Heidelberg PS - Capers

Assistant Principals' Report

Dear HPS Community,

 

Welcome to our newsletter item for this week. 

 

Learning Walks

As part of our strategy to work collaboratively, monitor our impact as educators and continuously improve, we have been participating in Learning Walks at Heidelberg Primary School this year. A learning walk is when a group of teachers and/or leaders visit multiple classrooms with the aim of fostering conversation about teaching and learning in order to develop a shared vision of high quality teaching that positively impacts on student learning and wellbeing. 

 

Over the last few weeks we have visited classrooms across the school with varied areas of focus across student learning and wellbeing. During our observations we consider our aim to create cohesiveness, connectedness and consistency in our practices, expectations and routines from classroom to classroom. 

 

During our learning walks we ask the students: 

  • What are you learning and why? 
  • How do you know when you have been successful in your learning? 
  • How can you improve? 
  • Where do you go for help?

Our observations and reflections guide further improvement strategies and professional learning for our team to continue to grow and develop our practices. 

 

Digital Safety and Wellbeing

Earlier this year we had Steve and Bec from Evolve Education visit our school and facilitate digital safety workshops to students across the school. They also worked with the staff looking at the digital technologies curriculum and the importance of ongoing work in classrooms around being safe online. 

 

Many of our parents and carers attended a session at the school to also hear from the experts the sorts of considerations we should be thinking about at home. The importance of security and privacy online for our young people was the focus. 

 

One of the apps they highly recommended was the Beacon app- https://beacon.thekids.org.au/ . It is developed here in Australia and is regularly updated to keep parents/ carers aware of changes that occur very quickly in the digital space.

 

Beacon aims to improve the digital future for Australian children by building parents’ and carers’ digital skills so they can confidently navigate their children’s use of digital technology in a positive way and minimise potential harms associated with being online.

The Beacon app integrates seamlessly into parents’ daily lives, delivering the most trusted and up-to-date information backed by behavioural science research, as well as personalised support, ideas and strategies at their fingertips to navigate the ever-changing online world.

The Beacon Digital Citizenship Framework outlines all the evidence-based topics found in the Beacon app  (in the BROWSE tab menu) including information for each age group - pre-schoolers, young children, early adolescents and teenagers:

  • App and devices provides reviews of popular games, social media and chatting apps
  • Digital parenting such as managing screen time, online safety basics and role modelling
  • Relationships such as cyberbullying, dating and social connections
  • Health and wellbeing such as mental health, body images and online/offline balance
  • Learning and education such as school and technology, developmental needs and media literacy
  • Privacy and security such as setting parental controls on devices, apps and consoles, digital footprint and cyber security

Online safety such as pornography, grooming and hard-to-have conversations (excerpt from Beacon app)

 

Steve and Bec also talked a lot about the work of the e-Safety Commissioner and the work around governance and the reporting process. eSafety helps remove serious online abuse, and illegal and restricted online content so would encourage families to be aware how you can go about reporting and what to report on. 

 

https://www.esafety.gov.au/report/what-you-can-report-to-esafety

 

There are also some other great resources included tin the following link.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/resources

 

Here is also a link the Department of education resources-

https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/digital-technologies-responsible-use/resources

 

Evolve Education also have a parent hub. Go to https://evolve-edu.com.au/parent-support-hub/ 

 

If you have any questions about e-Safety or digital technologies curriculum, please reach out. 

 

Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead!

 

Helen Thomas & Monique Rankin

Assistant Principals

Heidelberg Primary School