Latest News
Welcome to our News section!
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Mr Armstrong is appointed as permanent Principal of Brooklands Primary School
Thu 14 Jan 2021Dear Parents and Guardians,
I am delighted to announce that, following the recruitment process for a permanent Principal, Mr Armstrong has been appointed to the role. Mr Armstrong has been teaching in Brooklands for many years and has served as vice-principal and acting principal.
At this time, I want to thank Mr Armstrong particularly for his work over the last year in leading the school through the difficult times we have all faced.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Smart along with all the teachers, classroom assistants and other staff in the school for their hard work in rising to the many challenges of the last year.
As the pressures of Covid-19 continue, I know that Mr Armstrong and the whole team will continue to do a great job, both in enabling learning and in supporting each child fully through all they are experiencing.
Richard McIlhatton
Chairperson of the Board of Governors
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AQE Transfer Test in February is Cancelled
Thu 14 Jan 2021Dear Parents and P7 Pupils,
Last night we learnt through News Channels that the AQE Examination, rescheduled for the 27th February has now also been cancelled.
In a statement the AQE said it was cancelling the test due to ongoing uncertainty around the potential extension of this current lockdown.
You have been remarkable in how you have handled the many changes and uncertainties that you have had to face this year, and we are extremely proud of our P7 Boys and Girls, and their families.
You have kept smiling, kept trying your best, and kept on digging deep for your reserves of courage, determination and resilience.
You should feel very proud of yourselves, first and foremost, and we, as a school family, will help you every step of the way, no matter what you may face in education, as you look ahead to selecting post primary school places for the next academic year.
None of your hard work will ever be in vain, and that goes for each and every one of our hardworking, incredible P7 Pupils.
We are here for you and your families. Please contact us with anything you need this week, as you as a family readjust, support one another and process this news once more.
With love to each and every one of our pupils and their families this morning.
Post Primary information and admissions criteria for post primary applications for September 2021 will be available on the Education Authority website on Tuesday 2nd February 2021.
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Nursery and Primary 1 Admissions Update for Parents
Mon 11 Jan 2021Dear Prospective Parents,
We hope this finds you well, and feeling as informed as you can be when making such an important decision for your child, as you select your number one choice of nursery or primary school for September 2021.
Through our open-day video, and the ongoing information you may glean through our website and social media outlets, as well as through talking to our existing parents and families of Brooklands, we hope that you have gained a true sense of the love, care, support and sense of belonging that your child will feel, when they begin their education within Brooklands Nursery or Primary School later this year.
The EA's Portal for Admissions is now open, with applications coming in for Nursery and Primary places for September 2021.
To access this Portal, please visit:
https://www.eani.org.uk/parents/admissions
and click on “Search Schools and Admissions Criteria”.
• The online portal for applications opened on 7th January at 12.00 noon and will close on 29th January at 12.00 noon.
• The admissions process does not operate on a first come first served basis. We will not begin to consider applications until after the portal closes on 29 January at 12.00 noon.All pre-schools and primary schools will require a copy of your child’s birth certificate to be uploaded during the online application process, so please have your child's birth certificate to hand.
You can contact the EA Admission's Helpdesk Monday to Thursday 8am-8pm and Friday 9am - 5pm, should you have any queries relating to the online portal and application process.
The EA Helpdesk Telephone Number is 028 9598 5595.
If you wish to seek further information specific to the care and education your child will receive within Brooklands Primary School, please do not hesitate to contact our Principal, Mr Armstrong, via email to jarmstrong775@c2kni.net.
We look forward to welcoming your child, and your family, into Brooklands Nursery and Primary School from September 2021.
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School Closure until February Half-Term
Wed 06 Jan 2021Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we are now aware that schools will be closed to the majority of pupils until February half-term, we write to you once more with the details you will need, if you have a vulnerable child, or are a key working family in need of essential support at this time.
To request a place for your child, you must email Mr Armstrong no later than 7pm tomorrow, Thursday 7th January.
If you child is attending school for supervised learning, the following information applies:
Arrival and Collection will be via the main front doors. Your child can arrive between 0845 and 0915, where they will be taken to their classroom. Normal school hours apply, with a 2-o'clock finish on Wednesday and Fridays.
