Another week of home schooling complete

Good afternoon everyone.

I hope our entire ERC community remains safe and well. Happy Friday!

Well done for all your efforts as another week of remote learning comes to an end. With the roadmap out of Covid-19 revealed this week, we are all hopeful that there will not be too many more weeks of working from home.

The pupils are working incredibly hard at home and we have no doubt that fatigue is setting in. The message remains the same. Try to get into a routine, do what you can and most importantly, look after yourselves. Your wellbeing is paramount.

We are incredibly proud that we have been awarded the status of a ‘Take 5’ school. Recognition for our ongoing focus on wellbeing. We are the first school in the Belfast and Newtownabbey area to be awarded this accolade by the EA.

Our ethos of ‘Care’ is so important to us and we will continue to prioritise the wellbeing of our school community, now more than ever.

Our fabulous Literacy Department had a key message this week for us all on #WellbeingWednesday on the importance of taking time for yourself and the benefits of reading. “Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are”.

I would ask all our families to encourage their child to spend some time reading each day. Research shows that regular reading can reduce stress and boost our sleep. Great reasons to pick up a book!

As part of Careers Week this week, we launched our Year 10 GCSE Options Choices. https://sites.google.com/c2ken.net/erc-gcse-options If your child is in Year 10, please watch the virtual presentation, read the options guidance and subject information before sending back the initial survey form which will inform our option blocks.

If you need any advice, please email or contact the school office and someone will be more than happy to speak with you.

Please find details of some key dates for the next few weeks, as per our school calendar:

Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th March- School holidays. Remote learning will not be set and supervised learning in school will not be available on these days.

Friday 19th March- Staff Development Day. Remote learning will not be set and supervised learning in school will not be available on this day.

Remote learning for Years 8-11 and supervised learning will recommence on Monday 22nd March.

Monday 22nd March- Year 12-14 pupils return to ERC for face-to-face teaching. I will be in touch with further information over the next few weeks.

Thursday 1st April- School closes at 12:30pm for Easter holidays. School buses will not run on this day.

Monday 12th April- Staff Development Day. Remote learning will not be set and supervised learning in school will not be available on this day.

Tuesday 13th April- Years 12-14 pupils return to ERC. It is hoped that Years 8-11 will also return after Easter. We will update you all with any information when we receive it.

For now, close down the computers and Google Classroom, and have a well-deserved rest over the weekend. You are all doing a great job!

Take care,

Mr Berne.