The piece below was submitted by Mary O’Mahony who teaches in the primary school in Mayfield, Cork City. She writes of her experience of COVID-19 and its impact on her work.

When schools closed on March 12th, 2020 we sure didn’t expect to be out for so long. We had to rethink our way of keeping children engaged in learning.

For older children Zoom became a useful way of engaging our pupils. IPads were given out to children who would not have access to one. Younger classes were sent out packs. They sent back their work via email. Photos were sent back. It was really great to see how they were interacting with their new way of learning. Photos were posted on our school Facebook page which had been set up by our Parents Association. We chose themes for some of the weeks e.g. Active Week, Literacy Week and we even had our own Bake Off.

Staff meetings were also held on Zoom. A staff what’s app group was set up for anyone who wanted to be part of it. A little humour helped us all through the initial lockdown and also kept us connected as a staff.

Summer holidays came and there was a sense of relief as we all found the distance learning challenging. Summer camps were held for our children in the autistic units. As the children had been out for so long, we wondered would they be ready to make the break from their parents. The first morning as we stood outside to welcome them we soon saw the joy on their little faces. They bounced into school each day. It was such a joy to see them interact with the various activities we had for them. We even made our own butter and then put it on crackers for our lunch. We made pizzas and of course the old reliable rice crispy cakes.

Of course the parents were so happy as well as they found the whole lockdown particularly challenging. As the two weeks came to a close I realised that I had participated in something very worthwhile. It was great to be part of it.

As time went on we were wondering again would we be going back to school in September. Prior to returning we were busy looking at webinars and filling out back to work forms. There were a lot of changes for teachers, Special Needs Assistances and our caretaking staff. But as the saying goes “we were all in this together”.

Inside the building there were signs everywhere telling us to keep our distance. Arrows showing us where to go. Sanitisers were installed in every classroom. Hand washing has become the norm. The first thing each child does once they hang up their coat and bag is to wash their hands. Small little hands had to be helped. We had looked up fun songs for making it an enjoyable experience but then we were told we couldn’t sing inside in our class rooms. Washing and sanitizing has become a routine throughout the day.

Children were divided into bubbles and pods. Again more new terminology for us all. Bubbles being the class and pods being the groups within the class.

Windows were to be kept open along corridors and in all the classrooms to allow for ventilation. We put on extra layers. Play time in the yard was staggered so that the whole school wouldn’t be out together as was the practice. We could no longer meet as a full staff for our lunch breaks. Places in staff room were marked out with a green tick.  All these were necessary to ensure we all felt safe but were hard to get used to. Of course masks became the norm for us all. It took some getting used to.

Children and parents could no longer enter the building freely in the mornings. For the first few weeks children were collected at gate and brought in by their teachers. Now children come in by themselves except for our Early Start pre-school children. After school children are walked to the gate again. This has been a huge change as we always saw parental involvement as very important.

But we had one important visitor to our school. The highlight of the year was, of course, Santa. Fortunately, he paid a flying visit. He peeked his head around the door to say hello to us and to assure eager little faces he would be calling to their homes.

During the Christmas holidays as we all know numbers were up again. Schools had to remain closed. Once again we were back to online learning. Fortunately this time we were more prepared. Our IT colleagues had set us all up on the See Saw App. This allowed us to send out work and for the children to get their work corrected. Children could also send us photos, videos and drawings. It was lovely to see how creative our children were. This led to an increase in children engaging with their work. We also rang parents regularly. Parents appreciated these calls, as some found the home schooling difficult.

Then in mid-March we returned to school. We were all glad to be back once again.

Easter holidays were soon upon us. For the first week I took part in a programme to help children who may have been affected by the lockdown. Children enjoyed some fun based learning. Once again it was a privilege to be part of this programme.

As I write this we are still in school. It has sure been a very different year for everyone. Despite all the restrictions and changes it has shown me how adaptable both children and ourselves as staff were during it all.  Our motto in our school is “Together we can do great things”.  I think despite all the challenges we adapted and had a great year together. As restrictions are lifted gradually and staff are vaccinated we can only hope that we’ll return to some sort of normality on August 31st 2021.

Mary O’Mahony rsm
Southern Province