Upcoming events at Holy Cross Primary School
Saturday 16th May
Dear Primary four boys and girls,
As I have written this letter to you all, I have each of your happy little faces in my mind- how I miss seeing those faces each morning, greeting me with a smile as we go to class. Today, I think of the extra sparkle those smiles should have on what would be such an exciting morning for you, the morning of your First Holy Communion.
I, like Mrs Graham and all the staff of our school, am filled with sadness and disappointment today at not being able to be with you to celebrate this very special occasion. I know you and your families are disappointed too and indeed that preparations would have been underway for this day for a long time.
The message I want to say to you today is this; your special day may not be happening today as we would like but today is still special and a day to celebrate you! I’m sure your families will want to mark this day, thanking God for the wonderful gift you are in all our lives. Perhaps, as Mrs Graham has mentioned, you will place a special object on your May altar that reminds everyone of you (maybe a photograph or a favourite item). I hope you will join your family to watch the special mass being said for you by Father Sean Cahill online this morning, where we will all be thinking of you while we pray.
While these things will not compensate for missing out on this big day with your family, friends and school, it will make today special for you until the time comes when we can properly prepare and celebrate your First Holy Communion in the way each of you deserves.
A parent shared this poem with me recently and I thought it very appropriate:
A Poem for Primary 4
It’s not the day we may have planned on this very special date,
Never did we think you’d be the class who’d have to wait.
So excited to start P4, what a big year for you all
But now because of this nasty bug, it’s not your year at all!
I wonder what you are really thinking when you say;
“It’s ok. Just keep the outfit in the wardrobe…
It’ll do another day.”
You’ll get your day little heroes, we’ll all make sure you do.
But today won’t be your Communion day and that’s ok with you.
You say you miss your friends, your teacher and your class,
We keep telling you to see it through and all this too will pass.
So, when you get to make your Holy Communion,
It will be a very special date,
Because the P4 class of 2020, were the class who had to wait!!
I have shared some messages below from our P6/7 class and a very special song, which you and the school choir had already started learning in preparation for your first Holy Communion, reminding us what this day is all about.
I do hope you share photos of anything you get up to today to mark the occasion with Mrs Graham, as we would all love to see them.
We are all thinking of you and your families and offering up special prayers, just for you!
God Bless,
Mrs Sloan and all the staff at Holy Cross PS
Monday 11th May 2020
Dear Parents,
Firstly, I would like to commend you all on all your efforts during these extraordinary times. I have no doubt the past few weeks have been incredibly challenging, we are dealing with unprecedented events which cause very real worries and concerns for ourselves, our families and our communities. Despite this, you have been engaging with your child’s education in a whole new way, allowing them to reinforce their learning and have a sense of security in a new routine, which is so necessary to reduce their anxieties and the uncertainty at this time.
Last week was a particularly poignant one; the Primary seven pupils should have been receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, this not proceeding as normal really brought home the incredible impact that the current situation is having, and will have, on the lives of our young people. This Saturday, similarly, we will be remembering our Primary four class who should be making their First Holy Communion. Such a memorable event in the lives of the children, again put on hold. We are acutely aware of the milestones, rites of passage and life experiences that our children are missing out on. Please know, we will do everything in our power, when the situation allows, to try in some way to compensate for these lost experiences. It is so hard to believe we are in the month of May already and it has been lovely to see the great efforts of the children to create a May altar in their homes just as we would have in school. I hope this sacred prayer space brings comfort during these uncertain times and a strong reminder of the place of faith in our lives, especially for the sacramental classes.
School, in terms of the building, may well be closed but school life is going on behind the scenes. Our days are filled with thoughts and concerns for the pupils in our school. While we ponder activities that may be fun and engaging, we are always thinking of the wellbeing of the boys and girls and are keen to know everyone is healthy, happy and well. We are mindful that everyone’s home circumstances differ; some parents are key workers, some are juggling working from home and home learning, some have caring responsibilities and indeed there may be sickness to overcome within the family and the worry associated with this. Beyond that, home life and routines are entirely different to the school day. This is always at the fore of our minds and our expectations of home-learning are therefore realistic. As mentioned at the outset of the closure, we ask you to engage with schoolwork at a level that is manageable to you and your family and appropriate for your child. It is of no benefit to anyone to have an overwhelmed and anxious parent or child. Just do your best! As I have said on many occasions, not all learning has to revolve around books and computers. Have fun with your children, allow them to play and learn in creative ways and remember, their health and happiness is paramount.
We do like to hear from you so that we know how the children are doing, that everyone in your families are happy and well, if we can offer support and indeed to ensure that no child feels completely detached from school when the time comes to return (when/however that may be). Thank you to those of you who have sent in pictures, of children at work or play, have submitted work or have been in touch to get responses to worries or queries. This contact is vital. Our School Website is an invaluable link for you and your child at present. There are weekly updates of suggested tasks as well as ongoing communications from the class teachers, assistants and the pupils.
It would be impossible almost for us to make direct contact with every family, as much as we would like to. I therefore ask, that any parent/child who has not been in contact with their child’s class teacher to please do so. A simple ‘hello’ message of how you are getting along and anything we can support you with. You can do this via email, the school Facebook message service or through google classroom (older pupils). Please remember this is in a pastoral capacity and not to check on the completion of home learning. We want to be supporting you as best we can throughout this uncertain time.
We are very mindful that the pandemic and subsequent lockdown has massively impacted employment and therefore family finances. Please know that if you find yourself in that situation, you are not alone. Do reach out and we will do our best to support you. I would also like to remind you all at this time that our school remains a referral agency for the CornerStone foodbank. Our safeguarding team is still in place and concerns can be directed to our designated teacher (Mrs Woods) via email.
The school has been registered for the ‘virtual sport’s day’ being hosted by Healthy Kidz in conjunction with Eurospar NI. You will receive an update shortly on how to register your child.
As always, we continue to send all our good wishes to each and every one of you. We are keeping you all in our prayers.
Take care and stay safe,
Mrs C. Sloan
Principal
Contact emails
Mrs Woods (Primary 1 and Safeguarding Designated teacher) cwoods144@c2kni.net
Miss Cunningham (Primary 2) lcunningham778@c2kni.net
Mrs Graham (Primary 3&4) cgraham476@c2kni.net
Mrs Norris (Primary 5) jnorris391@c2kni.net
Mrs Sloan (Primary 6&7) csloan154@c2kni.net
As we approach the end of another week of homeschooling, we are mindful when planning for next week that it would have been a very special and important week for our P7 boys and girls. Monday 4th May was set to be the day of their confirmation.
To mark the special day all P7s and their families, indeed the whole school community, are invited to join with Fr Cahill at 10am on Monday morning as he celebrates Mass in a live stream on https://www.mcnmedia.tv/camera/st-josephs-church-ballymartin from the St Joseph’s Church, Ballymartin. He will be praying especially for our Primary 7 class and those of the parish at this Mass.
Please do tune in if you can as it would be a nice way to mark this significant date for our boys and girls, offering up prayers especially for them.
Primary 7 will have a special message and some resources placed on the class page of the website to mark the occasion on Monday.
Well done everyone for all your efforts in home-learning this week. As always we have loved receiving photos of what the children have been getting up to.
Thank you.
Have a lovely, safe weekend.