Messages

Dear Families,

Thank you for your support and patience during these past months of remote and flexible

learning. I congratulate everyone for their efforts throughout Term Three. The circumstances have challenged each of us in different ways but we continue to be focused on the students and their needs.

Please familiarise yourselves with the important information below regarding Term 4.

Term 4, 2020

All Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students will return to Onsite schooling on Monday 12th October. We will advise families of specific details of our return to onsite learning in the first week of Term 4 (after the next government announcement on September 28).

● Monday 5th October - Friday 9th October: Home learning continues for all students Prep

to Year 6.

● Friday 9th October: Optional specialist activities will be set for all students on this day,

feedback will not be provided. Classroom teachers will do their morning hangout as per

usual.

● Monday 12th October: Onsite schooling will commence for Prep, Year 1 and Year 2

students.

● Monday 12th October: Years 3-6 will continue with Home Learning until further notice.

Onsite Supervision for children of Permitted Workers and Vulnerable Children

Those students in Years 3-6 who have been attending Galilee for onsite supervision during Term 3 can continue to do so, in consultation with the school, from Monday 5th October.

Parents who become Permitted Workers from Monday 28th September will be considered for

onsite attendance from Week 2, Monday 12th October.

Learning from Home

Please note that once a year level has returned to school, all students will be expected to attend school as normal. This means if you choose to keep your child/ren at home after their year level has returned to onsite schooling, the school can no longer support their learning from home as per government directions.

Specialists

In Week 1 of Term 4, Specialists will post optional tasks for Friday on Thursday, October 8th, by 4pm. Specialist staff will prepare for their return to onsite learning and teaching with Prep and Years 1 and 2 on that day.

From Week 2, Specialist staff will be teaching Prep, Years 1 and 2 face-to-face on two days each week (timetable to be confirmed).

On Thursday afternoons, Specialist staff will post activities for Years 3-6 online sessions.

Specialists will work off-site on Fridays, so as to be available for assistance/clarification of tasks for Years 3-6.

Dates

Please note that a number of events have been cancelled for next term. Refer to the Dates and Information page of this Bulletin.

End of Term Three

A reminder that this Friday 18 September is the end of Term 3. School will finish at 1:30pm for all students. The day will be a day for students to complete any unfinished work or projects, and Specialist teachers will upload optional activities.

Learning and Teaching in the Senior Years

Year 5

In Writing, the students have been planning and drafting Information Reports about Australian animals. Read some information about the Red Kangaroo, Thorny Devil, Quokka and Dingo.

In Reading, the students have been learning to recognise and explain the cause and effect relationship. They completed a Cause and Effect Chart about the effects that Covid-19 has had on society.

Here are some responses to the effects of Covid-19.

We have been stuck at home not being able to see our friends and homework has got a whole new meaning also favourite events have been cancelled. Paloma E

Students are struggling because when they don’t get to go to school they aren't participating in class as much. They also can’t participate in sports or other fun school activities.  Some students may need more help from their teachers which is really hard to do online when you can usually just put your hand up to ask a question. Dane G

People are feeling sad angry and cautious. Henry T

It’s important to find ways that make us feel good.  Places like kids help line can be good if you need someone to talk to. James S

People are staying home and avoiding physical contact with others. Aidan L

Year 6

The Year 6 students designed “City of Port Phillip: Walk to School” logos/posters.

The design needed to include the school name and distance to walk to school. The designs could also include our school colours, our school logo and images of bikes, scooters and people walking. Here are some examples.

Year Six Gratitude challenge

There is a book called Magic that I am reading at the moment about the importance of gratitude. In the book there are 21 daily tasks to do with gratitude that can have a big impact on how people are feeling in their life. This journey is beneficial to families and students because it creates a good habit of finding gratitude everyday.  

My family and I talk about what we are grateful for most nights at the dinner table and that makes me feel happier and more positive about lockdown and Coronavirus. Gratitude is when you take the time to consider something or someone that you are thankful for. 

The Year Sixes are currently in the middle of a Gratitude Challenge. Each morning, we are shown different practices to help us improve our habit of being grateful. For the entire 21 day journey we have been completing a practice called ‘Count your Blessings’. ‘Count your Blessings’ involves writing a list of 10 things we are grateful for each morning before our class Hangouts. We also complete a challenge each night before we go to sleep called ‘Magic Rock’ where we say thank you for the best thing that happened to us that day. 

The following statement is from Christ in the Gospel of Matthew “Whoever has, will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

By Chelsea 6B

Art

In Art, the 5/6 students experimented with blending and dripping paint to create a colourful eye. They sketched a basic eye shape with a lead pencil. Then added the pupil and eyelashes. To add the paint, the students used lots of colours and the technique of blending.

