Letter to Parents and Pupils of Rang 4, 5, and 6 re Microsoft Teams

4/5/2020

Dear Parents and Pupils of Rang 4, 5 and 6,

On Tuesday morning we will begin to use Microsoft Teams to improve the provision of distance learning in the senior end of Ballina Primary School. The teachers completed online training over the last fortnight on Microsoft Teams and have been supported in this set-up and training by IT Systems, Killaloe.

Over the last two days you should have received a username and password for each pupil.
Each class teacher has set up a team for his/her class.

Students can log into their school accounts at Office.com, where they will have access to Microsoft Teams, Word, PowerPoint and Excel. From this home base, students can open Office apps in their web browser.
Microsoft Teams can be accessed online or downloaded to a home or mobile device.
It is better to download the Microsoft Team App and to use that for online learning.
To explore Teams and see the class team they are in, the pupil can sign in to their school Office 365 account at Office.com and select the Teams app. Students will also receive an email notification when they've been added to a team (see links to Microsoft below for further guidance).
Teams is an online classroom hub, where the pupil can chat with their whole class, in groups with other students, and one-on-one with their teachers.

The weekly plan of work, similar to those that they have been working from over the last few weeks, has been uploaded to outline the work that the pupils will cover at home each day. Worksheets, assignments and other documents have been included to support the children with their work. Each teacher will chat to the pupils online each day through the written word to support any queries and give any feedback and support required.
As we know circumstances are different in each household at this time. Pupils (supported by their parents) are working on their school work at different times of the day (morning, afternoon, evening) depending on access to devices and circumstances in the home. For this reason we are trying to make the education we provide as fair and balanced a system as possible. Pupils can access the work on their class team whenever it suits your home each day and it does not have to be during official school hours. We are trying to include a balance between online and pen and paper tasks. If you choose not to use the Teams platform the weekly plan will also be on the school website as before and will be sent to you via the Aladdin App also. Teachers will not be teaching live via video link but will be using the chat forum to contact pupils and to give advice and feedback. They will be online every school day during school hours to support the children with their learning. Children/ Parents may submit the work requested through the Teams App or via the teacher’s email.
While the internet is a very valuable resource and is vital in many homes at the moment, it is important to remember that when it comes to primary school children its use needs to be monitored. Webwise.ie offers some very valuable information for parents on how they can help their children stay safe on-line. They also offer advice for parents on dealing with on-line access during Covid-19. Please see the links below for further support on internet safety.
We are anticipating it will take a few days for us all to get used to this new way of learning so please email the class teacher if you have any questions or difficulties.

Thank you for your continued support and feedback.
Príomhoide Bernice, Múinteoir Deirdre, Múinteoir Michael, Múinteoir David, Múinteoir Claire, Múinteoir Ciara O’ S and Múinteoir Cathal.

Rang 4: