Assistant Principal's Report

I began to write this newsletter item before we had heard the timeframe of the lockdown extension. Thankfully we have just been told that we will be back face to face next Wednesday!

Although we are currently working remotely and it is not how we would prefer to teach, there is still plenty of learning happening in the world of Google Classroom! Today I would like to share some of the work our students have been focussing on this week.

Learning in Google Classroom

Over the last few days, students in Foundation have been working on reading, writing and maths tasks linked to the classic story ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’. Teachers asked students to look around their home to find objects in groups of three that are different somehow (spoons, socks, chairs, etc). Students also drew pictures to depict the beginning, middle and end of the story and to write a sentence for each picture.

In Year 1, students have been continuing their work on syllables and letter formation. They have also been exploring Australian coins and created Coin Caterpillars!

Year 2 students have continued looking at persuasive texts, while our Year 5 students have begun exploring fairy tales – soon they will be writing their very own ‘fractured’ fairy tale…

Multiplication is a focus in maths for our Year 3 students, particularly using the doubles strategy to solve multiplication equations. Meanwhile, Year 4 students have a focus on division. Our Year 6 students are working through converting fractions – with common and uncommon denominators.

It’s Challenging

As proud as I am of our students, families and staff for jumping on board with remote learning again so confidently and expertly, it seems to have been harder this time around. We have had some technical difficulties, some links have not worked, meetings dropping out, etc. The most difficult thing for myself though, was listening and reading the initial reactions students had to returning to remote learning. 

Daily, I enjoy reading posts that students write to each other and their teachers.  There is a lot of sharing of pictures and stories about what they have been doing at home – many pet pictures have been posted from students and staff alike! It is reassuring to watch students engage online via the posts and video meetings. These efforts will help maintain a connection to school and hopefully make the transitions easier when we return face-to-face. 

Together we will continue to support each other and get through it together, just as we have in the past. Please reach out to others if you need and refer to the links I posted on Compass last week about organisations that can support you and your child/ren.

We know that remote learning is a huge challenge for families and teachers alike. Please know that as we move from face-to-face, to remote learning and back again, we will keep adapting, pivoting, adjusting and learning so as to provide the best educational opportunities possible for our students.

We very much look forward to being back together next Wednesday!

~ Sarah Abbott, Assistant Principal