HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL
As we end Week 2 of online learning, I feel proud of what everyone has achieved every day during the lockdown. As a team, we regularly evaluate student learning needs based on feedback to inform our planning. My focus has been to design streamlined approaches, provide a suitable curriculum for each of the key learning areas and support students to connect as strongly as possible with the learning and their class online.
At the College, we acknowledge our families' circumstances in our planning. Educators are designing independent, authentic tasks where possible and delivering live and recorded instruction to assist our young learners. When evaluating our current processes, we share findings of how both students and parents are coping with the daily online learning structure. I understand home learning challenges for parents, being a parent of school-age children myself. Please find attached an article written by Pasi Salberg that recognises the difficulties parents face during this time. He offers some great advice, “ don’t panic and don’t feel guilty.”
Please look after yourself and contact our team at the College if you need further support.
Online Learning
As previously outlined, your child’s day is divided into three types of learning sessions:
1. Google Meets - x 2 live sessions a day.
These are compulsory but will be recorded and posted on Google Classroom.
2. Flexible learning options for core subjects:
x1 Mathematics lesson per day
x1 English lesson per day
x1 Inquiry lesson per day.
These activities are posted on the Google classroom accompanied by teacher instruction. Students can choose when they complete these tasks throughout the day.
3. Specialist teacher lessons- x 4 PDHPE, x 2 Spanish, x1 Visual Arts
These will be posted across the fortnight at the times the students would usually have these lessons. The teachers will post instructions related to these subjects in advance.
The maximum duration of each session will be as follows:
- 30 minutes (Kindergarten - Year 2)
- 45 minutes (Years 3 - 6)
Please note that the maximum home learning time expectation is 2.5 hours for Years K-2 and 3 hours for Years 3-6. This includes other activities and is not solely screen time.
Please support your child to:
- Use break times in a positive way; maintain their health by eating well, doing some exercise and enjoying some downtime away from the screen. Use these times as rest breaks from their screen to engage in other activities not associated with technology.
- Advise their classroom teacher if they are finding the work challenging or require further support. Teachers will contact me, and my team will provide some one-to-one support.
- Check-in with their classroom teacher as required and outlined on the class timetable.
- Actively participate in their online lessons.
- Be polite, respectful and patient in all online interactions.
Book Week
Each year since 1945, the Children's Book Council of Australia has brought children and books together across Australia through Book Week. The Book Week celebrations in the Junior School looks a little different from what we had planned. Ms McAleer and Mrs Heffer organised a variety of activities for our students, including creating posters on the 2021 theme 'Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds', short-listed book reads, book character dress-ups for a class parade; and photo competitions. Live reads of the texts from the 2021 Book of Year Shortlist will be available in all Google classrooms from Friday.
The 2021 Book of the Year Shortlist
Students across K-12 eagerly engaged in the College Library activities and competitions that were posted in Compass.
Assembly, Commendations and Awards
Congratulations to the following award recipients:
Charlie Garnock, Olive Billington, Amelie Mota, Sofia Chacon, Daisy Charters, Finn Garland, MacKenzie Lister and Noah Rudd.
The above students have achieved three or more commendations for service, self-management or academics. For every three commendations, students earn a College recognition certificate. Once students have received three certificates, they will be presented with a Guardianship Of The Planet Award and attend a special ceremony. Our award system is aligned with the International Baccalaureate program principles, which aim to develop internationally minded people who, recognising their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. International Baccalaureate Organization 2013. IB Learner Profile.
You can access this assembly online through your child’s Google Classroom. You will be notified by email if your child is receiving an award and invited to join the virtual assembly.
ICAS
In response to the daily COVID-19 developments, we’re adding an additional four-week ICAS sitting window, for all subjects Term 4 from 5 Oct – 29 Oct 2021 to give schools and families peace of mind during these uncertain times. That means if you haven’t purchased ICAS yet, you have to the 19th September 2021 to purchase and sit in the additional October window.
To further assist you, the ICAS Writing testing is moving to:
5 Oct – 15 Oct 2021
Please note – We are still running ICAS in our original sitting window (9th Aug-3rd Sept *subject-specific - dateshere. ) If face-to-face teaching is still occurring, we strongly encourage you to sit your ICAS tests in the original window; otherwise you can sit the in the additional testing window in October.
Parent Payment System (PPS)
For PPS deadlines, find out morehere.
If you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
I am missing you all very much! Happy learning, and take care.
Kylie Chacon | Head of Junior School