'Our wellbeing is important too' - 6th-class boy asks Taoiseach to allow school to reopen for 'last funday'

A 6th-class boy has written to the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar asking him to let his school reopen so his class can have their school graduation.
'Our wellbeing is important too' - 6th-class boy asks Taoiseach to allow school to reopen for 'last funday'

A 6th-class boy has written to the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar asking him to let his school reopen so his class can have their school graduation.

The boy, who attends St Paul's Senior National School in Drogheda, County Louth, in his hand-written letter said: "We have feelings and our wellbeing is important too. We need to see our friends and our teachers too. We are not going back to our school in September.

"Leo we have a big playground and could have it outside. We would be very careful and keep our hands germs free. We could finish at the end of June.

"So please give my principal and other sixth class schools permission to open in the last week of June for one day, so we can say goodbye and have a last funday with our school friends and teachers.

We were together for over 8 years. It is not fair or good for our mental health and we may not see each other again.

"I don’t mind if you are too busy to write back to me. I really hope when you do your next speech in June that you say the school can open for one day. You will make thousands of children very very happy and you would be looking after our mental health too."

It was posted on Facebook and prompted other parents to comment. One woman said: "One last day in the yard isn’t too much to ask, a great letter."

Another parent said: "I felt every word of this young man's letter. St Paul's Senior N.S is a great school. Kudos to the able management, brilliant teachers and great students."

The letter has been posted to Mr Varadkar’s constituency office and also emailed to him.

This morning the Children's Rights Alliance called for the re-opening of schools in August and said that a generation of children and young people may never reach their full potential due to learning loss.

Tanya Ward, the chief executive, speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, said Ireland can learn from other European countries where schools have re-opened.

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