Principal's Message
Feedback
We are very appreciative of the time that families and students have taken to respond to our surveys regarding online teaching. As this is a new and untried space for all of us, it is important that we are continually seeking feedback to ensure we continue to set the right conditions for learning, while being flexible and adaptable to changing needs as they emerge. Ensuring the wellbeing of students and staff remains a high priority.
As a result of the feedback, the following changes will be made to the structure of the day, acknowledging the impact that prolonged screen time is having on everyone’s concentration and energy levels. Brain breaks, time away from any screen, and time to engage in physical activity, remain as important as engagement with the learning. These times will be reflected in student timetables on SIMON. We will also communicate this to them via the Student Bulletin and an email:
Period | Start | End | Duration |
Lesson 1 | 9:00 AM | 10:00 AM | 60 |
Recess | 10:00 AM | 10:25 AM | 25 |
Lesson 2 | 10:30 AM | 11:30 AM | 60 |
Rest Break | 11:30 AM | 12:00 PM | 30 |
Lesson 3 | 12:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 60 |
Lunch | 1:00 PM | 1:55 PM | 55 |
Lesson 4 | 2:00 PM | 3:00 PM | 60 |
Staff will also spend some time together on Tuesday afternoon reviewing the student feedback regarding their experience of teaching and learning in the online space.
COVID-19 Mental Health Resources Fact Sheet
We received the following resource created by e-Mental Health in Practice, a project team funded by the Australian Department of Health to disseminate Australia’s various digital mental health resources to health practitioners and others who work with potential mental health consumers.
The Fact Sheet is very comprehensive and contains reliable and safe mental health support options which are relevant for all school communities and their staff, parents and students.
I hope you find it useful.
Conversations with the Leadership Team
In an effort to keep in touch and connected with our parent community we decided to proceed with the second of our planned “Conversations with the Leadership Team”, and to host this remotely. Thank you to the 70 (or so) families who joined us online. It was an opportunity to provide an update about how the College is managing this shift to online learning, to model some of the tools that our students and teachers are using within their learning programs, and to hear the feedback that parents have to offer, about any element of College life.
We have one more planned “Conversation” in Term Three, and once we know more about the restrictions that will be in place at that time, we will decide on the format.