Category: News

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.

16^th April 2020

Dear Parent/Guardian

I hope you had a nice Easter in spite of the restrictions on movement that were implemented nationally since 27 March 2020 in line with public health guidelines.  We appreciate how challenging the current Coronavirus/Covid-19 crisis has been for families, and we are working hard to support all students and parents/guardians in our school community as the crisis evolves.  We know from feedback from our staff and interactions with students, that students and teachers miss school-life and attending classes.  The past few weeks have presented many challenges, but the resolve of our students, staff and parents/guardians to engage in this steep learning curve in working from home is truly admirable.  We are very proud that so many students and our staff worked very hard before Easter to minimize disruption to learning.  Everyone in the school community has embraced the new term called ‘Distance Learning’ in an effort to fulfil a continuity of learning.

As you are aware, schools have remained closed to students since 13 March 2020.  The current health advice is that all schools will remain closed to students until Tuesday, 5 May 2020 (after the May Bank Holiday weekend).

We have listened carefully to feedback from students, staff and parents prior to Easter.  We want to ensure that we focus our efforts for the next two weeks on teaching, learning and the provision of effective feedback to students.

To this end, we plan on holding an on-line staff meeting and subject planning meetings over the next few days to coordinate the most effective work-stream for the ensuing two week period and to provide for enriched feedback to your child/children.  Students are asked to revise subjects as per their regular timetable on Monday, 20 April 2020.

Students in Sixth Year and Third Year

We are especially mindful of the decision that affects students in Sixth Year and Third Year regarding the Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate examinations.

Information on exam and assessment schedules, including the Leaving Certificate Applied and the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme is available on the website of the State Examinations Commission: www.examinations.ie/misc-doc/BI-SE-67826275.pdf

The Department of Education and Skills and the State Examinations Commission are making every effort to support all students through this challenging time.

Students facing examinations have been asked to keep focused and to keep working in preparation for the exams which are now scheduled for July.  More details will be forthcoming in the near future regarding the Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate examinations and we will bring this information to your attention without delay.

Supports for Students including Internet Connections and Data Bundles on Mobile Providers

The Department of Education and Skills has been working closely with the tertiary education sector to address issues raised in relation to accessing online provision including broadband issues. 

Thankfully, we are seeing progress in some ways to help students with connectivity and data issues.

The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton T.D. announced on Wednesday, 15of April 2020 that all major telecoms providers have committed to a number of measures to help people stay in touch and work from home during Covid-19.  All major providers have signed up, including BT Ireland, eir, Pure Telecom, Sky Ireland, Tesco Mobile Ireland, Three Ireland, Virgin Media Ireland and Vodafone.

These commitments will be implemented by operators as soon as possible. Each service provider will provide details and implementation updates on their own website. The commitments will remain available to consumers until 30 June 2020 and will be reviewed in advance of that date if needed.

The Covid-19 Consumer Commitments are as follows:

1. Any fixed broadband customers who do not have unlimited usage already as standard will be given the opportunity, if they require, to upgrade their package (which may be on a temporary basis), with their current service provider

2. Any customer who does not have fixed broadband and who relies solely on mobile access to the Internet will have the opportunity to avail of affordable unlimited mobile data access/package from their service provider

3. Fair usage policies will not be automatically applied to unlimited fixed and mobile data packages

4. Service providers may implement appropriate permitted traffic management measures to avoid network congestion

5. Access to healthcare and educational resource websites identified by the Government will be zero-rated for all customers where technically feasible

Customers experiencing issues should contact their service provider in the first instance, before contacting ComReg’s Consumer Care Team at consumerline@comreg.ie or 01 8049668 (from 8.00am to 8.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am to 1.00pm on Saturday, excluding public holidays.

Wellbeing including physical activity

NEPS, the Department’s National Educational Psychological Service, has developed advice and resources for keeping Children and Young People well during Covid-19. These resources aim to support children and young people’s learning and wellbeing at this time.

In the context of wellbeing, NEPS has included a reference in its advice for young people and for parents of young children for the need for physical activity as part of everyone’s daily routine while schools are closed.

For information, the relevant text can be found at the following links:

Advice for Young People: https://www.education.ie/en/The-Department/Announcements/advice-to-young-people-while-schools-are-closed.pdf

Advice for Parents: https://www.education.ie/en/The-Department/Announcements/guide-for-parents-supporting-children.pdf

Supporting Students with Additional Education Needs

The National Council for Special Education has developed resources for parents of children with additional needs who may benefit from specific advice during the period of school closure.  All resources are available on the NCSE website and publicised through education partners and Twitter. The NCSE visiting teacher service continues to provide direct telephone/skype support to families and students.  The NCSE resources can be accessed at: www.ncse.ie/online-resources and include;

• resources for parents and teachers such as class\age level activities
• practical advice on how to take care of Assistive Technology in the Home and a suite of Occupational Therapy and
• Speech and Language Therapy resources (including a social story animation on attending a Covid-19 test Centre prepared by the HSE).

Temporary reassignment of SNAs

Currently, SNA personnel are being reassigned to assist with efforts to support front-line health workers.  We will make every effort to ensure that students who have access to an SNA are receiving supports throughout the next two weeks.

Additional Information

A considerable number of announcements regarding schools and state examinations were made over the course of the Easter break.  The main points are summarised below;

Statements and Information:

1. 10 April 2020: Minister McHugh Announces Postponement of State Examinations
2. 09 April 2020:Briefing on Covid-19 responses in the Education and Training Sector

Assessing Teaching and Learning in our School

Our School’s Digital Learning Hub, which students are familiar with, is the main portal for accessing on-line classes and feedback from teachers.  Our staff has received support and guidance from Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board on the most effective strategies to manage on-line learning.  Several teleconferencing meetings of all Principals and Deputy Principals of all eighteen post-primary schools of our ETB have taken place since 13 March 2020 and this has proven invaluable in the sharing of best-practice and resources between all of our schools.

Our staff have received advice, guidance and peer support on managing learning, teaching and assessment in the current crisis and we are hopeful that this will help to mitigate the loss in class contact time and ‘Face to Face’ time in the current climate.

Acceptable User Policy (AUP)

Our school’s Acceptable User Policy (AUP) has been revised to reflect the increasingly popular use of teleconferencing platforms.  Our school only utilises platforms which fully comply with GDPR requirements.  It is important that students understand that the school expects all of its community to observe responsible and ethical use of such platforms in respect of other users – fellow students and staff.  Guidance and additional information about our school’s use of teleconferencing is available on our school website under the Digital Learning section.

Contacting the School during Closure

Please do not hesitate to contact us at the school via this email address hazelc@hazelc.ie  and we will do all we can to address your query as soon as possible.

In the meantime, please follow the advice of the HSE and the Government;

Everyone needs to stay at home to help slow the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

You should only leave your home to:

• shop for essential food and household goods
• attend medical appointments, collect medicine or other health products
• care for children, older people or other vulnerable people – this excludes social family visits
• exercise outdoors, within 2 kilometres of your home and only with people from your own household – keeping 2 metres between you and other people
• travel to work if you provide an essential service – be sure to practice physical distancing

Follow this advice to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

Read a step-by-step guide from the HSE on how to clean your hands.

Take care of yourself and stay safe

Kind regards

Brendan Burke

Principal