Director of Pedagogy & Innovation
As a community, we have faced our fair share of challenges over the past twelve months but not even a global pandemic could tear apart the foundations of the PCW family!
In a matter of weeks, our exceptional teachers willingly took up the challenge to flip their entire practice to an online environment. During remote learning, we saw Physical Education training sessions, cooking classes and our Mathematics teachers using document cameras to livestream solutions to equations. Online breakout spaces, collaborative learning and online assessment.
Throughout this time, we checked in with students, families and teachers about their experiences and were receptive to this feedback. This type of responsive approach required our teaching teams to be in a continual state of change, whilst adapting to new technology and teaching methods.
In any organisation, let alone a school, this type of a shift normally takes months and this online mode of teaching is usually the domain of the university sector, but PCW staff rose to the challenge and set the bar very high delivering an outstanding online learning experience for our students. Rather than leaving the work online for students to complete at a later stage, teachers livestreamed each and every lesson of the timetable, creating interactive, engaging and challenging curriculum. Teachers also provided ongoing feedback to check student understanding of key concepts, knowledge and skills.
I would like to personally thank and commend our teaching staff for the brilliant way they adapted to these new conditions with such enthusiasm and creativity, providing a seamless transition to online learning and keeping students central in our thinking and approach.
I also must acknowledge our brilliant students. Well done to each and every one of you. It has been a challenging time for all, but throughout the entire remote learning experience you have shown:
- Resilience
- Independence
- Agility
- Adaptability
- Courage
- Hope
We are all incredibly proud of the way you worked with and supported your teachers as they trialled new technology and approaches to learning. I know that some of you really enjoyed the independence or remote learning while others struggled without the regular social contact of face-to-face learning. It has been a time of reflection and personal growth for all of us and I am confident that we are all stronger as a result of the experience.
Students have come away with a strong set of skills that they will take with into the future and the knowledge that even in the most challenging of times, they have the inner strength to carry on and are surrounded by people who will support them as they have supported others to be the best person that they can be. This is what it means to Flourish as Presentation, in learning, we flourish as a community.
I would also like to acknowledge our amazing PCW families who have supported our students, many juggling brothers and sisters, work and all of the joy and chaos that life brings. You have been foundational in our partnership for supporting your children to be the best that they can be and for that, we are thankful.
Presentation College has shown that despite impending closure or global pandemic, our community remains strong and continues to flourish. With everyone back on campus, our community once again feels alive and connected, the PCW family is back together again for our journey into our final semester together.
Simon Gitson
Director of Pedagogy & Innovation
