As another unprecedented year draws to a close, we look back upon another successful year at St. Francesca Cabrini Primary School. The academic year began with the re-opening of school to all pupils from Nursery Class to Year 6 joining their class ‘bubble’.
The Autumn term had no disruption to pupils learning, however, at Christmas it was announced that the country would be entering another lockdown. The teaching staff went into overdrive in order to prepare for a school closure to most pupils, and senior staff prepared to open limited provision for children of key-workers and vulnerable pupils.
As ever, the resilience and tenacity of both staff and pupils in very challenging circumstances saw us teaching pupils ‘virtually’ with daily zoom lessons being offered to all pupils from Nursery Class to Year 6. Lessons were also delivered through our on-line learning platforms, ‘Tapestry’ and ‘Mathletics’. In addition to this, teaching staff were also busy juggling on-line and on-site teaching provision at school as we opened several key-worker ‘bubbles’.
The end of the Easter term saw the phased return of pupils, and lessons commenced on-site as if we had never been away! Pupils and staff were delighted to be reunited, and once again to be teaching and learning ‘live’ within their class bubbles.
The Summer term was busy with lots of fantastic learning as we utilised the outdoor areas for imaginative and fun learning experiences under the ever-present Covid-19 restrictions. We managed to get to the penultimate week of the summer term before several of our bubbles burst! Those classes quickly switched to on-line learning for their isolation period, and all pupils managed to return to school for the last week of term to say goodbye to teachers and friends.
We celebrated the achievements of our Year 6 leaving pupils with a ‘Leavers’ Week’ of special events. A special Leavers’ Mass and prize-giving ceremony, a fantastic fun-day, an afternoon picnic tea and a popcorn and movie morning were some of the events held to wish our fantastic Year 6 leavers farewell!
The success of this academic year, in what can only be described as yet another very challenging period, can largely be put down to the hard work and dedication of the staff at our school. Of course, we also have our outstanding pupils who work hard and enjoy coming to school and learning together. We are extremely well supported by our parents and the wider community, and look forward to another successful year when we return after the summer break!
(Thanks to Dan Murphy, Assistant Head Teacher, for this article)
Mentre un altro anno senza precedenti volge al termine, guardiamo indietro ad un altro anno di successo alla Scuola Primaria Santa Francesca Cabrini. L’anno accademico è iniziato con la riapertura della scuola a tutti gli alunni dalla scuola materna all’anno 6, che sono entrati nella loro classe.
Il termine autunnale non ha avuto alcuna interruzione nell’apprendimento degli alunni, tuttavia, a Natale è stato annunciato che il paese sarebbe entrato in un altro blocco. Il personale docente si è dato da fare per preparare la chiusura della scuola per la maggior parte degli alunni, e il personale anziano si è preparato ad aprire un’offerta limitata per i figli dei lavoratori chiave e per gli alunni vulnerabili.
Thanks to Holy Spirit Region Newsletter for this article
