Newsletter of The Riverina Anglican College

LEADERS OF WELLBEING REPORTS

All articles published week beginning 1 June 2020

Year 7

A massive welcome back to ‘normal’ school for all of our Year 7 students and families. It has been lovely over the past week to be able to physically see our students every day. Mr Justin Buckley has recently replaced Mrs Elizabeth Passlow, who began her maternity leave in Week 5, as Head of House - Stanley and Fox. Mr Buckley was previously the homeroom teacher of 7Sheppard1 and has been replaced by Ms Tiffany Lashbrook. 

 

Uniforms 

During Weeks 3 and 4 we had a grace period of transition, students are now expected to be following the uniform policy. Now that we are back at school full term we would like to ensure that this is clear. 

  • All skirts should be mid-length, at the knee
  • All hair should be neat and tidy and out of the face
  • Sports uniforms should not be worn with the full college uniform and students should be getting changed before and after PE lessons. (with the exception of Friday)

Term 2 Wellbeing Overview 

Our Wellbeing focus for Term 2 is on expectations. These positive behaviour strategies will be delivered during house groups meetings and homeroom time, to further promote resilience and align with the needs of the school community. We encourage parents and families to share and cultivate their understanding of wellbeing and positive behaviour with their children at home.

 

Compass

Over the course of the COVID-19 break, the College has really began to utilise the program, Compass, to its full potential. It is a phenomenal resource that will hopefully open up the lines of communication between student, teacher and parents in a much more fluid manner. Students are able to access their timetable, any room changes, notices and affirmations from teachers (more on that later!). Parents are also able to find out all of this information, as well as be able to check their details and their child’s attendance. We encourage you to regularly check in on your child’s profile and keep up to date with their progress. 

 

Affirmations 

One of the really exciting aspects of Compass is that teachers are able to award affirmations for their subject area to students. As soon as the student is allocated the award, they are able to view the award through their profile and see what their teacher has written. It is also lovely as a Head of House for us to be able to see the awesome work and effort our Year 7s are putting into their learning. Due to the changeover to the electronic system, we are encouraging the students to bring in their hard-copy awards they received during Term 1, so they can be converted to the electronic format. 

 

We encourage you to reach out to homeroom teachers, or ourselves, if you are concerned about how your child is transitioning back to ‘regular’ learning. We understand that this has been a very challenging time for families and the wellbeing of our students is of paramount importance. 

Justin Buckley | Acting Leader of Wellbeing - Year 7 

Fox and Stanley House 

Lauren Kelly | Leader of Wellbeing - Year 7 

Browning and Sheppard House 

Year 8

Welcome to the Week 6 edition of our Year 8 report for Term 2. I would first of all like to extend a big thank you to you all for supporting our students throughout the TRAC Online period. I can understand that this was not an easy task but I feel that, for the most part, they gave it their all. It is important to keep in mind that this was not ’normal’, and if your child struggled with organisation, workload or understanding then that is totally okay. If anything, it can give data for both yourselves and us as a College about who needs further support in learning certain skills.

 

I would encourage you all to sign up to the parent portal for Compass (outlined in previous newsletters) so that you can keep up-to-date with assessment tasks. If you are yet to do so, the following are coming up:

  • PDHPE and Geography in Week 6
  • French due in Week 8

 

Moments of Joy over the last fortnight

We have loved having your children back on campus - they truly are the reason that we have a passion for our profession. We did spend time as a Year group reflecting on the positive, and less desirable aspects of social isolation and how we can try to keep the good things in our schedule (like puzzles, spending time as a family, etc.) and how we can show gratitude for the aspects of our lives that have returned to normal (being able to see some friends and family). 

 

This fortnight, my particular highlights have been:

  • Spending Friday sport with Year 8, who seemed to really enjoy being able to engage in some organised physical activity again. The graciousness that was showed by those in Stanley (after being ’stuck’ playing modified softball three times in a row) was particularly admirable
  • Seeing the dedication in a number of classrooms to learn another language - coding in the form of Python on the GROK platform. I would really encourage you to get your child to show you their skills on GROK, as they are showing some impressive skills in learning to code in Technology Mandatory
  • Many of the Year 8s have some surprising graffiti ’tagging’ skills, as shown off in Visual Arts

As always, if you would like to discuss your child’s wellbeing and flourishing here at the College, please don’t hesitate in sending an email or calling either of us.

Luke Richardson | Leader of Wellbeing - Year 8

Jennifer Jenkins | Assistant Leader of Wellbeing - of Year 8

Year 9

Hello everyone. It has been a while since the last fortnightly report. Mr Mannion and I have been enjoying trying out our acting and directing skills instead. Our work can be seen on your child’s Year 9 Google classroom for those who are interested. We would also like to thank the Year 9 Prefects for assisting with this.

 

We welcome everyone back to “normal” schooling again. Congratulations and well done on surviving and facilitating your child’s learning from home. Things are still a little different at school but most students have been positive about being back and especially about seeing their friends every day. Year 9 was able to attend sport on Friday at the CSU oval, which was a great success. I have seen some very lucky eggs, with bedroom set ups that look like they have come out of a magazine. The Child Studies class have produced some great creations and all eggs survived and thrived in the care of the girls.

