Teaching & Learning 

What will learning look like for your child in first few weeks?

As we return to school and face-to-face teaching there will be a number of strategies implemented by staff that will assist in the transition to learning in the classroom again. These strategies are underpinned by the need for your child to connect and rebuild a sense of belonging before moving back to 

Over the coming weeks teachers will be supporting your child to:

• Rediscover the routines and rituals of learning at school

In the first week back at school, teachers will be looking to reintroduce the routines and rituals of the classroom and the learning behaviours associated with each. Such routines could include morning greetings, mindfulness, class monitor roles, reading, writing and maths processes and also eating habits.  By re-introducing the routines and rituals, the familiarity of the classroom should quickly return, giving students confidence to be in and around the classroom. Of course there will be a few new routines that will ensure our students have good hygiene and physical distancing habits to remain safe.

• Feel comfortable and connected to the classroom 

This unprecedented event has meant that every student’s experience has been quite different from their peers. The broad range of experiences will lead to many different behaviours being exhibited when students return to school. Teachers will be on the lookout for vulnerable student behaviours and will be responding with empathy and care. This might be the smile and greeting in the morning or the quiet chats during class or at break times to reassure and build confidence. Teachers will be looking for opportunities to talk about student experiences and help explain the world around them.

• Reconnect with friends through  social interactions

After such a long time away from their friends, teachers will be looking to support students to reconnect with their peers. Some will reconnect quickly and others will take longer to adjust and find their place. Ensuring students have play options as they head out to break times will assist in re-establishing connections between friends.

• Rebuild the academic emphasis in the classroom

Throughout the first few weeks, teachers will be looking to make learning explicit and engaging for the students. The learning will begin with familiar skills and slowly move to building new understandings. We will work to have students be a part of small group or individual conferences in reading, writing and maths over the first few weeks to assist us to gain a clearer picture of the learning needs within the class. 

Operation Sunflower

As the students return to school we will be looking to launch Project Sunflower where every student across both campuses will be given sunflower seeds to plant and nurture in their classroom before planting out in gardens around the school grounds. 

Students will be able to continue watching their seeds grow and have the opportunity to care for them as they thrive into bursts of colour across the school. Hopefully by the end of year we will be bathed in a sea of yellow to end what has been an extremely challenging year for all.

We look forward to watching the progress of these plants throughout the term.

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge

Well done and thank-you to all those who have participated in and succeeded with the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge. The VPRC closed at the end of last term and I am pleased to announce that we had 24 students complete the challenge by reading and registering the required number of books. I know there are many students who partly completed the challenge which is a good step toward becoming voracious readers. 

A certificate is on the way for the following students who were able to complete the challenge.