Principal's Report
Remote and Flexible Learning to Continue into Term 4
Last weekend, the Victorian Government has released its plan for easing coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions. We now know that students will continue learning from home for the remainder of this term and into Term 4, with the staggered return to school to begin from week 2 of next term.
While these decisions remain subject to the advice of Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, a summary of key dates as it currently stands is provided below:
- All schools will continue to provide remote and flexible learning for the remainder of Term 3.
- 5 – 9 October (first week of Term 4)
- Remote and flexible learning will continue for all students.
- On-site supervision for children of permitted workers and vulnerable students will continue to be provided consistent with existing guidelines.
- From 12 October
- Students in Foundation to Grade 2 return to full-time on-site schooling. The existing remote learning program will not continue for these year levels.
- Remote and flexible learning will continue for all students in Grades 3 to 6 other than for children of permitted workers and vulnerable students. A date for the return of these year levels to face-to-face learning will be subject to further health advice.
This next stage of school operations both contributes to the continuing efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and maximises the learning of our students. It clearly requires again the flexibility, adaptability and resilience that you have our community has demonstrated so widely throughout this year, and that has been extensively recognised by staff, students, parents/carers and the broader Bimbadeen community.
We are currently awaiting further guidance for schools and we look forward to providing you with further information as soon as possible in order to provide clarity about the term ahead.
Bimbadeen Spoonville is Coming!
Like the Bear Hunt and the Rainbow Trail, families have become creative again and now we have communities of spoons.
Spoonville, a craze involving creating colourful spoon characters and planting them in villages has well and truly arrived in Mooroolbark and surrounding suburbs.
This craze began in Winnersh, England as a way of improving children’s health and wellbeing during these COVID-19 lockdowns.
These spoon communities aim to put smiles on the faces of children during these challenging times.
We would love to create our own Bimbadeen Spoonville near the rocks at the front entrance of the school. After you create a spoon, on your walk past our school, plant your spoon and let us see how many spoons we can add to our little community. A tip for lasting in the weather is to use nail polish to paint and decorate your spoon!
School Photos
School Photos have been rescheduled for Wednesday 11 November 2020. While school photos will be taken of individual students on this day, there will not be group/class photographs taken to ensure we comply with COVID-19 restrictions and our COVID-19 Safety Management Plan. Further information about School Photos will be provided next term.
As with all plans in 2020, if Chief Health Officer advice at the time places restrictions on schools that prevent the school photos going ahead, we may need to reschedule once again or make alternate arrangements.
National e-Smart Week
This week is National e-Smart Week (6-12 September). This is a great opportunity for families to discuss the importance of being safe online.
Listed below are 10 tips from the Alannah and Madeline Foundation to help start the conversation. We continue to be amazed by the number of students in our upper year levels who have access to Tik-Tok, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram etc that have clear age restrictions in place. These age restrictions are in place for a reason.
Students should be having lots of face to face interactions with peers and adults. It is through these conversations that we develop our emotional intelligence.
Care about the Share
Social media wants you to share as much as you can bear! But the share should be rare. NEVER share: passwords, private/personal information, your location.
Privacy Matters
If you care about the share, you’ll protect your privacy, no matter what. Regularly check your privacy settings on social media, and always think before you post. It’s amazing where data ends up – usually all over the internet.
Respect the Privacy of Others
Treat others’ privacy as you would your own. Ask for your friends’ permission before uploading photos and videos of them. It’s not all about you.
Keep Everything Updated
Any idea what causes the most security breaches on the internet? Software that isn’t up-to-date. Seems crazy simple, but it’s true! Be vigilant about updating software, including apps, anti-virus and even the humble browser.
Spam
Even with the best anti-spam and malware software – that’s up-to-date – spam is the modern version of junk mail. It’s everywhere! Learn how to tell the difference between real emails and messages, and dodgy things with dodgy links. Sometimes they don’t look so dodgy...always be suspicious of hyperlinks in emails.
