Message From The Principal
Parents/Guardians/Staff,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the whole school community for their co-operation and patience during the last week and a half of school. It was a stressful time for everyone involved as there was a lot of uncertainty around the whole country not just our own school community.
I would like to thank the teachers and special needs assistants for their calmness and professionalism over the past few days. As you can imagine there was a lot of questions and worries coming from the children. Work was prepared for the children to keep them ticking over during the time off school. On Thursday evening, staff engaged in PDST Primary Language Curriculum training, which they did in a very professional manner despite the hectic few hours before hand. We are very lucky to have such a dedicated and caring staff in Ennis National School.
A big thanks to Emer in the office for dealing with numerous calls and concerns over the past few days. And also to Ger, our caretaker, for keeping the school stocked up with soap/sanitiser and taking care of hygiene needs.
I want to extend my thanks to the Board of Management for the guidance over this testing period. They are always available to Ennis National School through meetings, emails and phonecalls. We are so fortunate to have a volunteer board that have such regard for the school and always make decisions with the children to the forefront.
And lastly, I want to express my gratitude to the parents and children of Ennis National School especially the parents and children of 6th class as confirmation was cancelled at short notice. I can imagine the upset and frustration that this must have caused in households. I do feel it was the best decision to cancel it as we can reschedule it at a later date and give the children of 6th class the great day they deserve. It was very evident that parents were taking COVID 19 seriously as children were supplied with their own santiser, washing their hands properly and using the proper coughing etiquette. I have no doubt that the vigilance shown by all the school community will help this situation improve.
Children were supplied with work to complete over the two weeks. As an extra aid, please view the attachment as it has a list of very useful websites that you can use to keep your children learning and engaged.
I would encourage everybody to listen and abide by the guidelines that are in place. If we can all play our small part in keeping the containment of COVID 19 to a minimum we will hopefully be able to get school life back to normal on Monday March 30th.
Be Safe
Kind Regards
Mr. Troy , Principal
Useful Educational Websites for Children
This useful portal features educational information and links to other educational sites for every school topic imaginable, from Irish to history, spelling to geography. There are lots of interactive quizzes, printable worksheets and slides which aim to make learning fun and informative.
This site features lots of pintables, activities and games designed to show kids the importance of science.
Kids can learn about how the human body works on this site.
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/
This is a great website for both primary and secondary schools which has lots of interactive and fun activities on subjects such as Irish, history, geography and science.
This is a really useful website that aims to help your child increase their Irish vocabulary and learn correct grammar.
http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/
A variety of Maths and English games.
A website where children can publish and illustrate their own stories.
Launched Sept 2012. Includes audio and video content to support parents with literacy difficulties and links to others websites providing more detailed information on specific topics. The site is designed for parents, grandparents and carers of children aged 0 – 12 years and is searchable according to the child’s age.
A database of Irish terms containing over 270,000 terms, searchable under both Irish and English versions.
A site devoted to the history of the Vikings in Ireland
Webwise.ie educates on safer usage of the Internet. Aimed at students, teachers and parents it also promotes the positive aspects of using the Internet and informs on how to deal with the risks.
Well Known Websites
Wikipedia
An online free encyclopaedia written collaboratively by volunteers all around the world
Google Earth
Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings to put the world’s geographic information at your fingertips
National Geographic Kids
Features different people, animals, and places each month with facts, games, activities, and related links.
BBC Education
Tons of information & fun on the schools and education sections of the BBC site
Mathletics.eu
Mathletics is a leading digital maths resource, helping children aged 5-18 to improve their numeracy skills and build confidence in maths whilst having fun. Parents can set tasks and closely monitor progress. Aligned to the Irish curriculum. Visit www.Mathletics.eu
NASA – Kid’s Home
Games, art, stories, and activities for children presented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
www.rainforestmaths.com – interactive maths activities
www.literacycentre.net – providing online numeracy & literacy lessons for kids in a variety of languages
Helpful Free Apps
Little Writer – The Tracing App for Kids
Free app for tracing letters and learning all the sounds and letter formation of the alphabet
Eggs on Legs
App where kids have to solve the maths problems to crack open the quirky eggs on legs.
Star Walk – 5 Stars Astronomy Guide
An App where you can point your iPad or iPhone at the sky and see what stars, constellations, and satellites you are looking at in real-time.
PopMath Basic Math
PopMath is a fun game for kids of all ages to practice basic math.
Yahooligans!
Yahooligans is a browsable, searchable directory of Internet sites for kids. Each site has been carefully checked by an experienced educator to ensure the content and links are appropriate for young people. The site is primarily aimed at primary age readers
Kids Website Directories – the following directories list out suitable sites for kids on the world wide web:
www.kidsites.com
Links to the best of the children’s web sites and all of the sites have been checked and approved for kids.
www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/
The Internet Public Library Youth Division has seemingly endless sites of a more educational nature.
Literacy, Numeracy & Creative Apps for Children
Junior and Senior Infants
Literacy Apps
Starfall ABCs
Starfall Learn to Read
ABC Alphabet
Pocket Phonics
Chatterkid
Numeracy Apps
Maths Age 3-5 for schools
Counting Numbers 1 – 10
Friendly Shapes
First Class and Upwards
Literacy Apps
Starfall Fun to Read
Starfall I’m Reading
A+ Spelling Test
Toontastic
DKFindOut
Sight Words 2
Numeracy Apps
Match Stretch
Bubble Maths
Pattern Shapes
Pieces Basic
Math Fight
Scratch Junior
Number Frames
Playgrounds
Lexico Cognition
Jungle Time
Jungle Coins
Tell the Time
Creative Apps
Book Creator
Spark Video
Garage Band
Suitable websites for all class levels
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/hehh1/index.html?launch=true (handwashing challenge)
http://dltk-kids.com (art ideas)
http://www.starfall.com/h/ (lovely reading, rhymes and phonics)
http://www.mystroybook.com (click on the menu/new storybook. Children can then create book)
http://www.dkfindout.com/uk/uk (lots of fun facts)
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids (lots of fun facts)
http://www.gonoodle.com (activities and movement for all children)
https://www.twinkl.ie/offer Enter the code IRLTWINKLHELPS to get a month’s free access
