Principal's Corner
Welcome to the first day of our seven day lockdown period. The story continues to unfold as we anticipate the impact of this lockdown and what it means for all of us.
At the moment we are focusing on the information we have at hand: that we are in lockdown for seven days and that Catholic schools are having two pupil free days and then remote learning from Tuesday to Thursday next week.
At the moment our focus is to:
- help everyone in our community to stay healthy and safe
- help our families and students to stay connected
- help our students to continue to learning and grow
What will remote learning look like?
Today our staff team met to organise the remote learning program that will be on offer. They are currently finalising arrangements. More detailed information will be provided on Monday. The most important information is:
- K-2 will be provided with remote learning tasks through Seesaw.
- Years 3 -6 will be provided with remote learning tasks through Google Classrooms.
- these, and other learning platforms, will be embedded in MS Teams. MS Teams will be used for face to face video communication.
- yesterday all students were provided with log in details for these platforms (please email your child's teacher if you need to obtain these).
The remote learning tasks will be based heavily upon the routines that students are familiar with in their classrooms. Each day of remote learning will include:
- a recorded morning greeting from the teacher
- two Daily 5 Literacy tasks
- one Daily 3 Maths task
- an option for an extra task from a grid provided for the week (PE, Science, Visual Arts, etc)
- a scheduled live MS Teams video session with the teacher and class
Additional support for students
On Monday our Inclusion Assistants will phone the families of all students on a personal plan to check in and see how they are and to let them know how they will help them during remote learning. They will be working remotely so this call may come through as a 'Private Number'. Please be aware so as to answer this call.
Students who are part of the Minilit intervention program will continue to participate in this. Mrs Neiberding is contacting all of these families today and Monday to explain how this will occur in an online environment.
Stewart is also looking forward to touching base with many of the students he works with.
What if my child can't access a device for all that time?
We have put together some packs of tasks and work that can be printed off at home for students to complete and then send through to their teacher. These will be available on Monday along with the other information.
Last year we did lend out devices to some families during remote learning. With a seven day lockdown we will not be doing this. Should the lockdown be extended we will then consider it.
What if I am an essential worker?
This is a hard and fast lockdown and to be effective it is expected that if parents can keep their children home they must. The school will be available for students whose parents are essential workers (employed in roles that support the community) or have vulnerable circumstances. Any student that attends the school on these days will be undertaking the remote learning program and not be taught by their usual class teacher. A skeleton staff will be on site for supervision and students will be arranged in groups that minimise contact and to comply with lockdown requirements.What can I do before next Tuesday to prepare?
In the meantime please:
- locate and store the log in details for your child
- try logging in to MS Teams. Here are some useful guides from Catholic Education:
- think about the space that will be used for remote learning and how to set it up so it's easy to access and use
- think about a timetable for your day, when you will have some times for learning/work and when you will have some break time for play and togetherness
- plan some little routines for your family that will help everyone focus on the positive and be present to each other (ask them about 'What Went Well today')
