Author: Hazelwood College

Hazelwood College are very lucky to have Jessie Barr (Olympian and Performance Psychologist with Sport Ireland) host a webinar chat for all our students this Friday, May 29^th, at 2pm. Jessie will speak about looking after your mental health as we progress through lockdown, and strategies to thrive during this time. It will be an opportunity to hear some simple tips about adjusting our mindsets and prioritising our wellbeing.

We are looking forward to hearing her expertise!

Students, siblings and parents are welcome to join if they wish.

The login details have been sent to all students via email and their P.E. Google Class

The Department of Education has issued important instructions for all Leaving Certificate / Leaving Certificate Applied 2020 students. Attached is a document explaining what needs to be done and how it is to be done. In summary:

Leaving Certificate Applied Students         

Need to complete the registration process

Leaving Certificate and L.C.V.P. Students       

Need to complete the registration process AND confirm their subject levels

Please read the document VERY carefully, and make sure the steps are completed on time.

Timeframe this process must be completed during

The portal will open at 10 AM on Tuesday 26 May and close at 10 PM on Thursday 28 May

You can download the instructions here

Dear Student/Parent/Guardian

As you may be aware, the decision has been taken to postpone the Leaving Certificate examinations scheduled to commence on 29 July 2020 and to offer students a system of Calculated Grades.

All students will be given the option to receive a State Certificate of Calculated Grades in each subject. It will have the same status as Leaving Certificates awarded to students in previous years.

Students will also have the opportunity to sit the conventional Leaving Certificate examination if they wish at the earliest safe and practical time.

Calculated Grades will be generated using a systematic statistical model. It will combine estimates of a student’s expected performance with the school’s statistical profiles of achievement in a subject and level, in line with national performance standards over time.

The first source of data will be provided by the subject teacher. It will then be aligned in the school, with teachers consulting on the results before the principal reviews the process applied to assure the fair treatment of students. The school then sends the data to the Department of Education and Skills.

There will be strong oversight and control and a number of inherent quality assurance measures to ensure students receive as fair a result as possible.

We are asking all students and parents/guardians to refrain from contacting teachers to discuss, query or suggest any reference to subject percentages. We appreciate your cooperation with this request. The school needs time to appraise itself fully with the arrangements that have been announced and further clarifications are required.

A guide to calculated grades for Leaving Certificate students 2020 is available here.

Leaving Certificate students will not have any classes from Monday and can use the next two weeks to continue to study if they are choosing to take the Leaving Certificate examinations which will be organised at a future date (there are no details on any dates for these examinations and they will not take place in time for students to start in Third Level). Teachers will be available via our remote learning arrangements (Google Classroom,email etc.) if students require assistance with subject material.

Our staff are also looking at end of year arrangements with a view to holding a virtual graduation and a series of other options in marking the end of post-primary for your son/daughter and we look forward to sharing these details with you in due course.

We will contact you soon again with additional information and further clarification as we receive it.

Take care of yourself and stay safe

Kind regards

Brendan Burke

Principal

08 May, 2020 – Minister announces postponement of 2020 Leaving Certificate examinations

All students to be offered the option of accepting Calculated Grades or sitting Leaving Certificate written examinations at a later date 

The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh T.D. has today (Friday 8 May 2020) announced the postponement of the 2020 Leaving Certificate. 

Following a decision at Cabinet, all students are to be offered the option of receiving Calculated Grades for the subjects they are studying and the alternative of sitting the 2020 Leaving Certificate examinations at a date in the future when it is considered safe to hold the examinations. 

The decision has been taken following an assessment of public health advice and other information and the implications for holding the exams from the previously rescheduled date of Wednesday 29 July 2020. 

Minister McHugh said: “I have made every effort to run the 2020 Leaving Certificate as close as possible to the way the examinations were originally intended to be held. 

“My desire had been to allow students to undertake the written and practical examinations in July and August but I have compelling evidence, based on medical advice and other assessments, that the Leaving Certificate examinations cannot be held in a reliable and valid manner, nor in a way that would be equitable for students.” 

Minister McHugh said: “The reality of the impact of Covid-19 has led to a decision that has never happened in our country before. I fully appreciate the magnitude of this issue, for the students and their families, for the teachers and for school principals. 

“This decision is taken with the best interests of students at heart. I have a responsibility to find a fair way to address the disadvantage that some students are facing and the impact a lack of time in school has had in recent weeks. 

“The system being put in place will allow a young person to progress to the next stage of their life in a timely fashion. 

“The fairest and most equitable way to do that in the current circumstances is to offer students the option of Calculated Grades for the 2020 Leaving Certificate but also to guarantee them the right to sit the examinations at a later stage when it is safe to hold them in the normal way. 

“The decision has to be taken now to remove the anxiety that many students have been experiencing over how the exams would look later in the summer.” 

Minister McHugh thanked the advisory group of stakeholders for their input in recent weeks in relation to the holding of the examinations. 

The following is a breakdown of the process to be applied for students to be given the option of Calculated Grades or to sit the examinations.

1. The 2020 Leaving Certificate examinations, previously scheduled to take place in late July and August, have been postponed.
2. There will be no Leaving Certificate fee this year. All exam fees which have been paid will be refunded.
3. Teachers will be asked to provide a professional judgment of each student’s attainment which will be subjected to a rigorous in-school alignment process to ensure fairness.
4. The school principal will approve the estimated scores being provided and the rankings of each student in each subject in the school.
5. A special unit is being established within the Department of Education and Skills to process the data provided by each school and operate national standardisation, again to ensure fairness amongst all students.
6. The Department will finalise the grades for each student which will be issued to each student as close as possible to the traditional date. Formal State certification will also be provided.
7. Students will retain the right to appeal. This will involve checks on school-entered data; correct transfer of that data to the Department; a review that it was correctly received and processed by the Department; and a verification of the Department’s processes by independent appeal scrutineers.
8. Students will also retain the right to the sit the 2020 Leaving Certificate examinations at a date in the future when it is deemed safe for state examinations to be held.