We ask that all children wear their school uniform and that they bring a snack and a packed lunch each day.
The teachers and assistants in school each day will supervise the children in accessing and completing their home-learning activities from their year group class page.
May we take this chance to thank our teaching staff, classroom assistants, office and cleaning staff for all that they are doing to support children in their care and education when in school during this time.
Home-Learning
Our teachers will continue to provide engaging, accessible home-learning opportunities for our children into the weeks ahead.
We understand the demands that home-learning can place on families, where you may have more than one child needing to access activities, or where you yourself may be working from home too. We ask you to do what you can, when you can, with the focus being upon maintaining the children's enjoyment around learning, as we focus upon their development of key skills in literacy and maths, when they are at home.
We would encourage all of our families to tune in to our assemblies which will appear during the weeks ahead. This has proven to be a fantastic way to help our children to feel connected to school, when we are apart, and it is very important to us that we strive to keep that whole-school connection with our children, as it is vitally important that they know that we are here, that we care, and that they belong, even when at home.
May we take this chance to thank Mr Henry for all that he does to put these special assemblies together; to present, produce, edit and direct proceedings, as we know how much this means to our children when they are at home. Thank you also to the family and friends of Brooklands who contribute each week also - we couldn't do it without your input and support!
Please keep in contact with your child's class teacher when at home. They would love to see pictures of your child completing an activity set, or just to hear how they are getting on. Never forget that we are here for you.
With love and thanks to you all,
Mr Armstrong and Mrs Smart
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AQE Examination Planned for 27th February 2021
Wed 06 Jan 2021Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we watched the news unfold last night, we can only imagine the roller-coaster of emotions being experienced by our parents and P7 pupils preparing for the AQE examinations.
The January examinations that were cancelled yesterday morning have now been replaced with one date where pupils can sit one paper, subject to the public health situation within Northern Ireland at that time.
The date that has been scheduled for pupils to sit this one paper is now Saturday 27th February 2021.
We know that many of our P7 families will have experienced a very emotional day yesterday, and we are here for you all.
Our P7 Teachers will contact their AQE families directly this week to give you our support, and allow you an opportunity to talk things through, regarding your child's well-being, and next steps specifically, as we appreciate there will be a mixture of emotions, thoughts and questions that you may have moving forwards.
Our love to our pupils and their families in P7, as well in every year group throughout our school and nursery.
This uncertainty and ever-changing landscape has been so hard to manage for you as parents, as you support your children at home, and care for their emotional well-being first and foremost, when you yourself are left so unsure as to what will happen next.
As always in Brooklands, we will support each other through the days and weeks ahead, until we come through this, and can be back together again in school once more.
Please join us via our 'Whole-School Home-Learning' Page for our vitally important assemblies throughout this time, which are a key way in which we can stay together, whilst apart.
With love and thanks to all of our families at this time.
Mr Armstrong and Mrs Smart
On behalf of all of the Staff of Brooklands
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AQE Transfer Testing in January now Cancelled
Tue 05 Jan 2021Dear P7 Parents and Guardians,
We, at the same time as families, read the BBC's breaking news which reports that the Post-Primary Transfer Tests in Northern Ireland, scheduled for January 2021, have been cancelled.
This is the news we anticipated, yet it will come with mixed feelings for you all we know.
The children's health and safety is paramount, but we also know that after so many months of direct, and challenging preparation for these tests, that this news will come as a huge disappointment for our children also.
This has been a very difficult time for you all, and we will inform you of any guidance or update to this information that we receive.
We are thinking of our P7 pupils who have worked so hard, and spent their Christmas holiday anticipating this exam in January. We are here for you at any time.
Mr Armstrong, Mrs Smart, Mr Henry, Miss Duggan, Mr Devlin, Miss Steele and our P7 Classroom Assistants
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Awaiting Information Regarding School Closures
Tue 05 Jan 2021Dear Parents and Guardians,
We, along with all schools, await urgent clarification regarding the extended closure of schools and will inform you as soon as we have those vital details.
This is a very unsettling time in the world at large, as well as closer to home, for our school and our families. Please know that throughout any period of school closure, we are always here for you, your children and family as a whole, so please never hesitate to get in touch if we can help.