Below are some fantastic examples.

Year 5

Year 6

Performing Arts

In Performing Arts, Patrick F and Olivia B (Year 6) responded to the video about a choreographer for the Queensland Ballet.

Tristan M (Year 3) demonstrates the moonwalk.

Sienna M (Year 1) demonstrates her Move and Freeze moves.

Italian

Here are some creative responses to the Italian story, "Poletto Carletto", a story similar to Henny Penny. Emilio M 1B created a scene from the story out of Lego and Paul, Nikolas and Peter in Year 2 acted out the story.

In other Learning and Teaching...

Year 1

Year 1 students have been learning how to follow and write procedures. They made their own fruity milkshake.

Year 2

Molly A in 2E has written a fantastic persuasive piece of why flying would be the best super power.

Year 4 STEM

Students had to design and build a house for the three little pigs that could withstand the wind (hairdryer!) from the Big Bad Wolf. 

Here are Liam's (4F) design videos:

Wellbeing

Returning to School

We understand that some students may feel anxious about this move back to classroom teaching and learning. We have included here a list of useful tips and strategies to help you transition your children back to school:

● Get back into the school-day routine at least a week early – waking up, eating and going to

bed at regular times.

● Get your child involved in planning out their lunches and snacks for the first week back.

● For anxious kids, plenty of detail can be calming. Talk through the steps of getting to their classroom: eg "And then we hang up our bag on our hook; we say hi to our friends; we find our seat.”

● Stick to familiar routines as much as possible. Try to have a calm evening and allow more time

to settle before bedtime if your child is feeling excited or nervous about school.

● Help your child pack their bag the night before. A visual checklist can help them remember what they need to take. Lay out their clothes so everything’s ready for the morning.

● Allow some extra time to get ready on day one so you’re not rushing.

Cyberbullying

As the children enter two weeks of school holidays with limited outdoor activities to engage in and the potential of increased screen time, it is important that you are aware of the different forms of cyberbullying that can occur between the children. Please talk to your children about using the internet safely and respectfully with their peers.

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is when someone is repeatedly mean, nasty, horrible. harassing and/or threatening towards another person using any form of digital technology, including social media, mobile phones or online games. Like any bullying, cyberbullying often occurs between people that know each other—students at the same school, members of a sporting club, people from the same social circle, ‘friends of a friend’. If someone is being cyberbullied, they are also likely to be bullied in person. Cyberbullying can be particularly harmful as it is often very public. Usually, many people can see what is written or posted. Once something is published online, it is difficult if not impossible to remove all traces of it. This means the bullying can be ongoing.

Forms of cyberbullying

• sending nasty texts, posts, instant messages, pictures and/or emails. It can also be a humiliating video
• setting up a fake account in someone else's name and using that to bully and harass
• using a person’s password to access their account and then pretending to be them forwarding others’ private emails, messages, pictures or videos without permission
• posting mean or nasty comments online
• sending and/or forwarding sexually explicit images
• intentionally excluding others from an online group or chat

Signs your child may be being cyberbullied

There is no definitive list of signs that indicate cyberbullying but there are some things to look out for:

• change in mood, demeanour and/or behaviour: for example being upset, angry, teary or rebellious when not previously
• change in friendship groups: it can be normal to change friends during the school year but sudden changes should  be explored
• spending more time with family instead of friends: adolescence is generally a time where friends become very important and parents less so
• distinct change in online behaviours: being ‘jumpy’ when text messages arrive, not leaving their phone alone, wanting to be online all the time, or never wanting to be online

For more information, read the following document.

Prep-2 Virtual Parent Wellbeing Seminar

Parents of Prep-2 are invited to join a free, virtual seminar on Thursday 8 October (7pm-8pm), to connect and learn how Galilee families have experienced remote learning and lockdown, and strategies to support the children returning to school.

In this interactive seminar, you will be joined by members of the Galilee Wellbeing Team.

Please join us and learn what the Galilee Wellbeing Team have discovered and how your family can continue to flourish during remote learning for 3-6 students and lockdown, and prepare your Prep-2 children for the return to school.

Date: Thursday October 8

Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm

Venue: This event will be hosted online (via  Zoom)

BOOK YOUR PLACE TODAY: https://www.trybooking.com/BLPSM

Uniform

The transition to Summer Uniform in Term 4 is dependent upon weather conditions. Students may choose to wear the Winter uniform on colder days until Friday, October 23. All students will need to wear the full Summer Uniform from Monday 26 October. A reminder that the school hat must be worn from the start of Term 4. NB Galilee follows the Sun Smart policy: No hat, no play.

