LOCKDOWN LEARNING CONTINUES

Zoom Olympic Dress Up Day Fun!

Friday 23rd July saw the Tokyo Olympic games commence with the opening ceremony airing that evening. As with most of those in lockdown, there was a keen enthusiasm from our students and staff alike to follow along and support our country. Friday at St Andrews was declared Olympic Day!

The enthusiasm began with St Andrews staff starting the day dressed up on Zoom during devotion time. Staff put on their international hats or shirts and got into the Olympic spirit. Standout was Mr Tim Farmilo in his Swim Cap and goggles representing !

Free Verse Poem – "Happiness is ... "

Year 4 have created a happiness book during online learning and thought of some very creative quotes: 

Zara – Happiness is... going to church

Samuel L  - Happiness is… when your siblings stop annoying you

Steve – Happiness is…. Poor people, after nice people have let you in

Samuel Ng – Happiness is... getting medals after a swimming race

Keyvas – Happiness is... going to school, after lockdown

Tomoya – Happiness is... is being able to use Zoom, in lockdown

Joel – Happiness is... walking through a path full of life

Edrick – Happiness is... a relaxing Sunday

Brad – Happiness is... when you sleep well

Levin – Happiness is... when you smell the flowers in the garden

Junru – Happiness is... a wobbly tooth, after it has fallen out

Anna-Claire – Happiness is... able to talk to friends, even in lockdown

Akesh – Happiness is... a cut on your knee, after you put a bandaid on it

Ebony – Happiness is... a mosquito, when it’s dead

Gail van Heerden 

Year 4 Teacher

Zoom Drama Class

We did our first Zoom lesson for our Prep Drama class… and it was so much fun!

Karen Elbourne

Drama Teacher

Homeroom 7F celebrating ‘Thankfulness Tuesday’ during Lockdown 5.0

Our Homeroom got really excited when Mrs Wansbrough announced that we are going to celebrate ‘Thankfulness Tuesday’ during Lockdown 5.0. Throughout the Bible, we see many examples of the essential role thankfulness has in our Christian life, no matter the circumstance. 

Giving thanks should not be limited to a single day, but a daily intimate practice that centers our mind on God’s blessings. We are to give thanks to God, for it glorifies Him and focuses our gaze on His goodness – past, present and the future.

Also on Thursday 12th August 7F Homeroom enjoyed some fun having a beanie day to keep the smiles flowing. 

Louis Fernandes

Year 7 Homeroom Teacher

Learning Support at St Andrews

We live in a world where things are constantly changing and where currently, we cannot rely on anything remaining constant.  The great thing is that God is never changing and always constant. The Bible promises us:

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Whilst our world constantly shifts in and out of Lockdown and our students bend and move with the ebb and flow of this new way of living, we can hold on to the one truth – God remains steadfast. He remains the same.

It is this truth which provides Learning Support with the strength required to continue to provide support for students who need to study onsite during Lockdowns. The Learning Assistants (LA) are amazing as they adapt and accept the constant changes in their roles.  

Those used to working with complex mathematical equations in Secondary suddenly find themselves seated next to a Year 3 student reviewing her phonograms. An LA who usually helps students learning English as an additional language, can be seen patiently sitting with a Year 5 student as he earnestly plods his way through the day’s tasks. Used to working with hands on materials in the Year 1 classroom, an LA may have had to quickly learn to get students on to different devices and dip in and out of various Zoom meetings. It is each LA's reliance on our never changing God that enables them to cheerfully approach each new change with a positive mindset – a mindset which places students at the centre of what we do each day.

So, whilst we enter Lockdown #6, we can look back on Lockdown #5 with joy!

Lockdown #5 began the same day as the Tokyo Olympics. Students made olive leaf crowns and Olympic torches.  

Students were then allocated to the different ancient Olympic teams and created flags to represent the Athenians or the Colossians. They read about each city/state’s attributes and created symbols to represent those. Students worked in multi-age groups and had to negotiate and work collaboratively:

We ended the day by watching the power and strength of Usain Bolt as he ran 100 metres in 9.58 seconds. That afternoon we tried to see what we could achieve in 10 seconds. How many star jumps? How many times can you take off and put your shoe back on? How far can you run? And to end the day: how long would it take you to run 100m? There were some very determined preps who firmly believed they could easily out race Usain!

The rest of Lockdown #5 continued in the pattern of the previous Lockdowns. Students connecting with their teachers and peers via Zoom and with the gentle and persistent guidance of the LAs, working their way through the day’s learning. Our LAs arrive each and every day ready to support these students in whatever manner possible.

It’s not all hard work. Below are some of our students having some down-time once lessons are complete.

E3 (Engage, Enrich, Empower) – Oceanography

A select group of students are beginning to explore the amazing interdependency of God’s oceans. This unit of work allows students to explore the different habitats of the ocean and to discover the complexities of the interdependence within these habitats. Students will be led to understand how God designed living things as fit for particular ecosystems through their adaptations, and will understand the different adaptations of fish. 

Students will design/create their own fish (or other living thing) which can survive in an ocean habitat of the student's choice and write a scientific report describing their newly designed fish (or living thing).

We are grateful that we were able to have our first session for Week B students on Wednesday where students began to gather information on the different ocean habitats.

You are always welcome to contact one of the Learning Support teachers:

• Shirley Gillie – Head of Learning Support   sgillie@standrews.vic.edu.au
• Wendy Punay – Learning Support Teacher – Primary   wpunay@standrews.vic.edu.au
• Kerryn Terrington – Learning Support Teacher – Secondary kterrington@standrews.vic.edu.au

Blessings

The Learning Support Teachers 

Year 12 Theatre Studies

The Year 12 Theatre Studies class had a visit from Katelyn Farmer, 2020 College Captain and one of the High Achievers in the subject last year. 

Having spent so much of her final year of school learning remotely, Katelyn had a wealth of useful experience and advice for our current class, including study habits, ways to stay connected with others, and strategies for preparing for the monologue exam while in isolation. Thank you Katelyn!

Kathryn Brown

Theatre Studies Teacher