Delivery of online learning
It has been a great blessing that we have rolled out the Seesaw platform across the school this year. This enables us a consistent delivery method for communication and learning amongst all students and their teacher. Google classroom will also be utilised for students from Years 2 - 6, acknowledging their accessibility and usage of Gmail and the Google suite here at school.
Each week the classroom teacher will upload a series of activities on either Seesaw or Google Classroom that would complement the learning that would have occurred in a face to face capacity for the week. All families should have access to these by 10:00 am each Monday morning. Families are encouraged to recognise that this provision is for the entire school week, and should consider how this would be best met in regards to a daily format. Please also recognise that these activities are suggestions and ideas.
For some families, there may be too much and for others, not enough. Ultimately, you know your child / ren, so please use both your instinct and discretion in identifying what is attempted, completed or disregarded. As a bare minimum, encourage your child to read daily, compose a piece of writing every few days (i.e. a journal entry or creative writing) and practice numerical fluency i.e. times tables.
Additionally to these platforms, students will be directed by their class teacher to additional online sites in order to complete activities. This is inclusive of Mathletics, RAZ Kids and Soundwaves online of which students already have access to. A large number of educational sites are offering access to their resources for free, and teachers will include additional access information within the activities they provide.
Daily Routine
We all know that routine is crucial in family operations. Whilst we love the relaxed nature that school holidays brings, the reality of online learning recommends putting in place a routine that will suit your family unit. A recommended daily routine schedule is shared with you below for use at your discretion. Please take into consideration your household arrangements (i.e personal 'work from home' expectations), and use it to develop something feasible for your family.
We would generally recommend that families spend 2 - 4 hours per day completing school provided activities, acknowledging the age of your child / ren. Please note that whilst the schedule below is set in hour blocks, for younger students we would highly recommend that focused learning activities are completed in 20 minute intervals with a 5 - 10 minute brain break in between.
8:00 am - Time to get up, make your bed, get dressed for the day and enjoy a nutritious breakfast
9:00 am - Fitness activities / outdoor play
10:00 am - Literacy activities (as provided by classroom teacher)
11:00 am - Healthy snack & fresh air time
11:30 am - Numeracy activities (as provided by classroom teacher)
12:30 pm - Get creative: paint / build Lego / do a puzzle
1:30 pm - Lunch & fresh air time
2:30 pm - Unit of Inquiry / Personal Interest Project (as provided by classroom teacher)
3:30 pm - Training / Music practice (as applicable) or Help around the Home
Sharing learning
Our classroom teachers would love to maintain communication with all of their students, and encourage families to submit completed tasks using either Seesaw and Google Classroom where appropriate. There is no expectation that every activity is completed and shared online with the teacher, as this is just not practical.
Marking and corrections of work, as you would understand, has it's complexity and we appreciate your understanding as we navigate this in age appropriate ways. Our teachers will provide feedback in a timely manner where appropriate, and will ensure there is a balance in the contact they have with each of their students.
Wellbeing
What matters most to our teachers, is the wellbeing of your child/ren (our students) and yourselves. We would love for you to share with us accomplishments and celebrations! Please use Seesaw as a communication tool for checking in.
Please also refer to our Term 1: Weeks 7 & 8 newsletter, with the recommendations from Mr Raft in regards to minimising stress and anxiety.
In these times more than ever, we would like to reiterate that the role we play is in partnership with you. We are incredibly thankful for entrusting your children into our care.
We will be praying for you all daily, and strongly encourage you to let us know if we can pray specifically for your child, yourself and your extended family.
Kind regards
Mrs Melinda Richardson
The Head of Learning & Music / PYP Coordinator
