Convince Me: Should We Go Back to School?

Eve Kelly and Maja Baltruszewicz in Rang a 5 go head-to head to try and convince you (and Leo Varadkar!) of their opinions regarding the continuing closures of schools.

So, should we go back to school? Read on to be convinced, one way or the other.

Why we Should Go Back to School

By Eve Kelly

I am writing to you, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, to inform you on my thoughts on the school closures and the possibilities of schools re-opening.

As we all know the schools and colleges have been closed due to Covid 19 for an extended period of time. I personally think the schools should re-open. Here is why:

 

People’s Mental Health

Now almost no one is allowed to see any family or friends. This will cause many people to break the current restrictions in place and, it will cause many student’s and adult’s mental health to develop or in some cases, worsen what’s already there.

The Weather

Summer is coming soon and therefore the weather will be a lot better, causing more and more people to break the restrictions in place to go visit co workers and friends from school.

Frontline Workers

By opening schools, a great amount of pressure will be taken off workers still in their positions in shops to find childcare for the kids at home.

So, how do we introduce students to a school environment safely again?

My theory is that instead of bringing in a small number of children let’s say 5, bring in 10. Why? Well if only five children and one teacher were in the room standards would automatically drop as students and teachers will think they are safer due to the small number of people in the room. Now if there were 10 in the room plus a teacher, the standards would be higher, rules will be stricter, and people will be more aware of physical contact.

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read this. Stay Safe.

Why we should not go back to school

By Maja Baltruszewicz

In these hard times, there really is nothing we can do except for not touching our faces, keeping a distance and no mass gatherings. Most importantly I want to tell my opinion on why we should not be allowed back to school. Here's my opinion.

There are more than 12 kids in each classroom. That saying "The more, the merrier" is definitely not true in these times. Especially in winter, when a lot of people get colds, it could be very possible that germs can spread from one child to another.

Handshakes are not acceptable in school. More children will have contact with germs. The worst part is that viruses spread FAST.

I think that if too many people are in one place it can get MESSY.

People don't even want to be near each other so why make it any harder on the children? But we still have to be aware about germs, bacteria and other people’s germs.

The children (like me) were very worried about the virus even before lockdown! I think, for the sake of everyone’s health, us children, teachers and any staff members should be not allowed back to schools (also the same for preschools and colleges).I don’t know anything more than that except for that we have to keep our hands clean, no handshaking, and keeping a 2 meter distance.

I hope this virus ends soon. And that was my report on why we should NOT be allowed back to school. Thank you for reading.

 

The Mighty Man-of-War, by Evan

Evan Canavan has been busy at home, researching the fearsome engineering, logistics and firepower that came together to create the legendary Man-of-War, the mightiest battleship in the Age of Sail.

Well done, Evan, this is a superb piece of historical research and writing.

Man-of-War

Report by Evan Canavan

The Man-of-War was a wooden naval ship that was designed for fighting and not for merchant service. It was in service from the 16th to the 19th century. It resembled a galleon in design, but had heavy fire-power with an average of 65 guns. Sometimes, it could have over 100 guns.

These ships weighed 1,000 tons and had 3 masts. Only the three major sea-powers of the time (Spain, England, and France) had these ships.

A full schematic of a Man-of-War. Click above for a larger view.


The Crew

It took a crew of around 700 for a round the world voyage – 131 marines (soldiers who fought at sea) and 569 seamen.

The admiral commanded the fleet and worked out battle plans.

The captain commanded the ship.

The 1st Lieutenant was the captain’s assistant.

The Lieutenants assisted the captain in carrying out orders.

Next in line were the Warrant Sea Officers. The Master navigated and piloted the ship. The Boatswain was responsible for the rigging and sails. The Gunner was in charge of the cannons. The Warrant Sea Officers also included the Carpenter, the Surgeon and the Purser who was in charge of supplies. Many of the crew hated the purser because they thought that he was stealing the supplies to make a profit for himself.

Next were the Inferior Warrant Officers who included the Chaplain, the Cook, the Schoolmaster and the Sail maker. Next were the petty officers and then the Idlers who included the carpenter’s crew and the sailmaker’s crew.


Fire Power    

A Man of War’s guns were very destructive but only at short range. Firing cannon needed a 6 man gun crew. Each man was known by a number. One was the gun captain (he primed, aimed and fired the gun), Two turned and raised the gun barrel, Three loaded the gun, Four damped down sparks before reloading, Five moved the gun barrel and passed ammunition and Six was the “powder monkey” who delivered fresh gun powder.  Some “powder monkeys” were only 10 or 12 years old.

The guns used different types of shot- cannonballs, chain shot, grape shot and canister shot. Cannonballs were heavy round balls usually made of iron. Chainshot- were heavy balls joined by a chain. They tangled in the enemy ship’s rigging and tore it down. Grape shot were iron balls, the size of tennis balls bound in canvas sacks. Canister shot were cylindrical cases containing pistol balls. They were used at close range to kill people. The gun crews faced instant death or horrible injuries from a direct hit.

Sometimes the ships were used to transport treasure or to escort merchant ships. Also the ships could stay just beyond the horizon or in the shadow of merchant ships as a trap for would be pirates. While most pirates avoided the Man-O-Wars, some pirates would attack the ships if they knew they were carrying a lot of treasure.

One of the most famous Man of War ships was the HMS Victory. It was best known for her role in the battle of Trafalgar  with vice admiral Lord Horatio Nelson. Nelson was killed during the battle and his body was put in a barrel of brandy to preserve his body. When the navy examined the barrel later, they discovered it was empty. DID THE CREW DRINK IT????

Triceratops Report, by Mario

Mario also got busy studying dinosaurs, and put together this roarsome report on triceratops.

Well done to Mario, Leo and their English Language teacher Ms. Browne for all the work.

Click on the first image to scroll through the pages.

Velociraptors, by Leo

Leo Ricardi got extremely busy at home, under the able guidance of his English Language teacher Ms. Browne, to create this comprehensive and fascinating report on the fast thief of the dinoraur world: the velociraptor.

Click on each image for a larger view.

COVID-19 SCHOOL CLOSURE


As directed by the Government, Claddagh National School will close today, 12th March, at 2:30 p.m. and remain closed until March 29th at least.

Here at Claddagh School we will endeavour to keep you updated regarding all announcements that will affect your children.

Most of all , we in Claddagh School would like to wish everybody in our school community and beyond continued safety and good health.

Supporting Your Child’s Learning and Well-Being

We will also do our utmost to help you support your child's learning during the closure period.

As such, all children will be sent home with a list of recommended learning they can continue during the period of closure. This will include text-based and online material, and we urge you - as much as practically possible - to continue supporting your child's learning during this period. Even sitting down and reading with your child each day will be of huge benefit.

Don't forget, also, to support your child's development by making time for physical or outdoor activity, if at all possible - this is essential to support a child's physical and mental well-being.

Please find below a list of free, high-quality online learning resources, as well as suggested activities for parents and children at home.