Principal’s Letter for Parents/Guardians

Leaving Cert Students:
Our Sixth Year students have been an amazing bunch of young people. They are a credit to our school and their families. We all have happy memories of their time here and we as a school community wish them all the best.
At time of going to press, all accredited grades have been submitted by teachers for each one of their students. This process has been overseen by myself as Principal of St Farnan’s. This Data has been entered into a dedicated State Examinations Commission Database for standardisation.
The Leaving Cert written exams commence on 9th June. I am happy to inform you that a high percentage of our students have opted to do the written exam in some or all of their subjects. We wish all our students the best of luck in whatever system that they have opted for.
For those that have opted for the written option please remember the following
• Exam centres are arranged so that there is at least a 2m distance between all candidates.
• Masks must be worn by all personnel and students at all times.
• Our examination centres are located in the Gym, Canteen and room 19 as well as a number of Special Centres.
The Department of Education reminds all students that they will not be allowed into the Examination Centre if,
1. They have been diagnosed with Covid 19.
2. They are unwell or have symptoms of Covid 19.
3. They develop symptoms during the exam.
4. They are self-isolating or have been told to self-isolate.
5. They are quarantining or restricting their movements.
6. They are a close contact of a confirmed case.
In short:
In all circumstances, Public Health considerations must take precedence over examinations attendance.
All our student candidates will have accredited grades available to them as a safety net in the event they are unable to do the written examinations, even if they have not opted for accredited Grades.

Junior Cycle students:
All our Third year students will receive a school based Junior Cycle assessment over the coming weeks. Third year teachers have assessed their students and have based their results on work completed over the three years as well as a number of assessments completed during the months of April and May.

Transition Year Students:
After a very busy and successful year, our TY students graduated recently via an on line graduation. School reports will issue for TY students over the coming weeks. Our TY students have been an exemplary bunch of students and we wish them luck as they commence senior cycle.

First, Second and Fifth Year students:
School reports will issue shortly for all students of these year groups following in class assessments during the last week in school. As with all other years, results will issue through the VS Ware system. A school text to the mobile phone number provided to the school will issue just before results are released.

A Thank You:
I want to take this opportunity to thank all Parents, Students and all School Staff (Teaching, Secretarial, Caretaking and Cleaning) associated with St. Farnan’s Post Primary School for their cooperation, commitment and understanding in making sure that Teaching and Learning remained front and centre during this school year 2020/2021. Our students have been exemplary in their behavior and commitment to their schooling during our in-school and virtual Teaching and Learning periods.
The adherence to our Covid 19 School Plan and the following of HSE Guidelines in relation to facemasks and hand sanitizing etc. has made sure that our students and staff remained safe at all times while in attendance during the year. We were very much “all in it together”. I sincerely thank you.

Finally...
Have a great Summer. We will continue to keep you informed in relation to school reopening over the Summer months.

Kind regards,
Eddie Collins,
Principal.