It was music to the ears of the Mount Lourdes principal as the school was again filled with the sound of students.

Years 12-14 returned on Monday, March 22 and for Sinead Cullen it was great to have them back for the first time since December.

While the exam classes are back in the classrooms, the online learning continues for years eight to 11.

“You know it is wonderful to hear the chat of the girls on the corridors, and in classrooms,” said Mrs. Cullen.

Chatter in corridors

“Even though some staff have been coming into school to deliver their remote learning it was the sound of the young people, the chatter, you know as you walked along the corridors and in the classrooms.”

The students are working on the centre determined grades process which takes the place of formal exams which were cancelled back in January.

Mrs. Cullen believes it is a system that can work that teachers are well placed to assess where a student is at at the moment.

But while it is good see students back at school, she stresses that it is still as important as ever to stick to the guidelines.

Students and staff are wearing masks, a one way system is in place and hand sanitiser are dotted throughout the school. As well as that, lateral flow testing is to take place twice weekly to identify asymptomatic people.

“I would be very clear it’s not a return to normality.

“There’s a period of readjustment for the students to settle back in, to refresh their memories of the safety guidelines, and to reconnect with their friends, and we will be very clear, it’s not a return to normality and now more than ever we still have to follow the guidelines.”

Throughout the year of the pandemic, school shave had to adapt to new ways of learning with virtual classes becoming an integral part of the continuity of education.

Looking forward, Mrs. Cullen can see this playing a more prominent part and that education can continue to move forward with a positive outlook.

She explained: “I think there will be some change, that’s been introduced with Covid-19 which will remain.

“We’ve become more digital, and also become more time efficient.

“And there has also been a lot of really good work done in relation to wellbeing, and building resilience, a real focus on practical things that young people can do.

“And that has been from various community groups, and also from the, you know, the health services from the Education Authority.

“And I think that’s an area that we really need to continue to build on. We do have to take this on and we have to take the positives out of it.”

Mrs. Cullen believes I.T. skills have been strengthened and will continue to be developed and while that has to be looked at alongside the loss of group activities, she believes these will return.

And she is also hopeful that the rest of the student body will be back in the classroom before long as matters continue to improve.

“We’d be hopeful that things remain stable and we’d be able to welcome Years 8-11 to the classrooms shortly,” added Mrs. Cullen.