Head of Campus
Return to on-site learning
Wednesday 28 July marked the joyful return of our children to Arlington, and I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to hear the rooms and the grounds full of life again.
The Lighthouse children started to plan celebrations and create decorations to mark their 100 days of Prep; there were lots of flyers posted around the grounds asking us to check out the very long paper chain they made.
Children in the Lofties also got crafty with paper. Lots of paper planes were being designed, constructed and ‘taking off’ from the Loft Room launchpad during fruit and lunch.
The frequent pivots between remote learning and face-to-face learning no doubt have their challenges. What amazes me time and time again is the sheer resilience that is being displayed by the children, families and teaching staff during these unprecedented times and sudden announcements of lockdowns.
We have worked hard over the past year and half to incorporate innovations, strategies, and feedback from families to develop learning programs that have been found to be effective in online learning and to give our children every opportunity we can. We seem to have found a good balance between the amount of time spent learning, on and off screens.
We acknowledge the difficulties and challenges this brings at home but know that we are in this with you and are grateful for all that you do to support your children with their learning. Whilst we expect that all children engage in the remote learning program please know that we will support what works best for you and the children at home; go as fast as you can or as slow as you need to.
Boroondara Schools for Wildlife Project
As a participating school, we have been guided and supported through the process of creating an indigenous habitat garden in The Pines. Wednesday 14 July marked the day In which a fully indigenous habitat garden was planted in The Pines in conjunction with CERES.
The Boroondara Schools for Wildlife Project consisted of an introductory teacher Professional Development session, followed up by a series of three (1.5 hour) student incursions. The aim of the Project is to support primary schools to plan and plant an indigenous habitat garden on their grounds to increase biodiversity, provide habitat for wildlife, foster a sense of connection to nature in students and support environmental curriculum outcomes.
Five Week Reviews
Five week reviews are an integral part of our enrolment process to ensure that all parties are satisfied with how a child is settling in, how they are progressing and whether our school environment is the right fit for them. Five Week Reviews for new students enrolled into Preshil in Term 3 will commence on Monday 9 August. Classroom teachers will make contact with new families to organise a suitable date and time, and inform you as to whether these meetings will take place face-to-face or via Zoom.
Compass
Preshil uses an online program called Compass School Manager to automate a number of administrative processes. Compass enables better communication with all members of the Preshil community and includes many different features, including the ability to:
- Enter approvals for absence or lateness
- Access your child's semester reports
- Book your Parent/Student/Teacher conferences
- View up-to-date class and school attendance information
- Consent and pay for excursions and camps
- Communicate with teachers
- Update your registered email and mobile number
- Access information regarding upcoming events and news
- View your child’s timetable and the school calendar.
Parents have their own unique username and password. These details should not be shared with your children as permission for absences can only be given by parents. Please remember that Compass does not take the place of all other communication and parents are always welcome and encouraged to contact the office staff, teachers, the Head of Campus and the Principal as the need arises.
Absent? Arriving Late? Leaving Early?
If your child is going to be absent please enter it in advance or on the day on Compass. To do this:
- log into your account
- go to your child’s home page and click on the 'Add Attendance Note/Approval' link listed underneath your child’s name
- this will take you to the Attendance screen, with a pop-up window to enter details of the note or approval
- you then select the applicable date range.
Any children arriving after 9am or needing to leave prior to 3.30pm must be signed in/out by parents or caregivers using the Compass Kiosk at Reception. All parents entering school buildings for this purpose are required to check in using the QR Codes that are available at entry points to classrooms and reception.
With current restrictions it is not possible for us to welcome parents or visitors into school buildings for meetings. If you need to speak with staff, or with administration, please call or email. We will keep you updated with further information regarding restrictions as this comes to hand.
Aftercare at Kelly Club
Our school day finishes at 3.30 and at 3.45 children who have not been collected will be signed into Aftercare.
If you would like to book your child into Aftercare, simply call 9384 2204 or email preshil@kellycluboshc.com.au.
Victor Toufas
Acting Head of Campus