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Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you are well, all things considered. The Premier's announcement on Wednesday 7 July extending 'stay at home' (lockdown) orders until Friday 16 July and schools to return to remote learning for the first four days of Term 3, was not anticipated. However, we find ourselves in challenging times and navigating this together, respectfully is of paramount importance. At all times we MUST comply with the directives from the NSW Government, NSW Health and Catholic Schools NSW in our daily operational practices, so as to ensure the safety and well being of students, staff and parent/carers.
Since the Premier's announcement, we have been working hard in preparation for the resumption of remote learning. While it will not replicate the learning that will normally take place in the classroom, it will align with the planned learning and teaching for each class and keep students engaged and connected with their teacher during this time. Teachers will be uploading work to the chosen remote (online) learning platforms from Monday 12 July (Pupil Free Day).
While schools remain open for students who have no other option, we will only be delivering one mode of learning (remote). Students attending school will complete the same online work as those working remotely from home and will be supervised only by teachers, who will also be working on a rotating roster from Tuesday 13 July. As per the health advice, parents and carers are strongly encouraged to keep their children at home.
I ask for your patience and understanding as we collectively work together to ensure learning continuance. We all need to have realistic expectations as to what can be achieved during this time and remain as positive as we can. I would like to acknowledge and thank our wonderful staff for their effort and commitment in responding to the ever-changing demands placed upon them at this time.
The following information is intended to provide a complete overview of remote learning at St John's from Tuesday 13 July. I hope that you find it helpful in answering your questions and clarifying your concerns. Please take the time to read it carefully and know that we are here to support you and your family.
Parents and carers can find the latest information on CEDoW’s systemic response to COVID-19.
As always, thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Go gently and stay safe.
Andrew Heffernan
(Principal)
Students who are remote learning will need to access their classwork through their means of delivery (e.g. Google Classroom, Seesaw) by 3pm each day to be marked as present.
Kindergarten students in Gunyah will each receive a hard copy pack of work which will be sent home via a COVID-Safe ‘drive through’ collection at school this Tuesday 13th July. Teachers will be in contact with parents/carers on Monday 12 July to outline collection arrangements.
The Seesaw app will continue to be used as a form of communication with families and for the sharing of work for Gunyah students in Years 1 – 6 who will be working remotely at this time.
Kindergarten students will each receive a hard copy pack of work which will be sent home via a COVID-Safe ‘drive through’ collection at school this Tuesday 13th July.
Details of the time and pick up location will be shared with families on Monday 12th July.
The pack will contain revision worksheets covering English and Math concepts taught this year as well as some art activities.
Readers can not be sent home at this time, therefore you are encouraged to continue to read books from home with your child.
The Seesaw app will be used as an additional form of communication with families by the Kindergarten teachers.
As we navigate the current COVID19 situation, we will be using Seesaw to allow your child to continue to be engaged with learning throughout remote learning.
Each student has a unique Home Learning Code to access Seesaw, that will be sent to parents along with the login instructions via email on Monday 12 July. When signing in with their Home Learning Code, students can post to their journal, respond to activities and view class announcements. Students do not see the work of any other student in the class.
Assign classwork
Teachers will create classwork and add in all the necessary documents/links for students to work on via Seesaw. An overview of activities will be posted daily before 9:00am.
Share all relevant classroom materials
Teachers will share learning resources, reading materials, videos, links, and handouts via Seesaw. This allows students to refer to them at any time.
Make announcements
Teachers can send announcements via Seesaw to the whole class, which students receive as a notification when they are logged in to Seesaw. Each morning, teachers will start the day with an announcement, going over set expectations for the day. Activities relating to each task are found in the activities tab.
Collaborate one-on-one
Students can message teachers directly with questions and/or comments on classwork and announcements.
Seesaw is available on
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Students in Year 4 - 6 have been utilising Google Classroom in conjunction with our 1:1 iPad initiative and their access to this online platform remains unchanged.
How Teachers and Students use Google Classroom
Assign classwork
Teachers will create classwork and add in all the necessary documents for students to work on. Students receive an email notification when there is new classwork and are able to turn the classwork in on Classroom.
Share all relevant classroom materials
Teachers will share learning resources, reading materials, videos, links, and handouts. This allows students to refer to them at any time, or collaborate with their classmates on learning.
Make announcements
Teachers can send announcements to the whole class, which students receive via email. They also see these announcements when they login to their Classroom, through Google Classroom on their iPad.
Collaborate one-on-one or with the entire class
Students can message teachers directly with questions and/or comments on classwork and announcements. Students can also collaborate with each other for team classwork by working on shared projects in Docs, Sheets, and Slides at the same time.
