Parents Assessment letter May 2020

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s) and Student, 

We hope you and your families are well during these unprecedented times. We have been working very hard to continue learning online for our students. As we approach the end of this academic year, we will be communicating with you on your child’s progress as usual with an end of year report. An assessment which will take place online in May for all year groups with the exception of Leaving Certs will form part of the grades awarded. Each subject department has met and agreed their approach to this. Your child’s individual teachers will communicate this directly to your son/daughter online. We expect most of the May assessments to take place in the weeks beginning May 11th and 18th for first, second and fifth year students. 

Please see general outline below regarding assessment for each year group.

Third Year

As you are aware, the Minister for Education announced there will be no formal state examinations for 3rd years this year. The Department of Education and Skills will provide a certificate of completion of Junior Cycle in the next academic year. Students will also receive a formal report from their school, which reflects their learning achievement in all their Junior Cycle subjects. This school report will issue in June 2020. Our subject departments have met and spent much time deciding on a fair system to acknowledge work completed and progress made by our students in 2nd and 3rd year in particular. Departments will use a range of approaches appropriate to their subject to inform their assessment of students’ achievements. These include assignments, tests projects, practical work, Classroom-Based Assessments (CBAs) and other work completed over the course of second and third year. 

This overall grade will include an assessment to be submitted online in May. The majority of subject departments have agreed 10% for this work with some allocating 12.5%. Even if your child has not engaged so far online, please ensure they complete the May assignments. 

All Third Year students will finish their three-year Junior Certificate programme on May 29th and there will be no examinations in September. Therefore, students will resume school in the next academic year in their next programme for senior cycle – Transition Year or Fifth Year. 

Students are not required to pay Junior Cert. examination fees for 2020. If you have already paid, the State Examinations Commission will issue an automatic refund in due course. 

First, Second and Fifth Year

Summer reports will issue for these year groups. A component of their final grade for summer assessment will take place in the weeks of May 11th and 18th. Even if your child has not engaged so far online, please ensure they complete the May assignments. 

Transition Year

We are still finalising arrangements for TY end of year assessment. Ms. Hartigan will email parents directly regarding this. 

Leaving Certificate

At the time of writing, negotiations are ongoing regarding the Leaving Certificate. We know this uncertainty is difficult for you all. We ask that students continue to engage with their teachers and work to the best of their ability. We are here if you need help or support. 

The closing date for the payment of the Leaving Cert exam fee is being extended until after the exams are completed. 

We will communicate as normal in June with reports, booklists, and calendar for the next academic year etc. 

If you require clarification on any of this please do not hesitate to get in touch via the school email (stanneskillaloe@lcetb.ie).

Our most important message is for you to stay safe and well and to continue to follow the guidance of the Department of Health. 

Yours sincerely, 

Aideen Walsh

Principal

FRESH FILM FESTIVAL – LIVE FINALS

Fresh Film Festival are doing a live screening of the final starting at 7pm on their YouTube channel , featuring three films made by our students!

Best of luck to

Oisin McKeogh with his film ‘Midsummer Beauty’,

TY2 Film Class for their factual piece ‘In the Future’ directed by Maeve O’Brien,

and

Alisina Hussaini, Cathal O’Donnell, Jack Grace and Kian Donnelly for their documentary ‘Ali’s Story’.

Absolutely fantastic acheivement to have three films in the final and well done to their teacher Ms. O’Brien for all the help and support she has given them. Click on each film to watch them. 

Be sure to tune in and support our students in this national competition!

This is the perfect time to sit and watch amazing movies made by your peers.

So tune in and share on social media so we can all show our support to our finalists!

• Twitter: @LimerickIT 
• Facebook: @LimerickIT 
• Instagram: limerick_it

Regards, Ms Starr😊

Fresh Film Festival are doing a live screening of the finalists starting at 10 am on their YouTube channel, featuring three films made by our students! FRESH FILM RESULTS

Best of luck to: 
Oisin McKeogh with his film ‘Midsummer Beauty’,

the TY2 Film Class for their factual piece ‘In the Future’ directed by Maeve O’Brien, and

Alisina Hussaini, Cathal O’Donnell, Jack Grace and Kian Donnelly for their documentary ‘Ali’s Story’.

Be sure to tune in and vote for your favourites to win the audience award!

This is the perfect time to sit and watch amazing movies made by your peers. So tune in and share on social media so we can all show our support to our finalists!

We hope you and your families are keeping well during these uncertain times.  We are continuing learning for our students. This will take a variety of different formats.  Instructions from each individual teacher are available on our website. Please go to killaloecc.ie and click on ABOUT/SUBJECT DEPARTMENTS. Select the teachers name and look for instructions for your class. All parents were sent a password by text to access this section of the website.  Please email the school stanneskillaloe@lcetb.ie if you did not get the password.