 

Students are reminded that they should be coming in full school uniform everyday as they are now able to get changed for their practical lessons. As it gets colder, the wearing of the correct school uniform is very important. Rugby jumpers and tracksuit tops are not to be worn with the full school uniform. 

 

We are lucky enough to be able to still run the College Cross Country on the last Friday of this term. This means that we are also able to have TRAC Idol and we can’t wait to see some of the talent. 

 

Our focus for Year Meetings for the rest of this term is on Respectful Relationships. It is a great opportunity for us to look at the development of positive ones in our school, our home and wider community.

 

I hope everyone is keeping well and if you have any questions or concerns please contact me.

Emma Smith | Leader of Wellbeing - Year 9

Issac Mannion | Assistant Leader of Wellbeing -  Year 9

Year 10

It has been an interesting few weeks here at the College and also exciting to have the students back on campus. After talking with many students from the Year group it seems most now have a new appreciation for coming to school and not only learning but interacting with their friends. There has been a wide range of experiences during the pandemic. Some students and families have flourished during this period of time not having as many commitments and places to be, others have found it stressful for many reasons such as financial pressures or increased workload both at home and work. It is safe to say that each and every person has had some experience or been touched by the current global situation. 

 

Currently, it has been energising to catch up with students in the Year group and talk about what the past few weeks have been like for them. Year 10 currently have quite a few assessment tasks which are due and this has been exacerbated by the online learning environment, which has made it harder for students to navigate their academic progress. 

 

This also leads to timely decisions for students about what electives they will select for their senior years. We are fortunate enough to offer three different streams of learning for Year 11 and 12, the International Baccalaureate, Non-ATAR and HSC. No stream is better than the other, but each offers different opportunities to the students. Our academic staff have been working very hard to provide fruitful information around subjects offered for both students and parents alike. I would encourage you to support your child with these decisions and be interested but allow them to make such choices for their future.

Meegan Farmer | Leader of Wellbeing -  Year 10

Trevor Dawson | Assistant Leader of Wellbeing -  Year 10

Year 11

I am so grateful to be able to write these reports again. During these trying times the greatest positive that I have encountered was the ability to be grateful for the small things.

 

Homeroom Year Meetings

The students have all been issued journals to complete their Wellbeing tasks. The idea behind the journals is that the students are able to journal thoughts in one place and to have a ‘keepsake’ on the completion of their schooling. Students are prompted to write down the achievements they hope to gain in the week and plan their time effectively. The students can also reflect on the week with prompts of gratitude, strengths, mindset, mindfulness and resilience.

 

This week we are looking at the character strength of ‘kindness’ and how this characteristic can help the lives of others. Students will be looking for at least two opportunities where they can make others’ lives better or recognise kindness in others and to say thank you.

 

The second activity of the week will focus on: 

 

‘How Social Media addiction can lead to anxious thoughts and low moods”

 

“How the use of social media can affect relationships with other people”

 

Pick up zone

It is wonderful to see so many Year 11 students driving to and from school either on their Ls or Ps. There are parents who are using the pick-up zone as a place to swap drivers and place plates on the car. As this is such a congested area, parents are asked to park in the parking area to change drivers and plates, as a safety issue. A reminder that students should wait until the car is in the pick-up area before entering the car.

Amall Liakatos | Leader of Wellbeing - Year 11

Kelly Bowen | Assistant Leader of Wellbeing - of Year 11

Year 12

We are heading into a big final month of Term 2 with almost all subjects having significant assessment tasks due or to be done in Weeks 6-9. No doubt there will be stressed, anxious, tense and perhaps tearful moments.

 

Support at school is obviously available - classroom teachers, homeroom teachers, mentors, peers and of course, Mrs Kjaer and I, are here to help. One of the messages delivered last year at Tathra was using your allies. Having supportive people in your corner is certainly one of the keys to resilience in demanding times.

 

At home, keep offering support, then offer more support, and finally, remind them they have your support!  Nutrition and regular sleeping patterns will also be important.

 

This week in Homeroom the students have mapped out their assessments for the term and been reminded to avoid falling into the Valley of Disappointment when work doesn’t translate into immediate, or even persistent improvement. Plugging away consistently will be rewarded in the long run, not just through accomplishment but the discipline of working hard, which is a lifelong skill.

 

It has been fun to spend time in Homerooms these past few weeks and witness some of the quirky ways the different groups spend time. Mr Wright has gone all retro and busted out the ‘Magic Eye’ optical illusion images. (Rumour has it he may also introduce the students to that other magical 90s artform - the HyperColour T-shirt!). Mr Glanvill is the king of card games and the Browning group in Room 6 has proudly, loudly and, mostly, in key sung the school hymn online to the rest of the school on Monday mornings during chapel. Ably assisted at different times by the other Browning group and Sheppard Homerooms at various stages. 

 

Fingers crossed we will get to see some of you at parent-teacher interviews later in the term given the continued relaxation of restrictions. 

Dane Fuller | Leader of Wellbeing - 12

Kim Kjaer | Assistant Leader of Wellbeing - 12