Learning and Teaching 

 

at MFG

PREPARING FOR HOME-BASED-LEARNING IN RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS SITUATION

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we have talked with our students about preparing for a potential situation where our school will be closed and our students and teachers will be required to work and learn from home. During this time our main platforms for communication and learning will be Compass and email. Some teachers already use other learning platforms and communication methods like Skype, Edrolo and Zoom. These teachers will continue to use these platforms with their students.

We have distributed the following guide for MFG students and have asked them to prepare themselves for this change to our normal operations.

Home-based-learning – a guide for MFG students

This document is designed to help you continue your learning at home. Remember that your day at home should follow your usual timetable and the usual breaks you would have while at school.

Two important things for you to consider:

1. You will stick to your timetable while you are learning from home. For example, if you have Maths periods 1 and 2 on a Monday then during that time you should be logging on to Compass and completing the task that your Maths teacher sets for that lesson.
2. You will use Compass and email for communication with your teachers, your timetabled ‘lessons’ and to access resources, activities and Learning Tasks.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NOW

• Take home all the important resources that you think you will need
• Check that your laptop is in working order and that you can access Compass
• Restart your laptop while you are at school to ensure that everything is up to date
• Check that you have access to your school email
• Check your login details and passwords for any other resources or platforms that you will need while at home
• When at home, check your Wi-Fi access is connected and working
• Designate a study area – quiet, well-lit and comfortable
• Set up your workspace including paper, pencils, water, snacks
• Limit your chances of distractions and interruptions – put your phone away!

MANAGE YOUR HOME–BASED-LEARNING TIME

• Stick to a clear routine to help establish and continue good home-learning habits
• Have recess and lunch breaks as normal
• Ask questions and seek clarification if you do not understand a task
• If things don’t work out use your initiative and problem solving skills (eg phone a friend!)

Your teachers will be available during your normal timetabled class time.

TERM 1 STUDENT-PARENT-TEACHER LEARNING CONFERENCES

Many thanks to all of our parents and carers who participated in our Term 1 Parent-Teacher-Student Learning Conferences on Tuesday 3rd March. We had over 1200 bookings and there was a wonderful atmosphere and conversations about learning.

We received some feedback from some parents and carers about the possibility of staggering this kind of event in Semester 2 over two evenings. We’ll take this feedback to the relevant groups for discussion and communicate with you about any changes.

Mr Damien Toussaint

Assistant Principal , Learning and Teaching