some admin tasks and access for other staff who need to collect items or do work that cannot be done at home). Strict protocols are in place to reduce any risk of infection for those entering the school building and unfortunately we cannot permit entry to students/parents other than by appointment. Please use the school email and/or emergency mobile number if you need to contact us and we will do our best to support you. We

While this is a challenging time for our school community, the current situation has seen staff members generously sharing ideas, resources and technological how-tos; parents working patiently to help to motivate and encourage students working at home; students trying to keep in touch and support classmates while maintaining social distancing and some students even took time to send email thank you messages to the teachers, tutors and year heads that are reaching out and offering support. We also have a link to a long list of remote learning resources on our website (Quicklinks section) that will help any student who is seeking additional work to support their learning. As ever in Lucan Community College, we practice Aontas/Unity not just in good times but also in times of great adversity and challenge.

Please practice patience at this time as we try to adapt to a very different style of working with our students and families. Not all teachers or students have good home access to computers, wifi, etc. Many staff/parents are caring for younger children, older relatives or neighbours during this time and we know that some of our students are volunteering to help in their community or taking part-time jobs in essential services. If a student is worried that they may be missing out on work for any particular subject, we encourage them to email the relevant teacher at firstnamesurname@lucancc.ie or to send an email to admin@lucancc.ie and it can be forwarded on (just in case the teacher’s name is incorrectly spelled). As a parent/guardian we ask you to do your best to support your son/daughter to engage with their teachers and to do their best at the work that is assigned. It is important not to get out of the habit of reading, writing and learning and it is also a great opportunity for students to learn important life skills while helping out more at home.

Please note that you may receive phone calls with a block or unlisted number as on occasion someone may phone a parent from a personal phone to check in on how your son/daughter is progressing.

I send sincere thanks to all of our staff who are working so hard in such challenging and surreal circumstances and to our students and families for striving to keep the learning going strong despite everything.

So what next? I have no answers to the questions we are all posing and that uncertainty is very challenging to cope with. So all we can do is to focus on what we can control (keeping a structure to our day, eating and sleeping well, getting out for some fresh air, listening to and acting on HSE advice, washing our hands, being kind, helping others, keeping in touch – albeit at a distance, working at assigned school work and above all trying to remain calm and positive) and await further announcements and decision by the Government.

The remainder of the school calendar will certainly see some changes and we don’t know for certain as yet when schools will reopen. But when we do reopen, let’s hope that we can all learn from this unprecedented situation and remember the camaraderie of playing sport with teammates, the reassurance of a typical school day surrounded by friends and colleagues, the familiar ordinariness of a class where teacher and students are face to face, the freedom to touch surfaces without fear of contagion, the pleasure of choosing to go to the cinema or shopping or meeting friends, conversations with members of our older generations as we sit together in the same room and the pure joy of shaking hands and sharing a hug with family and friends. Let these be things we never again take for granted.

I hope that you and your families are safe and well and that whatever challenges the situation has brought your way will be reversible and short-lived.

Thank you for your ongoing support as we work hard to provide excellent educational experiences for our students and please let us know if there is anything more we can be doing to help.

Take care, stay safe,
Diane Birnie

(Principal)

Department of Education Covid-19 announcement 12 March 2020

HSE Covid-19 information

Updated Information as a result of Covid-19 virus: last updated Tuesday 24th March 2020
An announcement was made on Thursday 12th March by the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD of the closure of schools, pre-schools and further and higher education settings, for a period until 29 March 2020, to support efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19. This took effect from 6pm Thursday 12 March. This is in line with the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team. Current advice is that we will reopen on Monday 30th March 2020. We will update you as more information becomes available.

Communication
The school building will be closed for this period of time and the school phone will not be monitored.
We will continue to monitor emails as usual sent to admin@lucancc.ie for all other communications.
A school mobile phone number 0874546577 is available during working hours. Please leave a voice or text message and we will do our best to respond. We ask all parents and students to remain calm at this time and would like to reassure especially our exam students that the State Examinations Commission and Department of Education will work with schools and may amend deadlines as needed.

