SCHOOL LEADERSHIP'S MESSAGE

PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Welcome back to a very different Term 2. We hope that this newsletter finds our community in continued good health.

To recap some key aspects of our Remote Learning Plan:

* Students should be logging on to Microsoft Teams for each of their timetabled classes. Exceptions to this would only be when the internet is not working or where different arrangements have been made due to additional and/or special needs. Students who cannot get on due to connectivity issues should email their teacher as soon as they can and complete the work set on Compass.  ALL lessons can be found on Compass, as well as any necessary learning resources.

* Parents are not expected to “teach classes” and/or provide the lesson, the content, or to assess the learning. This is still being done by your child’s teachers. The only exception is where a parent may be required to supervise a School Assessed Coursework (SAC) task. This information has been provided directly to parents of VCE students. The expectation is that parents encourage their student, where possible supervise them, and stay up to date via Compass, Facebook, and email regarding their child’s learning.

* Like everyone else, Teachers have been asked to self-isolate and where they can, they must work from home. Consequently, the school is running on a skeleton staff. Where possible, we ask that you contact us via the designated parent email address: 7960-parent-support@schools.vic.edu.au

Some early feedback from students, staff, and parents

* A lot of students are liking the flexibility online learning presents

* Our attendance rates have improved

* Teachers are learning lots of cool new tools

* Parents are learning how to use Compass

* Greater connection at home between parents and students regarding learning.

Challenges we are working through

* Challenges in the home with getting students online due to troubling internet, students refusing to get out of bed, students having difficulties adjusting to the changed routine, expectations etc.

* Teaching students how to be respectful online (it’s not a space staff and students have worked extensively in together – so students are having to shift their mind set from what behaviours they deem okay in a social media context, to the ‘work’ environment of school)

* From a teacher’s perspective, monitoring learning is a challenge which has been highlighted over the past 10 days. When you can’t immediately see what a student is doing, how can we ensure they have learnt it? Consequently, parents may be receiving more overdue work emails as staff are seeking to clarify whether students have learnt what they have been taught

* Due to family violence, and challenges associated with the Coronavirus such as job loss, not all members of our community are thriving in the remote learning space.

John and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our community who have shown great patience and understanding that some of our staff may fall into the ‘vulnerable’ category and unable to attend the College, may live with a vulnerable person or an essential worker, and may be supervising their own children’s learning from home. In the remote space there is the potential for things to go wrong and there are unique challenges that we all will face from time to time, but please know we are doing everything in our power to get it right and support your child’s learning!

For those families who are barely surviving during the Coronavirus pandemic …

•    Be real about what you can and can’t do (be forgiving of yourself and others if things don’t always get done)

•    Change what you can

•    Take this opportunity to focus on what really matters to you and your family

•    See this time as a chance to reconnect with your children (forget the washing and spend time with your children)

•    If you or your children are not safe in the home – REACH OUT (see list of support agencies in this newsletter). Take this time to focus on what matters, safety being number one

•    Be brave. (When my children were little, I was always afraid when I knew I had to initiate a change in routine, or deal with a behaviour that had gotten out of hand, but I learned to set time aside for 1-3 days to deal with the issue. When I did that, I found that I was mentally prepared to deal with any fallout from the changed routine or change to behaviour. The difficult period rarely lasted three days. I could be brave for three days.) In our context, an example would be turning the internet off at 10pm. Brave the storm, it too will pass

•    Change the conversation from arguing about school work, to asking your children to talk about three things that have gone well in their day. Share your three things. This opens up a different conversation and changes the brain from negative to resilient thinking. www.theresilienceproject.com

Sometimes from the ashes grow the most beautiful things.

Principals

Principal - Vaya Dauphin

Assistant Principal  -  John Wilson