principal's message

Dear parents/carers,

So it is the end of week 1 of remote learning 2.0 and I hope that your children have settled back into the routines. I hope that our more refined approach, both in layout and content is helping both you and your children access the learning opportunities. The specialist team are especially thrilled to have more students engaging in the learning. As always, teachers are seeking your feedback to ensure that this is going as well as possible.

Hannah’s wellbeing

By now I hope that you’ve all had the chance to read Hannah’s beautiful letter and discussed this with your children. Attached is a social story which you may find helpful when discussing Hannah’s diagnosis with your younger children. As always please read it first and decide if it is relevant and/or potentially triggering in your situation. Please note is says teacher not principal, however it has relevance.

Please let us know if you or your children require any additional support.

Engagement is attendance.

As with remote learning 1.0, we will mark your child’s school ‘attendance’ based on their engagement. That means that examples of work submitted online, completion and return of hard copy materials, joining in with teleconferences etc, all equal attendance. Giving ‘evidence’ of your children’s learning helps teachers give feedback and helps us to track how your children are managing both with the situation and their learning. We rely on this information so that we can make the necessary adjustments, which would naturally occur in the classroom.

Some families have already communicated with teachers, letting us know how they’ll be navigating this time. As mentioned in last week’s letter, every family is different, and our teachers are working to engage children and families in a variety of ways. 

Access to technology

If you wish to purchase an ipad to use during this remote phase, you are able to do so at a competitive rate through JB HIFI. The School code is BNWPS2021. Go to this link: https://www.jbeducation.com.au/byod. 

I have also requested some Dongles from the Department of Education for families to us. I am waiting to hear if these will be provided.

Feedback vs Praise

During the week some families expressed some concerns that their children may not receive sufficient feedback while using Seesaw. I apologise for any confusion that occurred in relation to this and I seek to provide clarity about the difference between “feedback and praise”. 

During last remote learning teachers posted comments on most pieces of work, providing praise so as to encourage engagement. This time round, teachers are planning on giving more useful and targeted feedback. Remote learning 1.0 was new to everyone, however as we aim to ‘strive’ as a teaching team this time around, we will be giving more constructive feedback in order to help students to further improve their skills and understandings in the areas that are being taught. One example is:

 “Claudia, I really liked how you formed your letter l when writing. I can see you have put a lot of effort into your work. Next time, I would like to see you using capital letters at the start of a sentence.”

You will notice that while this feedback involves praise, it also gives Claudia some specific information on what she has done well and what she can improve on. Providing feedback that is targeted and specific is an important part of our jobs as teachers. 

Teleconferences will also be held during week which will be a chance for your children to connect with their peers as well as a ‘check-in’ with their teachers. 

Flora Nixon, our Acting AP will be writing the next newsletter article, this will give you all a chance to learn more about her. She will also share our Remote Learning Continuum document which will hopefully enable all families to see how our approaches to feedback, teleconferences, lesson structure etc. are designed to be developmentally appropriate and targeted.

Take care,

Wendy

Acting Principal.