Junior Team Report

Welcome back to all our Junior School students and families for a very late face-to-face start to Term 2!

This period of moving from remote and flexible learning has required everyone to incorporate significant changes into their lives and we are incredibly proud of just how well our students have been able to adapt to these changes and unpredictability.

Coming back to school, students have needed to adopt new protocols to ensure good hygiene and distancing measures are in place; and we appreciate the cooperation of the whole Junior School in establishing the habits to keep everyone safe.

It has been great to see all of our students back at school, and we have been energised by the positivity and enthusiasm they have brought back into their face-to-face learning. 

Students took part in a number of alternate programs throughout the first week back which were designed to give them the chance to debrief about the opportunities and challenges presented by the remote learning period, along with developing some key life skills for managing change and focusing on what is important in their lives. The feedback from our students seems to indicate that while many of them enjoyed the flexibility provided by remote learning, they almost unanimously missed the authentic face-to-face interactions with their teachers and their friends. Importantly, while the time away was challenging, it became a catalyst for many to reflect on their own learning and of the importance of learner behaviours in working towards becoming independent learners. 

The word-cloud below this post illustrates the common ideas that students reflected on when considering what they discovered about themselves as learners during their time away.

We would like to thank all of the families who provided feedback to us, either through the survey links that were provided, or over the phone to members of our team as we called to check-in. We understand that there is also a lot of uncertainty in the community at the moment and we have seen families dealing with social, emotional and financial strain. We always welcome and appreciate feedback from our families, and we encourage you all to reach out if there is anything you think we should be aware of in order to provide better support for your children.

Unfortunately, due to the initial restrictions that were put in place at the end of Term 1, many of our planned activities were cancelled for the year. However, we are in the process of re-booking and finding replacement opportunities for our students so that they don’t miss out. We are hoping to have information about these coming out early next term.

Thanks again for all your support!

- Ms Emily Wilkinson and Mr Ryan McGlade

On behalf of the Junior School Engagement Team