Dear Parents/Carers
As the school year draws to a close, in a way none of us could have predicted. I hope that our pupils and
future P1 pupils, their families and the wider Ballylifford school community are keeping safe and well.
There are many positive signs that things are slowly returning to a new sort of normal and we hope this
continues.
P1 Induction Online Meeting
Firstly, thank you to all parents/carers for confirming your child’s place starting P1 in September. Transition
from pre-school to P1 is a big step for both children and their parents/carers. Ballylifford PS would like to help
ensure effective arrangements are in place to make the transition as smooth as possible for every child and
their parents/carers. Given that induction days will not be taking place during term 3, we want to help
familiarise the parents/carers of our new P1 children starting in September with school policy and procedures.
Through the online presentation we will be able to provide parents with an overview on
• general information about the school;
• proposed key dates for the school year;
• what to expect in the curriculum in first term/year; and
• routines to keep safe.
The online presentation has been arranged for Monday 29th June at 12:15pm It will be delivered by Mr
McElroy and Mrs Sweeney (P1/P2 teacher). We will be using the web-based video conferencing platform
ZOOM to deliver the presentation.
We would appreciate if you can confirm your attendance by emailing the school email address at info@ballylifford.cookstown.ni.sch.uk Once we receive your attendance confirmation, you will receive all details via Private Message on SCHOOLS NI app and email on how to join the meeting on the morning of the meeting.
Seesaw and Online Home Learning
Over the last number of weeks, we have been working on developing a new communication and learning tool
between the school and parents called Seesaw. From September, Ballylifford PS will use Seesaw which is a
platform for pupil engagement to support their online home learning.
Teachers will be able to use Seesaw for online learning and empower the pupils to create, reflect, share, and
collaborate. It will provide the children with meaningful learning experiences.It is an opportunity for teachers to capture pupil learning in class and it will also be a form of communication
with parents about pupil progress.
Children will have the opportunity to show their learning, using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and
links. They will also be able to take home paper copies of school work, complete it and then send a photo of it
back to the teacher. The teacher can then provide feedback which goes to the child and the child’s parent.
The Seesaw Parent & Family app is excellent for communication between the school and parents who can
use this app on their phones. Seesaw is private and you will only see posts created by your child/children or
their teacher. It’s simple to get student work in one place and share with families, and nothing is shared
without teacher approval.
The Seesaw Class app for all children from P1-P7 and they can use this app on their home device.
A Seesaw invitation letter for parents has been included with each child’s End of Year report. Children will get
their class app sign up sheets when they return to school in August/ September. We would encourage all
parents to sign up ASAP.
Re-opening of Schools
There has been a lot of engagement with the Department of Education (DE) and the Employers' bodies on
the wider re-opening of schools. We continue to wait on appropriate guidance for schools on when and how
we will be re-opening for the next academic year. The health, safety and well-being of all our pupils,
teachers, school staff and school community must take precedence going forward.
As we approach next term, we will keep you updated once the information and the necessary guidance
materials have been provided to schools. It will allow the necessary planning and preparatory work to take
place. Hopefully we will be in a position soon to inform you of what provision will be in place for September and
what the new school day will look like.
We would ask you to please keep an eye on our school website and Twitter account for updates.
SCHOOL NI app
Can we ask all parents of new P1 children starting in September 2020 to please read the attached document on how to verify and install the SCHOOLS NI app on your mobile phone. You will receive a SMS text message from the School Web Design team so it is important you verify the link in order to receive future school messages and news updates.
Kind Regards
Mr McElroy
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