Teaching and Learning
Remote and Flexible Learning
I hope this newsletter finds you well during this lockdown! I know it can be a challenging time for many of us for a variety of reasons, so please take the time to practise some self-care. After a day at school I certainly like to utilise my exercise time by walking the Maribyrnong river…even in the rain!
Teachers have been providing daily webex lessons along with learning task grids. Your child has a range of strengths and abilities that they bring to their learning. They may require greater support with some tasks than others. Some things for you to consider are previously mentioned in the last lockdown:
o Check back in: Where your child can be more independent with a learning activity, help them to get started. When you can move away, let them know when you will check back in with them and answer any questions they may have.
o Building and sustaining motivation: Consider your child's needs and discuss with their teacher about when to do different tasks and types of learning. Think about how many tasks your child can do before needing a change or break. Some learning activities are best done in order as they are related or build on each other. Other times, you can do tasks that your child finds more enjoyable to build motivation before progressing to more challenging tasks.
o Taking a break and time management: Make sure you are aware of how long a learning activity is expected to take and identify appropriate times for breaks. Breaking down larger learning activities into parts will help your child learning more efficiently and enjoyably. Use a timer on a phone or tablet or the oven timer to schedule time to spend on specific tasks. Some students may be able to do this for themselves.
o Record progress: Use charts to record progress against the day's learning activities. This could be a task list with a simple tick or sticker against completed items. These can be made at home on the computer or downloaded from the internet. You and your child could make one together using pen and paper. This is one way to record completion of learning tasks and provide a sense of accomplishment for you and your child.
Student Support Group (SSG) meetings
On Tuesday 10th August (10am – 6pm) Concord has our Variation to School Day, the purpose of this meeting is to share your child’s progress from their Semester One reports and to discuss their Semester Two learning goals.
This isn’t a traditional day of schooling as students only attend for their individual SSG time as scheduled by parents/carers. This is so teachers can have 30-minute meetings with parents/carers and the student. The duration is longer for more in-depth discussion and when available and appropriate for external therapist to be invited. Please liaise with your external therapist if you’d like them to attend your booking and let your classroom teacher know that they will be attending.
For some students it may not be appropriate for them to participate in their SSG, so feel free to discuss this with your classroom teacher.
The mode of delivery (webex and/or face to face) will depend on Covid-19 restrictions, we will provide further information in the coming weeks. As a school we are wanting to provide both options of face to face and webex, however if the restrictions for onsite visitors are still in place the meetings will go ahead online using the webex platform.
The bookings for these SSGs are live on Compass and you would have received information from your classroom teacher about how to book your SSG and a list of specialist teachers for your child from Semester One and for Semester Two. Please note that specialist bookings are only 15 minutes in duration. The Allied health team will be attending relevant bookings with the classroom teacher and will reach out to individual families that they work with.
Please note that TheirCare will be providing their services on this day, please see their contact details under Community & Communications in this newsletter.
If you have any concerns or questions about remote learning or the upcoming SSGs, please feel free to contact me via email at flora.nixon@education.vic.gov.au or by phone at the Bundoora campus: 94673972.
Take care,
Flora Nixon
Assistant Principal
Teaching and Learning