Assistant Principal's Report

Leasyl Richards - Curriculum

24th April

LEARNING FROM HOME

Thank you to all for being so supportive of us with our move to remote learning. We understand how challenging this can be at times.  We have tried to transition into remote learning with small steps, evaluating each day to see what is working well and what we can do to enhance the program. This first two weeks has been focused on getting our students reconnected again, becoming familiar with the video-conferencing software, agreeing on expectations and establishing routines.

We have had lots of positive feedback which is great and we will continue to make adjustments to what we are doing as we learn and discover what works best for our school community.  Each year level has provided you with a survey to help inform them of how you are feeling with the program after this first couple of weeks. If you could complete the surveys by next Thursday that would be very much appreciated by the teaching staff. 

Please remember that teachers are trying to provide activities that cover the basics and are ones that you might be able to manage at home. Be aware, these are nothing like the activities teachers would be doing in class.  If your child is unable to get through all the activities don’t stress. You may have a day where the only activity you do is the one to be submitted or you may only do the “Learning” tasks for a day not the extra activities. When we do return to school we understand we will need to be making adjustments to the curriculum and our teaching and learning. Rest assured, your children are in good hands with the amazing teaching staff we have.

As we all become more familiar with Learning from Home we hope the anxieties for everyone will decrease. Please be aware that while teachers are working all day there may be periods where they need to block out some times during a week in order for them to have planning sessions together. At the moment we are finding that although we are planning a lot less than we normally do in terms of curriculum content it is taking a lot longer as we try to be inventive and creative with ways to make it easy for you to assist with the lessons. Hopefully this too, will become easier as we progress through the term.

This week we have trialled WebEx video conferencing with a couple of classes. This has been very positively received and is something we will continue to roll out through other year levels and classes over the next fortnight.  It is a big boost to everyone’s moods to see the faces of the students. The students are enjoying seeing each other and the teachers are loving seeing their classes in real time. 

Can I also remind parents that any material produced by the school, MUST NOT be shared, reproduced or published in any other way, without the written consent of the school.   Teachers are putting a great deal of effort into the work they are doing and we don’t want to expose them to public scrutiny – even if you are bragging to friends and family about how wonderful the teachers are! Please help us to look after the privacy of our teaching staff.

ANZAC DAY

The 25th of April is a very significant day for Australians and New Zealanders as the day the ANZAC soldiers landed on Gallipoli. Turkey in 1915 during World War 1. Each year we honour and commemorate ANZAC day as part of our education programs. Our student leaders have the opportunity to attend the ANZAC ceremony at the Cenotaph in Glen Waverley and teachers share stories with classes.  Unfortunately we are unable to do any of this  in 2020.  For those of you who would like to share an ANZAC tradition I have provided you with a child friendly recipe for making ANZAC biscuits that you might like to do with your children. 

ANZAC BISCUITS (Makes 20) 

125 grams butter

1/4 cup Golden Syrup

2 tablespoons boiling water

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of Soda

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup plain flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup desiccated coconut

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees c.

Grease a couple of baking trays or line them with non-stick baking paper.

Melt butter in a small pan, add the syrup, water and baking soda, it will froth up. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and add the butter mixture and mix well. Put spoonfuls of mixture on the prepared trays, approx. 5 cm apart, flattening them slightly. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

(As a extra tip - for those like me who like them extra chewy - add a little more golden syrup!) 

SUSTAINABILITY

A huge thank you to Karina Ison and Erin Fullerton who have been working with me on completing the tasks we need to do to become a 1Star Sustainable school. We had lots of momentum with this in Term 1 so we have come up with ideas that the teachers will share with you for being sustainable at home.

Here are some photos that some of our Year 6 students have shared about what they are doing at home to continue the sustainable practices we have at school.  These include composting, collecting soft plastics and recycling.

Leasyl Richards

richards.leasyl.a@edumail.vic.gov.au