Surviving Remote Learning

I have the overwhelming feeling that the sentiment across Melbourne and effectively Victoria is ‘When will this end?’.  And although I did feel disheartened a couple of weeks ago, as I witnessed the trail of children coming to school to pick up their books, I am sure we all look forward to the day we can again reunite as one Malvern family.  

The teachers are working tirelessly to set up and deliver a consistent whole school remote learning platform and lessons to engage and educate your children.  As you can imagine, this is a delicate exercise as there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach, so continual alignment is needed.  The teachers and school have listened to numerous feedback and have responded accordingly, remembering, remote learning is a giant moving piece. 

I would strongly encourage all parents, to ensure your child’s presence during remote learning is kept up, although I do understand the difficulty this can cause families. Some form of connection to their teacher and peers is extremely beneficial to student’s mental health. I would also encourage parents to maintain contact with your child’s teacher and share any emerging concerns that may surface, especially when we still have approximately four more weeks of online learning. 

For handy hints on surviving remote learning and ways to manage anxiety, and parent and child wellbeing strategies, please go to the Malvern PS website and explore the Parent Remote Learning Portal, which is continually being updated.  http://www.malvernps.vic.edu.au/curriculum/remote-learning/.   Please be mindful when speaking to you child that the content is age appropriate. Understand that your anxiety can be taken on by your child, and they won’t necessarily have the maturity or cognitive ability to correctly process the information.

Children’s needs haven’t changed during the pandemic but it might be harder for all their needs to be met in the same manner. Families have stepped in to fill those needs in numerous ways – from walks and talks, to playing games and watching Netflix. At Malvern Primary School, we have adapted our teaching programs, delivery of curriculum and ways of engaging students. There is an ongoing responsibility for us all to support and protect the wellbeing and learning of our young people to the absolute best of our abilities.

However, on the flip side, our experience is that home learning has provided some valuable life lessons too. It has built independence in many students as they have learned how to solve more problems by themselves, manage their own time and find new interests. We also know that many young people found ways to stay connected to each other, often using technology.  We strongly recommend that parents monitor the different social media platforms used by your children, as some platforms can leave your child’s security, and potentially their safety, compromised. 

On return to school the first time, students were relieved to find their relationships were intact and could take up where they left off. Others have come to understand that they need to be proactive in maintaining relationships, a very valuable life lesson indeed.

Our teachers have worked hard to support students in staying connected, both to their teachers and each other through a range of strategies including regular wellbeing checks through WebEx and fun online activities.  

Last time I spoke about Henry Ford’s enduring wisdom of working together is success, this time I want to leave you with my favourite academic, and his inspirational words. 

‘You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!’ That’s how winning is done indeed, thank you Dr Rocky Balboa, a Doctor in Philosophy and boxing!

Stay safe and stay strong.

Dean Napier

Assistant Principal