Dear Parents and Carers,
I would like to thank parents for their support and assistance at this very complex time. I will be providing some initial information to you today with more in the coming week.
At this time schools have been directed to provide supervision for students in Week 10 of this term (next week) but we are open for students for whom being at school is essential due to family circumstances. These care arrangements are in place and we will monitor attendance and communicate with parents around this. All student absences are being recorded as ‘Reasonable’.
There have also been some adjustments to bus services from next week and this has been communicated by us to our community.
We understand that there is a lot of pressure in homes given that the majority of our students are not at school at this time. We can appreciate how difficult it can be working in an online environment without a face to face component and expert teacher input.
We know that teaching and learning in Term 2 in WA schools is going to look different. Students may be at home and supervised by their parents. We will utilise different, flexible learning methods, and deliver differently for our students. My next update on Monday will outline the structures and routines that we will need to establish with our students and families.
We will be using Connect as our main platform for sharing curriculum for learning. While we might be dispersed, this continues to be the best platform for our students to remain connected to our schools, our teachers to their students, and our schools to the community. We will also be providing printed hard copy work packages for students that have limited access. It is beneficial for students to be able to copy, save and work on documents electronically from Connect for submission and revision. Student work can also be accessed on a USB, as requested, if this will assist students and their families.
The continuation of learning and supporting student well-being and connectedness will be our priority. This is an opportunity for students to learn and develop some new skills.
We understand also that this type of learning will not replace the face to face learning. Effective learning still depends on good relationships between teachers, students and parents. We aim to continue support not only for learning, but also social and emotional development, and mental health and wellbeing through our Connect platform.
As challenging as this will be, where possible, learning via Connect will:
- provide strategies for keeping students engaged, monitor student their progress and support helping parents to be involved in their child’s learning
- offer advice and guidance on caring for students and keeping positive connections between our school and the community.
Year 11 and 12 Students:
We hope to soon have a separate update from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) once it becomes available in relation to all Year 11 and 12 adjustments to the standards and expectations for General Courses, Vocational Education and Training, and ATAR bound students. The general message is that where possible the learning program will continue through Connect and other means available with some students still coming to site to pick up work. Assessment Schedules will be adjusted so that no students are disadvantaged. Once I have all of the most up to date information, we will share this with our community, as this is being looked at as a priority area by all sectors.
We wish all of our students and families well and we will provide a further update on Monday 6th April 2020.
Kind regards,
Domenic Camera
PRINCIPAL
3rd April 2020
