Dear Parents,

As you are aware, the lockdown has been extended and therefore remote learning will continue until the end of term. Whilst we understand the government’s reasoning and safety concerns behind the continued restrictions, we are very disappointed as many of our scheduled events have had to be cancelled or postponed.  We are looking into re-scheduling some activities like water safety but unfortunately the Grandparents’ Day concert and picnic has had to be cancelled as we will be unable to gather in large groups for quite some time.

The remote learning continues to go well and I am inspired by how much work the teachers are putting into their check-ins and explicit teaching times. I am also very impressed with how well the children are adapting to virtual schooling. I have been catching up with classes as often as I can and have seen some wonderful work happening across this space. On the whole the interactive Teams platform is very successful with a very high percentage of students engaged throughout each day. Can I please ask parents to ensure students are sending work through to teachers by the relevant platforms for correction.

With the continued lockdown, we have decided to make the next two middle of the week days Well-Being Wednesdays. This would mean that the daily check-in would take place to account for attendance but the activities would be optional or of a fun nature so families can have some quality low pressure time together. This is for a couple of reasons.

• Teachers are engaged with students and planning for a large part of each day and need some time to correct work that is submitted and account for assessment.
• From feedback I am getting, some families are finding the consistent school work expectations quite demanding when also juggling their own work load.

With this in mind, we believe that this one day a week down time may help all concerned. Enjoy!

I would like to thank those parents who have diligently been completing the Google attendance document sent out by Jodie each day. This form is a legal requirement during lockdown so that we can account for those working remotely. We also check attendance on Teams each session in each grade. If your child is unwell, please email the school email so we can account for the absence for that day.

The Teaching and Learning Team at Catholic Education have developed Remote Learning Parent Support Resources. The K-2 Activity Cards and 3-6 Activity Cards are for parents to use at their discretion but have additional activities to support students during remote learning. These resources contain a mix of online and offline learning activities.  Please click here for the PowerPoint version of the K-2 card that contains all the links and here for the 3-6 PowerPoint version. For your information PDF versions are also included with this week's Principal's Message.

I have also attached a prayer that was shared with me during the week from Social Justice Sunday last weekend. This is a perfect reflection for families to use at this time especially with other disturbing things happening in our world.

Happy Father’s Day this weekend to all our dads!

Have a lovely weekend.

Kindest regards,

Julie