Sir, – As another secondary-school year draws to a close, our students, staff and parents take a collective sigh of relief and a well-deserved bow of accomplishment, in these penultimate summer days.
While some worries may still remain, there is no doubt that in the past few months, the rich bounty and profusion of school life has supplanted the restrictions that were imposed on our schools – though necessary at the time.
But for now, we give a shout-out to our Leaving Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied and Junior Cycle students, all of whom begin their State examinations today. These students (and indeed, their parents) have been strapped inside an assessment policy rollercoaster for the past two years, where at times, the levels of uncertainty and anxiety were palpable and incessant.
We wish these students all the very best in their exams and hope that they can believe in themselves and in their potential as much as their teachers and parents believe in them.
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On that note, it is important that we also recognise and pay tribute to a group of people who may well be described as the unsung heroes of the pandemic – the parents of our students.
These parents continue to cope with their own anxieties and those of their children. We salute them and join with them in trying to do the very best for our extraordinary young people. – Yours, etc,
JOHN McHUGH,
Principal,
Ardscoil Rís,
Griffith Avenue,
Dublin 9.