The new Galilee uniform is available for purchase from PSW (online ordering). Click on the PSW website, Your School then Find Your School. Items of the current uniform are on sale at a discount of 40%.  Items of the current uniform can be worn until the end of Term 1 2022. An exception will be made for Year 6 students. All other students must be in the new uniform by Term 2, 2022.

The Sports Uniform must be worn on allocated PE days and every Friday.

Scripture of the Week

Prep Transition 2020

Due to Covid-19, we have adjusted our Prep 2021 Transition Program. Parents will be notified via email for more information regarding sessions and booking into the online session.

Parent and Child Online Session: Thursday 3rd September 2pm - 3pm

Prep Parent Evening (location TBC):  Wednesday 11th November 7pm-9pm

Session 1: Week 2: Wednesday 14th October 2.00pm-2.50pm All children

Session 2: Week 3: Monday 19th October 9am - 9.50am Sibling children

Session 2: Week 3: Monday 19th October 10am - 10.50am Non-sibling children

Session 3: Week 4: Wednesday 28th October 2.00pm-2.50pm All children

Session 4: Week 5: Wednesday 4th November 2.00pm-2.50pm All children

Session 5: Week 6: Monday 9th November 9am - 9.50am Sibling children

Session 5: Week 6: Monday 9th November 10am - 10.50am Non-sibling children

Session 6: Week 7: Wednesday 18th November 2.00pm-2.50pm (A-K)

Session 6: Week 8: Wednesday 25th November 2.00pm-2.50pm (L-Z)

Session 7: Week 9: Wednesday 2nd December 2.00pm-2.50pm (A-K)

Session 7: Week 10: Wednesday 9th December 2.00pm-2.50pm (L-Z)

Session 8: Week 11:  Monday 14th December 2.30pm - 3.25pm Whole School Orientation, all children

Galilee Fees 2020

On September 7 a letter was sent home outlining the rebates that will be applied to the 2020 Fees .

As a school, we realise that our fees include anticipated (or agreed costs) in relation to extra-curricular items such as camps, swimming lessons and excursions. For some events that did not occur in 2020 (or will not occur in Term 4) we will be offering a rebate to our families who have paid the school fees in full by 18 September 2020. The rebate will be balanced against additional costs such as cleaning and digital technology and carried forward and applied against 2021 fees for our continuing families. For our families not at Galilee in 2021, alternative arrangements will be made.

However, before the school can make a decision on the amount of the rebate, the Victorian Government need to confirm more details on the status of education in Term 4, which we are expecting by October 25. The rebate offered will differ between year levels, depending upon events missed and will be specified after the update on October 25.

Please note that relevant policies are on the school website under Enrolment with relevant section being: 

If parents fail to communicate or adhere to agreed payment plans after attempts have been made, actions may occur impacting: Camps/excursions/incursions/Graduation, Semester Reports. enrolment and Debt Collection agency engaged.

Policies are currently being updated and will be shared next term.

Please contact Wendy via email, wdalton@gsm.vic.edu if you are unable to reconcile school fees (and are not on an agreed payment plan) by September 18, to arrange a confidential conversation.

Father Bob

A Go Fund Me for former Parish Priest, Father Bob, has been set up to help get some work done on his bed/sitter so he can access fresh air and have some outdoor space. Here is the link if you would like to contribute 

Remote learning survey

We recently emailed Parent and Student Remote Learning Surveys. The due date has been extended to the end of the school holidays. 

Here are some of the results from the previous survey. 

Parents

What was helpful in keeping your child/family connected to the school?

• Communication office/staff
• Hangouts
• Ability to message teachers
• Bulletin
• Daily set tasks
• Dojo

Most useful digital platform?

• Epic
• Dojo
• Essential assessment
• Google applications

What aspect of remote learning would like to see continue?

• None
• More insight into weekly learnings
• More self-directed learning
• Direct teacher contact
• Continue access to online books
• Quality over quantity
• Google applications
• Homework to be sent online (no paper)

Students

What did you enjoy the most about remote learning?

• More sleep
• Deciding the order you complete activities
• Taking a break (food) whenever you need to refuel
• Nothing
• More time to complete tasks
• Working at your own pace
• More free time
• Google Meets
• Spending more time with family
• Being more independent
• No distractions

What strengths did you see in yourself during this time?

• Efficiency
• Persistent and patient
• Focused
• Organised
• Independence
• Positive
• Determined
• Hardworking
• Good at computers
• Getting work done on time
• Stronger
• Smarter

Which parts of remote learning would you keep? 

• School starting earlier in the day
• School finishing earlier in the day
• None
• More use of technology
• Google Classroom and applications
• Homework emailed instead of worksheets
• Google meets for assembly
• Maths/STEM

Baby News

With much excitement, we are announcing that Bianca and Matthew Latto are expecting their first child early next year. Congratulations!

Simon Millar

Principal of Galilee