The best thing about being back to school is….

well, it was very boring at home, because we were at home for nearly six months. So, I was glad that we could go back to school. The best thing is that we have a massive Gaelic football pitch, an astroturf pitch and, best of all, we are across the road from my house! We are in Garrymore complex. When people ask ‘’how do you get to school everyday?’’ I reply “I walk to my school”. ‘’Well isn’t your school a few km away?’’ they ask. ‘’Well my school is only across the road’’, I reply. It was very scary going back to school for the first time in six months, especially when the Covid-19 cases were high. But now it’s normal to get up and go to school. And I’m very glad we can go to school and see our friends.

On Friday, March 13th, 2020 all Ireland went into lockdown. Everyone was happy that schools were closed and you had to stay home. So I just played video games and my friend James and I would meet in Ballyglass every day. Then after seven months every child’s worst nightmare came to pass and schools started again! So 5th and 6th class were in Garrymore because a new classroom is being built in Gortskehy. Garrymore is way better because we can play basketball inside and play football on the astroturf pitch. Now it’s near mid-term so maybe Taoiseach Micheál Martin will make the holidays longer as covid cases are on the rise.

It is good to be back at school so we can see our friends and be able to socialise. It’s good to be able to play sports with our friends at school because it can be a bit hard to play alone. It is nice to have something to do instead of waiting at home all the time. But I like the end of school too. It is good to be back to school because we get to play basketball.

It is also good to go back to school because we are getting our education. I like being back at school because it is nice to be creating art. It is great we are in Garrymore  because we get to use the astro-turf pitch. School is a lot better than at home because we don’t have to use Zoom for lessons even though I loved only having a few days of school. That was good but it is nice to see our friends every day at school. Thanks for reading.

Since we have started school again we have been in Garrymore hall while a new classroom is being built back at the school. I like being at school in the hall because we use the new astro-turf pitch for break times and P.E. We also use half of the hall for basketball games when it’s raining. The other half of the hall is for our school work.

We have our own laptops and pair of headphones for our technology work and our own scissors and glue sticks for art. It is quite different from last year as we’re not in a normal classroom but it’s a nice change. Another change that has happened is with the bus. You see, this is how it works… everyone gets on the bus (except Sadhbh and Ella as their houses are right across from Garrymore hall) and sits in their newly assigned seats. At home time the bus brings us from Garrymore hall to the school where most people get off as they are getting picked up in the car. Then, whoever is left on the bus has to wait for the younger classes to get on the bus and then, once everyone is on, we can head for home!                                                                               

The last few months have been very different from any other year. When Leo Varadakar announced in March that schools would close for two weeks everyone was delighted. It was soon announced that the lockdown would continue for a few months. I spent a lot of time in my new bedroom that I had painted and bought new furniture for. I finally caught up on things I had wanted to do for ages but didn’t have the time for. My sisters and I spent a lot of time together making messes, forts, crafts and playing football outside. When the restrictions lifted slightly, I was able to have sleepovers with my cousins, meet up with my friends  and go more places. Shortly afterwards schools reopened after months of quarantine. Things were different – when you came into the classroom you would have to sanitise your hands and if you felt sick the teacher would have to check your temperature. A few weeks into school I started to miss quarantine, but at least I got to see my friends everyday. 

It will now soon be mid term break and everyone is excited for Halloween. Some of us (like me) hope that Micheál Martin will extend the mid term and try to get things under control. The covid-19 virus has changed everyone’s plans this year.