P7 Parents Letter

(Disclaimer - parts of this letter have been copied from material posted on-line by other teachers. However I feel these sentiments match my own and I wish to share them and my own thoughts with you)

Dear Fellow Primary Seven Parents,

It is with a heavy heart I write this note. I love and miss our kids and Howard Primary School.

We are all living through uncertain times. Plans have changed, trips have been cancelled, tears have been spilled, but our children are safe at home. We shall get through this.

This year we have already covered a lot of academic work. I am so very proud of the achievements of every child in my class. As a group we have matured and are preparing for the challenges of a new school

Yes, we were all looking forward to an exciting summer term and indeed the Snow White pantomime before Easter. However I can promise you, we will meet again to celebrate our time at Howard Primary School. We will have a graduation ceremony and reunion trip to somewhere fun when this situation passes, and it will pass.

I have asked the children to try and do a bit of numeracy and literacy on school days. Along with reading and Mathletics everyday, this is more than enough to keep challenging their inquisitive minds. (I sent the answers home for the maths problem solving tasks for you. You can use a calculator if stuck, especially for the last section on each page) It is really important to exercise daily and I know many of us are using u-tube to access exercise drills.

After Easter you will get a password to access the home learning section of our school website. You will also be given my school e-mail address where you and your child can contact me with any concerns.

The work I have given before Easter and will set after the break are just guidelines. Most families have taken a little holiday from school work to adjust to the situation and that's fine. Some of you might be inclined to create a minute by minute schedule for your children. you have high hopes of hours of learning, including online activities, science experiments and book reports. You'll limit screen time until everything is done! It is really good to get into a routine but here's the thing....

Primary seven pupils are really aware of what is happening. They are a smart bunch. Our children are just as scared as we are right now. They not only can hear everything that is going on around them, but they feel our constant tension and anxiety. No-one has ever experienced anything like this before. Although the idea of being off from school for weeks sounds awesome, the reality of being trapped at home and not seeing our friends will be unbearable at times.

Over the coming weeks, we might see an increase in behaviour issues with our children. Whether its anxiety, or anger, or protest that they can't do things normally - it will happen. We'll see more meltdowns, tantrums and oppositional behaviour in the coming weeks. This is normal and expected under these circumstances

What children need right now is to feel comforted and loved. To feel like its all going to be ok. That might mean that we tear up our perfect schedules and just love and spend quality time with our precious children. Join in with their games in the garden and laugh often as you walk/jog/cycle together. Now is the time to learn vital life skills - housework! Play board games and watch movies, explore the virtual field trips online e.g. zoo's, museums, places of interest, read a book together or snuggle under warm blankets and get up late some days. There's lots of advice but we the parents know what's best for our children. There is no wrong way

Don't worry about your children regressing in school. Every single child is in this boat and they will all be ok. When we are back in the classroom, we will meet the needs of the children where they are. Teachers are experts at this.

Please don't pick fights with your child because they don't want to do maths. Don't scream at your children for not following the schedule. Don't insist on two hours of learning time if they are resisting it.

At the end of all this, your children's mental health will be more important than their academic skills. How they felt during this time will stay with them long after the memory of what they did during these weeks. So please love your children, quickly forgive any misdemeanours and take care of yourself too!

I also want to thank you all for your constant support and encouragement throughout the year. This year's primary seven class will always be a very special class to me.

Wishing you God's blessing and please keep safe

Peter McIlwaine