Some teachers will be using Microsoft Office 365 to continue learning and this will be outlined in their section on the school website.

How to access Microsoft Office 365

All students have access to this package using their school email.  To access Microsoft 365 students need to go to office.com.  Each student has an email and password they use to sign in. These are the same details students use to log on to computers in school. Just to remind you student emails are in the format:

year of entry to the school.first name.surname@learner.lcetb.ie

e.g. 19.Joe.Bloggs@learner.lcetb.ie

Student passwords are the same as used to log on to computers in school.

We will be posting a number of simple videos on how to use Microsoft 365 over the next while. Online versions of word and one note are not as versatile as downloading the apps. You may be prompted to download and we would recommend this.

If there are any issues please email the school stanneskillaloe@lcetb.ie

STATE EXAMINATIONS COMMISSION

PRESS RELEASE

Impact of School Closures on Examination Activities

As a result of the current closure of all schools in the State, the impact on the state examination activities scheduled at this time and in the near future has been considered by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) in conjunction with the Department of Education and Skills.

 Consequently, the SEC is confirming;

• The cancellation of the oral and practical performance tests of the Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations, which had been scheduled to take place from next Monday 23rd March to Friday 3rd April, and to award full marks to candidates due to take these tests;
• That schools and candidates are allowed flexibility in relation to the completion of other project work and coursework across a number of subjects which are currently scheduled to be completed in the period 20th March to 24th April. Students will now be allowed to complete this work up to 15th May, which will allow candidates time to complete this work.; and
• That the SEC, in conjunction with the Department of Education and Skills, will continue to monitor the evolving situation very closely and will act in accordance with Government and public health advice

These decisions have been taken on foot of a recommendation from the SEC, working in close collaboration with the Department of Education and Skills, acting in the best interests of students in the exceptional circumstances we find ourselves in. The intention is to alleviate student concerns about the demands they may be facing into in the coming weeks.

The oral and practical performance tests will not be rearranged and full marks will be awarded to candidates for these components. The tests which have cancelled were due to have been held from Monday 23rd March and to run until Friday 3rd April. The tests comprise the Leaving Certificate oral tests in Irish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Japanese;  practical performance tests in Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle Music; and a practical performance test  in Junior Cycle Home Economics. Awarding full marks for these cancelled components guarantees that candidates cannot be awarded a lower mark than they would have achieved in the test. The SEC considers that this is the fairest approach in the circumstances. In making these arrangements the SEC is stipulating that candidates will take their final examinations in these subjects at the level they indicated when confirming their subject choices to the SEC earlier this year, other than continuing to allow Leaving Certificate candidates to drop down from Higher to Ordinary Level on the day of the final examination.

In making these recommendations the SEC has been acutely conscious that the period from now until June is an exceptionally busy period for candidates preparing for their certificate examinations especially those getting ready for the high stakes Leaving Certificate.   During this period of unexpected absence from school, candidates are bound to have concerns about the demands of examination activity when they return to school particularly as they will wish to refocus their efforts on their preparations for the written examinations commencing on the 3rd June.  Student welfare is of utmost concern at this time and the SEC wishes to provide reassurance to students and their parents and to provide clarity about what they need to focus on during their absence from school.

At Leaving Certificate, students are working towards the completion of project work and coursework in various subjects with completion dates between 20th March and 24th April.  At Junior Cycle, students may be completing assessment tasks and project work.  In recognition of the current loss of class time during which much of the project work is undertaken, schools and candidates are now being allowed flexibility to complete this work up to 15th May, which will allow candidates time to complete this work.

The SEC and the Department of Education and Skills are continuing to monitor very closely the evolving situation regarding upcoming examination activities.

Candidates should continue to prepare for the practical examinations scheduled for the end of April and early May and the final examinations scheduled for May and June.   In the period Monday 27th April to Friday 8th May, the timetable includes practical examinations in Leaving Certificate Art Life Sketching, Engineering, Construction Studies, and Junior Cycle Metalwork.  There are also final examinations during May which will see these subjects being completed in their entirety before June  (LCVP Link Modules on Wednesday 6th; Leaving Certificate Applied ICT on Wednesday 13th; and Leaving Certificate Computer Science on Wednesday 27th May). The written examinations are due to commence on Wednesday 3rd June.

Delivering the state examinations each year requires a partnership approach between the SEC, teachers, school principals and the education partners.  The SEC will continue to engage collaboratively with the education stakeholders and the Department of Education and Skills in the weeks ahead.  The SEC will continue to act in accordance with advice from Government and public health authorities in relation to this rapidly evolving public health emergency. 

Notes for Editors

The timetables for the final written examinations and the schedules for other examinations and assessment activities (project work; coursework; practical tests, etc.,) ae available here https://www.examinations.ie/?l=en&mc=ex&sc=tt