Happy Friday!

Good afternoon everyone,

A warm welcome back to everyone after our half-term break and a huge well done to all our pupils and families after another week of remote learning.

This week, we received a letter from the Education Minister which outlined a phased return to full time face-to-face teaching for certain pupils.

The arrangements (which are subject to change) advise that ‘pupils in Years 12 to 14 will return to Edmund Rice College on Monday 22nd March 2021’. ‘Remote learning will continue for all other year groups, who will return to ERC as soon as practicably possible after the Easter break’.

We look forward to welcoming our Year 12-14 pupils back to school prior to Easter and seeing our Year 8-11 pupils very soon. We miss you all!

Our focus on pupil wellbeing remains paramount and we were delighted to share a story from Frank Diamond of ALPS NI this week, focusing on the power of connecting.

Our wonderful past pupil, John Dixon, was our key contributor to #WellbeingWednesday with some helpful photography tips to help us ‘Take Notice’.

The wellbeing of our school community remains our number one priority during these challenging times.

Our Community Hub featured in the Irish News this week and has an excellent section focusing on Wellbeing.

It is a tremendous resource that we are very proud of and would ask you to take a look as it provides an excellent digital toolbox of support and care.

https://www.edmundricecollege.co.uk/community-hub/

Mr O’ Hare and Mr Kelly have been nominated for Blackboard Awards this evening. We wish them well, but regardless, they are both winners in our eyes for their invaluable work during the pandemic.

Mr O’ Hare has played an instrumental role in the safe reopening of Edmund Rice College and Mr Kelly has provided outstanding support and guidance for our school community in relation to Google Classroom. Both worthy winners!

Next week is a very important week in Edmund Rice College. Post primary school applications open on Monday for the transfer of P7 pupils and we cannot wait to welcome the next group of boys and girls into our ERC Family.

Guidance and support for completing the application process will be posted on our website and social media early next week. Next week is also Careers Week.

We have some great things lined up for you throughout the week, starting with the launch of our GCSE Option Choices for our Year 10 pupils.

If you need any support, please give us a call. Our pastoral teams will be in touch with all families again over the next week.

Have a great weekend.

Take care and God Bless.

Mr Berne.