Google Classroom — Student/Parent Guide
Expectations of Teachers
Teachers will:
- upload learning to SeeSaw or Google Classroom
- provide digital and nondigital learning experiences
- will provide feedback to students and support as required
- ‘Troubleshoot’ to assist parents with technology & remote learning via the Help form
- ensure all interactions via communication tools are in line with the CEDoW social media policy
Expectations of Students
Students will:
- follow a daily routine for learning: Be ready to learn
- identify a safe, comfortable and quiet space in their home where they can work effectively and successfully
- regularly check digital platforms and communication (SeeSaw, Google Classroom) for announcements and feedback from teachers
- complete tasks with integrity and academic honesty
- do their best to meet timelines, commitments, and due dates
- communicate proactively with their teachers if they require additional support (Years 4-6 Google Classroom)
Expectations of Parents
Parents and carers will:
- establish routines and expectations
- define a space for your child to work in
- monitor communications from teachers
- take an active role in helping your children process their learning
- encourage physical activity and/or exercise
- check-in with your child regularly to help them manage stress
- monitor how much time your child is spending online for nonlearning based activities
- seek assistance for technology support from our Request for Technology Support
- establish rules around their social media interactions
- maintain a supportive approach to the work being delivered by the teacher
General Responsibilities
- Only ask a question on a post by a teacher if you need help. Other comments are not needed.
- Keep your password and log in private. A parent or trusted adult can help you log in but do not give it to others!
- Only use your school accounts for school purposes – Email, Google Drive, Google Classroom, Study Ladder, etc.
- Please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR WORK THOROUGHLY before asking for help.
- All online activity can be monitored by your teacher, including work being completed.
- You are expected to work during regular school hours.
- All contact and replies from teachers will be carried out Monday to Friday 8:00am – 3:00pm.
Using Google Classroom
- Google Classroom works best on Google Chrome but works on other browsers too.
- Google Suite (Drive, Classroom, etc…) can be accessed on any tablet, laptop or desktop device regardless of brand – at school we use Apple, but Google also works seamlessly with PCs.
- If using an iPad or tablet, use the app store to download Google Classroom.
- Using the Google Classroom app on your iPad is easier than using it through a browser on your iPad.
- ONLY ACCESS YOUR LEARNING THROUGH GOOGLE CLASSROOM. THIS WILL ENSURE YOU ARE COMPLETING THE APPROPRIATE WORK AND YOU ARE READING THE INSTRUCTIONS.
- Do not open links or files in emails or Google Drive to complete your work.
- Engage in discussion with your child about what they are learning
- Give your child as much or as little time as they need for each learning experience
- Offer praise and encouragement for any learning attempts, even if they don’t get it quite right
- Establish routines and expectations
- Take an active role in helping your child process their learning
- Monitor communications from teachers
- Encourage regular physical activity and/or exercise and keep them hydrated
- Check-in with your child regularly to help them manage stress
- Monitor how much time your child is spending online
- Keep your child social, but set rules around their social media interactions
School drop-off and pick-up procedures will, for the most, remain unchanged. There will be minor adjustments to the afternoon pick, with parents and carers now not permitted to be onsite. You are asked to follow the directions of staff and maintain physical distancing at all times.
School buses will run as per normal for those students that have to attend school.
School Canteen will be closed until further notice.
Please find below information in relation to the current measures we are taking while remaining operational during the lockdown, our Before and After School Care service will continue to operate for any children that require it.
Managing Drop-off and Pick-up
Drop-off and pick-up procedure for parents and carers bringing children on site.
- We have asked that only one adult is to come onto school grounds to collect their child/ren. The authorised person and their time on site are recorded with our digital sign out procedure and our QR Code on display.
- Parents and Carers do not enter the indoor premises, but rather wait external to the service operational area until their child/ren and belongings are gathered by one of our Educators. We have set up physical barriers to ensure that the distancing requirements are met. Please see photo attached (Additional signage has been added since this photo was taken).
- Parents and Carers are asked to socially distance from our Educators and any other adults and wear masks unless an exemption applies.
- We are working with parents and carers to make drop off or pick up as brief as possible and if a lengthy conversation is necessary, that they are to do this over the phone with our Educators and not on site.
Our Educators are wearing masks when indoors or when managing the process of drop-off or pick-up with parents/carers in the outdoor area.
Understandably, many questions may arise and it is hoped that frequent school communication via Compass, assists you in clarifying your concerns. Teachers will respond to emails and phone calls in a timely manner during school hours (8:00 am – 3:00 pm) only. Requests for technology support can be made via the form below.