BACKTOSCHOOL WITH A SMILE
HIGH spirits were the order of the day on Monday, at least around the North Cork area, as the junior classes headed into school for the first time this year.
The Corkman called to Newmarket Boys School, Derrinagree National School and Scoil Íosagáin, Mallow, to capture the atmosphere of the first day back.
The predominant theme was delight as children in all three schools said how happy they were to see their friends and teachers again, so although we have state of the art technology to communicate online it seems there is no substitute for face to face contact after all.
At Newmarket Boys School, First Class pupil Jim Hourigan said “It’s brilliant to be able to actually meet my friends” while Liam Healy said “it’s great to be able to hear the teacher properly”.
Over the road in Derrinagree, second class pupils said they were delighted to be “the oldest class in the school for the next two weeks!”, while Jack O’Mahony said “it’s great to have the basketball court to ourselves for a while”.
Meanwhile, at Scoil Íosagáin, staff and pupils were quickly getting into their regular routine when The Corkman called. Senior Infant Francine said she was looking forward to playing with the toys in the classroom while Lynda was practicing ‘geansaí’, a new Irish word she had just learned.
Principal Andrias O’Sullivan at Derrinagree NS said that staff were delighted to welcome back the junior pupils. “The children were thrilled to meet their friends and the school staff again after such a long break. It didn’t take long for them to settle into the school routine. Great credit is due to pupils, parents and staff for their enthusiastic engagement with our online learning programmes, this helped greatly with the transition back to school. We are all looking forward to welcoming back the rest of the classes shortly and our hope is for a safe and fruitful continuation of this unusual school year,” Andrias said.
All pupils returned to Scoil Íosagáin Infant School on Monday, with special classes commencing the previous week. “The staff have worked tirelessly since January to support our pupils from home using the ‘google meets’ and ‘padlet’ platforms but nothing is better than seeing their faces in real life,” Principal Linda Dennehy said. “Monday was akin to our first day in September for pupils, staff and their parents. The joy of seeing the children’s faces light up as they saw their friends, teachers and SNAs is something that will not be forgotten.
“We’re very grateful to our parents and families for their efforts in endeavouring a safe return to school for all. Our caretaker Billy and secretary Catherine were instrumental in a smooth return to Scoil Íosagáin Infant NS. Our school family is once again restored,” Linda said.
At Newmarket Boys School, Principal Christine O’Mahony said that staff are incredibly proud of the children for the way they have adapted to what’s required in this ‘new normal’. “We aim to do our very best to keep our school Covid-free and we look forward to welcoming back the rest of our pupils, subject to guidelines, in two weeks time,” she said.