Press Release on Covid-19 from second-level school management bodies ACCS ETBI JMB
The management bodies representing all of the second-level schools in the State have
communicated with their schools asking them to forward the message delivered by President
Higgins on the importance of social distancing to the parents of students in their schools.
President Higgins is urging young people to respond in a generous way to the Health Service
Executive’s advice on measures to alleviate the spread of Covid19. The Association of
Community and Comprehensive Schools (ACCS), the Education and Training Boards of
Ireland (ETBI) and the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) are working together to ensure that
appropriate messaging is delivered to all second-level students. This further reinforces the
pronouncements of An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, other government ministers and health
officials on the responsibility of all to adhere to social distance guidelines and to respond to
HSE advice at this time of national emergency.
Students are reminded that they can play their part in the national effort to curb the spread and
the worse effects of the Covid-19 virus. Schools are closed to students at present to prevent
the spread of this highly contagious and potentially lethal virus. By avoiding assembling and
socialising in groups, students will be playing their part in supporting the national health
campaign.
The management bodies have also acknowledged the work and innovative methodologies that
have been undertaken in schools by management and teachers promoting continuity of contact
with their students through distance learning and other means. They have thanked students and
parents for their engagement with this process in the face of the challenges that it can entail,
and have encouraged all in their school communities to do everything they can to maintain the
learning and social and pastoral connection between the student and the school.

Teaching staff and non-teaching staff will be facilitated in working from home during normal school hours where this is possible.

The State Examinations Commission will issue updates regarding any further impact of school closure on assessments and exams. As of now the Junior Cycle Home Economics and Music practical exams have been cancelled and the Leaving Certificate Practical Music exams and all language oral examinations have been cancelled. All students will be awarded full marks for this section of their course. Full details at Examinations.ie

School work
Teachers have been planning with students to ensure that they have school work to do at home. Some teachers have asked students to write work into their journals or given some worksheets. Some have been working through various online learning platforms such as 365 Teams or Edmodo. Please remind students to communicate appropriately when using online platforms and to follow our Acceptable Use Policy (pg 28 of journal) at all times. A teacher can be contacted either through admin@lucancc.ie or at their individual email address firstnamesurname@lucancc.ie
We encourage students to structure their day well when working at home, to follow their school timetable and adjust times as needed to suit individual family circumstances. Examination classes have been prioritised in terms of provision of school work.

- Health and Wellbeing
  The decision to close schools has been taken by the government in an effort to reduce the spread of infection. Please follow the advice provided in terms of good hygiene practices and look after yourself and others at this time. The Board of Management, Parents Association, staff and school community hope that all in our immediate and wider community will avoid the virus and make a full recovery if infected. Please take care!

Lucan Community College Follow

Twitter account for Lucan Community College. For more information please visit our website. We are a DDLETB school. Follow us on Instagram @Lucancommcollege

Lucan Community College @lucancc1 ·

23 Mar

What a week for sport in Lucan Community College! Delighted to see our TY student Aoibhe Fleming take to the field today to represent Ireland in the Euro qualifier against Kosovo. Ireland won 3-0. ⚽️☘👏

Shamrock Rovers Women @RoversWomen

🇮🇪 Aoife Kelly & Aoibhe Fleming start for @IrelandFootball U17s in their UEFA European Qualifier v Kosovo this afternoon

Academy player Ruby Gallagher is named among the substitutes

📺 Kick off was 12pm with the game being broadcast live on YouTube 👇

Best of luck, ladies ☘️

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Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB @ddletb ·

23 Mar

Absolutely delighted to have the @Lucancc1 Management Team facilitating this evenings #MLP #MiddleLeadership session at #ddletb Head Office #1Tuansgate working as a team and collaborative practice 👏 #Teamddletb #ddletbCPD #ddletbLeadershipConnect #ETBStrongerTogether

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Ambassador Claire Cronin @usambireland ·

22 Mar

Today students from @LucanCC1 and @KieransCollege joined me at Deerfield for the latest #OpenDoors event. We had a great discussion about U.S./Irish Relations and what it’s like to be the 🇺🇸 Ambassador to 🇮🇪!

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Lucan Community College @lucancc1 ·

22 Mar

Today our 5th and 6th Year History and Politics students visited @USAmbIreland in Phoenix Park. We would like to thank Ambassador Claire Cronin for the warm welcome and informative tour & discussion. A great morning was enjoyed by all! @ddletb @LccAssoc

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Lucan Community College @lucancc1 ·

22 Mar

Lucan Community College are through to the U16 football final after a resounding 3-18 to 0-12 points win against Scoil Chaitriona from Mobhi Road. Lucan CC will play Colaiste Eanna from Rathfarnham. Congrats to the squad and their management Mr Callaghan and Mr McGowan. @LccAssoc

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