Ends

Dear Parents and Guardians

We hope you and your loved ones are well and coping as best as you can in these extraordinary times.

Understandably, recent weeks have been very challenging for everyone, and particularly, students in Third Year and Sixth Year. It is hard to believe that schools have been closed since 13 March 2020 with no clarity as to when they will be allowed to reopen for students.

Important information for Third Year Students – Junior Certificate 2020

The Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh TD announced on 10 April 2020 that a decision was made to cancel the Junior Certificate examinations which were due to take place in June 2020.

This was followed by another announcement by the Minister for Education and Skills on Wednesday, 29 April 2020 to clarify details on the revised arrangements for this year’s Junior Cycle.

The decision was taken following recommendations from an advisory group of stakeholders as part of planning for the State Examinations in response to the Covid-19 public health measures and the decision to cancel Junior Cycle State Examinations in June 2020.

Department of Education and Skills Certificate of Completion

Your child will receive a Certificate of Completion, issued by the Department of Education and Skills, early in the next school year. This Department of Education and Skills certificate will include confirmation of the completion of the Junior Cycle programme of study, the list of subjects, short courses and/or priority learning units your child studied and the level at which the subject was studied.

School Report

In accordance with the Minister of Education and Skills announcement on Wednesday, 29 April 2020, your child will receive a formal school report on your child’s learning achievements in each subject, short course and/or priority learning unit.

A whole-school approach will be undertaken to report on your child’s achievements. Teachers will carefully analyse your child’s learning, development and the outcomes of assessments over the three years of study at the school.

The school certification will also include the descriptors awarded to Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs) and/or Priority Learning Units (PLUs) and other Areas of Learning (OAL).

All Third Year students will finish the three year Junior Certificate programme on 29 May 2020 and there will be no examinations in September. Therefore, students will resume school in September in their next programme for senior cycle – Transition Year, LCA1 or Fifth Year.

As the school year does not finish until 29 May 2020, our Third Year students are still expected to continue to work with their teachers and submit work that will be taken into account in the results students will receive in their school reports. The schedule of this work includes;

● On-going engagement with distance learning which has been in place since 13 March 2020

● Assessments in each subject via online assessments as directed by each teacher

● Assessments in each subject which are project or report based and which can be sent to the school for teachers to correct if there is an issue with broadband or if the student does not have access to a device to complete the online examination which will be part of the Subject grading.

It is important that each student’s engages and participates up until 29 May 2020 and submits end of year test / project.

Presentation of Certificate of Completion

Our school plans to celebrate your child’s achievements with a special presentation ceremony for students to receive their Department of Education and Skills Certificate of Completion in Autumn 2020. This will allow for students to experience an event that marks their achievements and to acknowledge their transition from Junior Cycle to Transition Year/Senior Cycle. We will provide details about the date and format of this presentation in due course.

The following items will be used to create a grade for each student in each subject.

Each department will decide on an assignment for all 3^rd year students to complete during the month of May. It is important that all student check in with google classroom to communicate with their teacher re this assignment.

If students have problems accessing google classroom then you need to contact the school on 087-6023992 to ensure your child receives their assignments.

Student without internet access should return the assignments by post. Mark the subject teacher and subject name on the envelope and post to:

Hazelwood College, Dromcollogher, Co. Limerick.  P56 HF60

Results will be available in early June and Certification will come in the autumn.

Kind regards

Brendan Burke

Principal

29 April, 2020 – Minister McHugh announces revised arrangements for Junior Cycle 2020

–          All third year Junior Cycle students to be awarded certificates for the completion of Junior Cycle by the Department of Education and Skills

–          Schools given autonomy to assess students and all students to receive a report on achievement 

–          Adult learners to be given opportunity to take final Junior Cycle examinations in autumn

The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD has today (Wednesday 29 April 2020) announced revised arrangements for this year’s Junior Cycle.

The decision was taken following recommendations from an advisory group of stakeholders as part of planning for the State Examinations in response to the Covid-19 public health measures and the decision that the Junior Cycle State Examinations will not run this year.

Minister McHugh attended the meeting of the advisory group and thanked the members for their work.

“In this difficult time for students I have listened to the very strongly-held and well-articulated views of students, parents and other stakeholders,” Minister McHugh said.

“This decision has been made with the health and wellbeing of students, parents and teachers at the forefront of our thinking.

“It gives students and their families more clarity and certainty. It also gives schools freedom to decide how best to assess the progress of students following three years of hard work and learning.”

Under the revised arrangements and in light of the exceptional circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the work and achievement of third year Junior Cycle students will be recognised with a state certificate from the Department of Education and Skills.

As soon as possible after the end of the current school year, students will receive a written school report on their learning achievements in each subject, short course and/or priority learning unit

Schools are also being given autonomy to decide whether to run school-based assessments and what form they take. Options to consider include school-designed examinations, tasks, projects, assignments, essay style questions, presentations, or other tasks agreed at a local level. Guidance for schools on reporting to students and parents, developed with the advice of the advisory group of stakeholders, will be published by the Department.

The State Examinations Commission is also being asked to put in place specific arrangements for adult learners to give them an opportunity to take final Junior Cycle examinations for which they are entered in autumn 2020.

Ends

Notes for Editors

For info on the advisory group see here

Further advice in relation to assessment options for schools will be issued by the Department.