This week, teachers are working hard to prepare and upload learning activities for this week, and will be working on this as the week goes on.
Should you wish to contact your child's teacher, please don't hesitate to send an email, and know that their teacher would love to see your child taking part in activities, and knowing how they are getting on.
We are here for you, and will be in contact as soon as we know the details that will impact on our school into the weeks ahead.
We are thinking of you all, and a special thought goes to our P7 pupils preparing for AQE examinations, as we await confirmation regarding these tests also.
Sincere thanks,
Mr Armstrong and Mrs Smart
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School Restart
Fri 01 Jan 2021Dear Parents and Guardians,
We hope this finds you well and that you have enjoyed a restful Christmas break.
We write to you following the Minister of Education's latest announcement and the subsequent meeting in Stormont to discuss pupils' return to schools after the Christmas break.
Next week our exceptional closure day which was planned for Monday 4th January remains in place. This will now be used to prepare home-learning for the children, which will be provided from Tuesday 5th January until Friday 8th January 2021.
Primary Schools are currently due to return to face-to-face teaching from Monday 11th January.
Nursery schools are to remain open, and therefore Brooklands Nursery School will be open for our nursery pupils from Tuesday 5th January.
Brooklands Primary School will be open to provide a 'supervised learning environment' for vulnerable children and children of Key Working Families next week, but it is vital that this service is only availed of if you have no alternative way in which to safely care for your child within your family bubble.
If your child is sitting the AQE examinations in January, please contact Mr Armstrong for information regarding how we will strive to support your child specifically next week. It is imperative that we keep numbers of pupils and staff coming into school as low as possible next week, so that we can continue to keep everyone as safe as is possible during this time. As such we appeal to all families to contact us regarding a place for your child, if we are your only option next week.
To register your child or children for supervised learning next week, we ask that you email Mr Armstrong to jarmstrong775@c2kni.net before 9pm on Sunday 3rd January 2021.
This is to allow vital time needed on Monday to put safe plans in place for our pupils that week, including arranging appropriate levels of staffing to provide supervision throughout each day, and cleaning of the rooms in use. Late applications therefore cannot be considered.
Children can arrive between 0845 - 0915 via the main front door only.
School will close at the usual times, with a 3pm finish on Tuesday and Thursday and a 2pm finish time on Wednesday and Friday.
Children should wear their uniform, and we ask all children to bring a packed lunch next week.
Children in school will be supervised when completing their online tasks set for that day, and made to feel safe and secure during their time in school.
Children will not necessarily be supervised by their own class teacher.
Home Learning
The children's activities will be posted each day, Tuesday to Friday, within their year group Home-Learning Page, which will be found from Tuesday morning by clicking upon 'Children' then 'Class Pages' on our school website.
Pupils will be set a literacy and mathematics task each day, and this will be a revision of skills taught in class earlier in the academic year. This will help the children to feel secure in their learning when at home, as they consolidate skills and understanding.
On the 'Whole-School Home Learning Page' you will find a welcome from Mr Armstrong and Mrs Smart on Tuesday, and daily short assemblies for your child to watch at home from Wednesday to Friday.
We hope that this will help the children to feel that vitally important connection to school, and to know how much we are thinking of them when they are learning from home. We also appreciate the demands this places on all families, with parents potentially working from home also, or older or younger siblings needing time and attention too, so all that we ask is that you do what you can as a family and in as enjoyable a way as is possible, so that your child feels connected, happy and ready to return to school from the following week.
Should you have any queries, or wish to share work that your child has completed with your child's class teacher, we would encourage you to email your child's teacher, during school hours, from Tuesday 5th January.
Teachers are there to help and want to share in your child's learning next week, albeit remotely. They will do their best to reply to you as soon as is possible, but we ask you to be mindful that they may also be in school, supervising pupils there, so replies may take longer as a result.
Please contact Mr Armstrong or Mrs Smart if you have a query that is more urgent in nature. Our email addresses are:
May we take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy new year. This is not the start to 2021 that any of us want, however, we will all work together to do what we must, as we push through this challenging time and look ahead with positivity and hope for a safe and happy new year together in Brooklands.
Thank you for everything that you are doing from home, and for your support to us too, as we navigate our way through these unpredictable and challenging times.
