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Dear Parents and Carers,
Well it’s been a challenging week for all. We have essentially been preparing and delivering our remote learning platforms for the last week or so and dealing with the challenges this has presented for all. Whilst doing this, we have also been teaching the children of essential workers in our care. I would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have taken on the role of “teacher” at home and supported your child’s remote learning.
From the information I am receiving, it would seem that students will be working from home from the beginning of Term 2. As the Prime Minister said, “education will look different on the other side of the holidays”. This too will look different across our school. We have considered the age groups and the capabilities and skills of our students when developing our learning platforms. I believe we have got it right, as much as possible, at this early stage.
Next Term, the Year 3 to 6 students will continue to access their learning through Google Classroom through the Microsoft Teams platform. The Yr 3 to 6 students are currently meeting as a group, with their teachers, through Zoom meetings and we’ve had some successful interactions so far. Next term; however, we will move to Microsoft Teams for video conferencing. The students have been asked to wear their sport top or school polo when “zooming” and also to consider what is in the background when on camera – this has worked well, and I thank parents for your cooperation. Could I please remind parents that our Chromebooks are for our students ONLY to use? It is not appropriate for siblings to access the device. Also, care should be taken with the school devices – a considerable amount of funds has been used to purchase the technology. Thank you for your understanding.
Next term, Yr 2 will access Google Classroom through Microsoft Teams. Kinder and Yr 1 have been developing a Weebly website. Details will be out soon on how this will work. For obvious reasons videoconferencing is not overly successful for this age group, so we are developing a “check-in” system with parents. Further information on this will follow next term.
Amongst the uncertainty and extra workload, the STM staff have risen to the challenge – would you expect anything less? We are missing the students – their stories, smiles, interactions and even the cheekiness! School is just not the same and there is no clear idea of when we will see the students face to face again.
Pupil Free Days
As per Ross Fox’s communication, next week will be “pupil free” – the school will be closed. There will not be any remote learning or work offered next week. (Holidays are a week early for our students). Staff will be participating in intensive professional learning and communication next week with be limited.
Yours sincerely,
Julie Wiley
Principal.
Student and Family Counselling Services
I am writing to update you on the efforts CatholicCare Canberra & Goulburn are making to continue to provide services in light of the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19).
The health and welfare of our clients, families and staff are our highest priority. Our organisation is on high alert and we have enacted a number of strategies to ensure we are able to respond to this national health pandemic.
We are working closely with the Commonwealth Health authorities to follow all guidelines as directed and as such, have put in place hygiene and self-protection measures that can prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
Counsellors will continue to provide support and are able to connect with students and parents via telephone or online using the Zoom platform.
Appointment information:
- Appointments will be available during school hours on the counsellor’s usual working day/s in the school.
- Appointments can be made by phoning our receptionist on 6162 6104 or by emailing schoolcounselling@catholiccare.cg.org.au. Please provide the following information in your email – name of student, school year, name of school, name of counsellor (if currently working with this person) and a brief outline of the reason for the referral. We will then make contact to arrange an appointment time and discuss your preference for a telephone or online session.
Session information:
- For telephone sessions, if the call is missed, a second attempt to make contact will be made. If this is still not successful, the Counsellor will send an email to negotiate another time. It would be appreciated if you are not available at the scheduled time, that an email to cancel the session is received.
- For video sessions you will receive an invitation via email with a link to your Zoom session. You do not need to already have a Zoom account; you will be invited to download the software once you click on the link. The same process as above will be followed if you do not accept the session.
Privacy & Confidentiality:
- Please make sure you are in a private place for your session; where others cannot hear your conversation or see your screen. This is your responsibility; please advise the Counsellor if this is not possible.
- Should your counsellor become concerned about your safety or the safety of another student, the usual limitations around confidentiality exist.
- Parents of primary school children: the need for privacy and confidentiality will be discussed with you when making the appointment. Many families have rules at home about phones and devices in bedrooms or other private places, so this will need to be discussed with your child.
Kind Regards
The Student & Family Counselling Team
Catholic Care