Control the Troll Within
There be trolls out there – beware! Don’t feed them, don’t give them what they want: an angry response. Block/Report the trolls. But also: resist the inner troll. If you’re not adding something to the debate online, don’t bother. Don’t be part of the problem.
Cyberbullying and Harassment
If you’re being targeted by this kind of behaviour, know what you can do, and where you can get help. Visit the National Centre Against Bullying website and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner's website.
Keep Your Friends Close and Strangers at Arm’s Length
Do you know how many true friends most people have? Three. Yup, those four thousand and fifty two Facebook ‘friends’ are a combination of acquaintances, people-you-met-once, people-you-can’t-remember-meeting-once, and probably, some ‘randoms’. They don’t need to know what you had for breakfast, or what concert you went to last night, do they?
Feel the Flow – Keep Your Life in Balance
Technology is incredible. Gaming, networking, apps…online shopping! But make sure you take time out and find the right balance for you. Too long on tech can put the world out of whack. Have Fun, Friend Always remember to chill out and keep things in perspective. There’s too much information online to take it all in!
Focus on each moment, and enjoy.
(Alannah and Madeline Foundation)
2021 Foundation Transition
Starting Foundation is an exciting time for children and their families. Our transition program, which begins at the start of Term 4 of the year prior, is an opportunity for children to become familiar with our classrooms and feel comfortable in the school environment. Students meet the teachers who are currently teaching in that level and some of the students who may be in the same class the following year.
For parents this is an opportunity to meet other families with whom they will be sharing a seven (or longer) year journey and gain a deeper understanding about the curriculum and school processes.
Due to COVID-19, we hope that the first of our independent transition sessions scheduled for October will be able to go ahead face-to-face. However, we are also planning exciting alternative experiences for both our students and our parents/carers to support their transition to Bimbadeen. Once our plans have been finalised and we have been advised of the format the program is permitted to take, we will send out further information to families.
Putting things into perspective
One of our school colleagues shared this via Facebook. We thought it particularly meaningful at this time when we are all feeling rather anxious, stressed and fed up. It certainly helps to put things into perspective and helps us to focus on the positives of this trying time.
Child – How old are you grandpa?
Grandpa – I’m 81, dear.
Child – So does that mean you were alive during the Coronavirus?
Grandpa – Yes, I was.
Child – Wow! That must have been horrible grandpa. We were learning about that at school this week. They told us about how schools had closed. Mums and dads couldn’t go to work so they didn’t have as much money to do nice things. They said that you weren’t allowed to go and visit your friends and family and couldn’t go out anywhere. They told us that the shops ran out of lots of things, so you didn’t have much bread and flour and toilet rolls. They said that Easter holidays were cancelled. They told us about all those thousands of people who got very sick and who died. They explained how hard doctors and nurses and all essential workers worked and lots of them died too. That must have been horrible grandpa!
Grandpa – Yes, that is all correct, but I was just a kid back then. To tell you the truth, I remember it differently… I remember playing in the garden for hours with mum and dad and having picnics outside and lots of BBQs. I remember making things with my dad and baking with my mum. I remember learning how to do hand stands and back flips. I remember having quality time with my family, even when they were being my teachers. I remember mum’s favourite words becoming, “Hey, I’ve got an idea” rather than “Maybe later or tomorrow, I’m a bit busy.” I remember making our own bread and pastry, growing our own vegetables and having fresh eggs from our new chooks. I remember having movie night three or four times a week instead of just one. I remember putting our Christmas lights up in the middle of the year just because we wanted to.
It was a horrible time for lots of people you are right but, I remember it differently.
Author unknown
Perhaps it’s time for us all to flip our thinking and focus on building those positive memories of this challenging time – the positive memories that will last a lifetime and help shape the memories of our children of this time in their lives.
We hope you enjoy a lovely weekend.
Adele Gregson and Sabrina George