Appreciating the positives

In the current situation with the Corona Virus, there is a sense of panic and anxiety in the local and wider community. We are trying to maintain a level of calm at school and remind people there are still many positives and things to be thankful for. We are lucky we live in a beautiful area that to date is not feeling the same impact as largely populated city areas.

I thought I would pop in a few photos I have taken this week to remind us of how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful area, with a beautiful school.

I have also added some photos of the wonderful art work produced by our students.

Corona virus

As we navigate this uncertainty I would like to thank the many people who have taken the time to consider our wellbeing and have made the effort to stop and ask how myself and my staff are coping at this time, when we are on the frontline and required to stay open, when many other places have been instructed to shut for safety reasons.

At this stage we are continuing to provide our normal teaching and learning programs and we are trying to maintain a calm, safe and happy place for all.

We are of course dealing with a large increase in calls from parents who are concerned. We ask that instead, you wait for us to communicate updates to you from the Education Department. We can only act on mandated directives.

If in the event of a school closure we suggest you could purchase some of the following resources form Big W or similar resources at Aldi, K Mart etc.

Our staff have put together a list of on-line learning resources you could access but of course we continue to recommend that children are involved in real life learning activities like gardening, cooking, budgeting and playing board and card games.

Junior Unit

Reading eggs

Reading

https://www.storylineonline.net/ - Storyline Online streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations.

General

https://www.khanacademy.org/ - Organization produces short lessons in the form of videos. Its website also includes supplementary practice exercises and materials.

https://www.studyladder.com.au/ - A comprehensive program of online educational activities for students aged 4 to 12, mapped to the curriculum.

Science

https://mysterydoug.com/ - Show a video every week that inspires your students to ask questions.

https://www.natgeokids.com/au/ - National Geographic kids website

Middle and Carlsruhe Unit

Epic’ reading app

Soundwaves online site www.soundwaveskids.com.au

abcya.com

Studyladder

Teach Starter - https://www.teachstarter.com/au/blog/covid-19-teach-starters-support-for-schools-teachers-parents-students-affected/

ABC Education - https://education.abc.net.au/

Free Resources for Home Learning.

Spelling

Sound Waves - online resources.

Writing

https://www.onceuponapicture.co.uk/

www.pobble360.com

https://www.abc.net.au/btn/

Reading

https://www.getepic.com/

https://www.kidsnews.com.au/

Year 5/6

Reading

https://www.getepic.com/

www.funbrain.com

https://www.khanacademy.org/

https://www.almanac.com/kids

https://www.kidsnews.com.au/news

Maths

http://www.sumdog.com

https://www.coolmath.com/

Coding

https://code.org/learn

https://www.allcancode.com/runmarco?gid=9e887f604b3e11e6bad92fd5bc27a780

https://arcade.makecode.com/

https://blockly-games.appspot.com/

https://gameblox.org/

http://www.lissaexplains.com/index.shtml

https://www.tynker.com/?t=reset

https://www.raspberrypi.org/hour-of-code/

http://www.robozzle.com/beta/

Other useful sites are

Reading A-Z - https://www.readinga-z.com/

Kidcyber - https://www.kidcyber.com.au/

Enchanted Learning - https://www.enchantedlearning.com/

If schools are shut down, we will be provided with further updates about expectations for home learning.

Cross Country

This week we went ahead with our Cross Country but instead of it being all students together, we had our Foundation – Year 2 students at the main campus and our Year 3 – 6 students at the oval across the road.

It was great to have some fun and excitement. The students really embraced it and we were particularly proud of the encouragement and cheering and exemplary sportsmanship that we observed. Lots of students were proudly sporting their ribbons.

Mobile phone Policy

At School Council this week, our new Mobile Phone Policy was approved. The Department of Education has mandated that all schools must have a Mobile Phone Policy. From the beginning of Term 2 all mobile phones and devices with internet and call/messaging ability, will be required to be handed to the teacher between 9.00 and 3.30 for storage in a secure place. This is in an attempt to ensure students are not distracted from their learning and we are honouring the right to privacy for all individuals.

Our policy will be uploaded to our website.

Community News

WPS

Local