Appreciations

It sounded like a gathering of the clans when Orchard to Plate coordinator, staff member and parent, Dianne MacDonald and Craig McKenzie, our regular gardener (and ‘ex’ grandparent) met recently to systematically complete a very thorough pruning of the Orchard (as pictured). The Orchard is a wonderful school asset, lovingly developed from its inception approximately 15 years ago by the Connector Bugs. I will include pictures and video featuring the Orchard in the Assembly video on Monday.

Prep 100 Days of School

Each year we mark this milestone with a celebration. In 2020 our circumstances dictate that it had to be noted in a different way. I was pleased to be asked to post a short acknowledgement congratulating our prep cohort on how they continue to learn and in many ways thrive while learning at home, with the dual support of their parents and their teachers.

One way the Preps celebrated the 100 days was an online disco on Wednesday afternoon. At one stage our leadership meeting was wonderfully interrupted as we ‘joined’ the revellers dancing, laughing and dressing up. There were some creative costumes and crazy hair styling as well. Congratulations on our resilient 2020 prep students, their mums and dads and the prep team for really entering into the spirit!

Parent/Teacher Interviews and Student Led Conferences

A reminder that you have until Tuesday 3:30pm to make a booking to meet with your child’s teacher and members of the specialist teaching team next Wednesday, 19th August. As is explained in the notifications posted on Flexischools (still available via the Flexibuzz app), parents and carers will have a choice of a video conference using WebEx, or a telephone conversation. We encourage the children to participate in this discussion, normally held face to face at the end of term 2. We do understand, like so many aspects that have been amended during the pandemic, this may depend on your family’s individual circumstances. In the case of our grade 5 and 6 students, for many years we have managed this interview as a student led conference as we believe at this stage in their learning, our most senior students should be acknowledged as active participants as learners. Again, like everything else in our present situation, there will be a greater degree of flexibility as is required to support your family circumstances. Next Wednesday will be a curriculum day, so no student work will be posted, or student learning managed by the teachers on the day. Students who are required to access supervised care will have access to a full day program with TheirCare.

Crazy Hair day/week – The Junior School Council really do continue to kick goals despite our remote and flexible learning circumstances. Generously and enthusiastically managed by Joanna and Medha, the idea of a virtual Crazy Hair Day this week has been keenly embraced. I am sure there will be lots of laughs when Junior, middle and senior school representative meet by video conference tomorrow:

Senior school - grade 5s and 6s at 2:30pm

Middle school - grade 3s and 4s at 2:50pm

Junior school - grade 1s and 2s at 3:10pm

I am looking forward to sharing the creative and crazy coiffures via the assembly video!

Flexischools communication app – In the light of negative feedback on the school’s adoption of the Flexischools app and the phasing out of its predecessor, FlexiBuzz, we felt that our community deserved a more detailed explanation. A brief article has been prepared by Assistant Principal Caren who convenes our Communications subcommittee of School Council. You will find that on page 4. We are pleased we already have made steps to find a solution that better meets our community’s needs and expectations.

Semester 1 School Reports

If you have not received your child's report from the end of Term 2, please contact the office to arrange for a pdf copy to be emailed.

Explanation of the Specialist ‘classroom’ by Specialist coordinator Stratos

The specialist timetable is set out so that all classes have one specialist subject per day. Each lesson is approximately 30 to 45 min long with the students able to access the subject at 9.00 am on a designated day. Students can choose to complete, partially complete or opt out of doing the lesson, depending on their workload and individual situation. Work handed in via video, photo or written is accessed by the teacher and returned with a comment to each individual student.

Specialist teachers are online and working with google classroom on all days in which they are employed. This includes the one timetabled day in which their specialist subject is not delivered online. This ensures that the flow of information and feedback to students in conducted in a timely manner.

Videos, photos and written work are selected each week from the online specialist program and sent to John Patterson who collates, edits and processes it to be added to the our online assembly every Monday.

The online program is specifically geared to allow students access to activities that require materials, resources and space that are reasonably easy to access. The focus is on participation and on fun. We aim to provide a variety of activities that enhance the classroom learning by providing a point of difference.

We hope to meet many of our families online next week during our day of Parent/Teacher interviews.

Stratos Tzanoudakis

All the best,

Please stay safe

Brendan

The West Weekly

Issue 23 · 13 Aug 2020

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