Head of Campus
Everything made new
Farewells, reintroductions and reconnections
Having just said our first round of poignant farewells to the Year 12 cohort of 2020 at last Friday’s Valedictory celebrations, we are reminded of the seasonal nature of school connections. We will miss these students dearly.
There will be great joy, however, as this coming Monday 26 October marks the long-awaited return of our Years 8, 9 and 10 students to onsite learning. We know how difficult this time has been for families of so many students, especially when connectedness is an especially critical part of adolescent development. Our students will need the rest of the year to catch up!
We applaud the resilience of our young people who have found new ways of maintaining their relationships in this time. Our students have developed a range of skills and qualities that will never be measurable on any standardised test or summative grade.
From this coming Monday, the Preshil family will be one step closer to wholeness again. The last missing piece of the puzzle will be having full community events where parents, students and staff can connect in person again.
Wellbeing together
If you or your child are a bit nervous about coming back onsite, this is completely understandable.
Earlier in the term, Amir sent a very informative letter to families with some guidance about how to support your children as they come back onsite. Drawing from the expertise of Beyond Blue, Amir recommended the following strategies:
- Avoid oversharing your anxieties
- Discuss plans as early as possible
- Get back into the usual routine
- Highlight the positives of returning to the school grounds
- Tell them you’re confident in them
- Regularly check in with your child.
Our greatest encouragement is that Preshil is a school built on the foundation of strong, respectful relationships; if you or your child needs to have a quick chat to ease any concerns, please reach out to me, our Coordinators, or any of our staff with whom you feel a connection.
Feedback about feedback survey
A short while back, we released a survey based on the latest change to the Online Learning Plan. To read about this change, please see my newsletter article from last week.
We held the survey anonymously but we do recognise that there will be individual cases that require follow-up. If you are still unsure where to find feedback for your child(ren)’s work, or it does not seem to be accessible, please contact me directly at daniel.symons@preshil.vic.edu.au
Year 10 Diploma Programme Early Commencement
One of the exciting events that we have been able to hold onto this year is the DP Early Commencement.
We have been acutely aware that some Year 10 students and families are feeling that they have ‘missed out’ on the development of key skills and knowledge during online learning.
We are developing an enriched Early Commencement program that will ensure students hit the ground running in 2021. Our teachers have been hard at work with one central goal: to build up student confidence as they head into the Diploma.
My personal mantra is unchanged: if a student is willing to put in the work, they will be richly rewarded by the IB DP. Slow, steady and consistent work is all it takes, even for students who feel that they are ‘behind’.
To facilitate this enhanced Early Commencement program, we have extended it for an additional seven school days.
It now runs for four weeks from Monday 9 November, meaning that the last day for Year 10s will now be Friday 4 December. Just to add to the strangeness of 2020, we imagine many Year 10s will be grateful not to go on holidays too early this year.
Dan Symons
Head of Campus