IMPORTANT DATES!
TERM 3 2020
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Well it has certainly been a really interesting week and I did want to reach out and make sure everyone is doing ok. Next week I plan to visit a few live learning sessions so that I can say hello to the students and check in on their wellbeing. It will be fantastic to see how they are travelling with remote learning 2.0.
Good News Announcement
We do have a very special announcement to make. Maddie and Tom Huglin are expecting their first child. Towards the end of the year Maddie and Tom will start to make some preparations for the new addition to their family as we are expecting Santa Claus to bring them a very special bundle of joy. Our Golf Links family are sending them both our love as they navigate this pathway in the strange world that we now live in.
How will COVID – 19 impact learning for primary aged students?
During times like these it is only natural that we feel anxiety around many things and the worry that our kids may be missing out on fundamental learning is most probably a common fear amongst all communities in the world right now. Professor John Hattie whose ‘Visible Learning’ research has been used around the world has discovered some interesting things about this very topic. Whilst there is not extensive research available there have been situations in New Zealand (Christchurch earth quakes) and the US (Hurricane Katrina) where students missed large chunks of their schooling and in both instances overall test scores improved. Though we don’t know why this happened we can see that in these instances the loss of face to face learning did not impact the overall academic growth of the children.
We know that the difficult times we live in are challenging us in ways that we are not used to. Our students have demonstrated enormous resilience and in large are successfully accessing the current remote learning platform. The wellbeing of our students is paramount and we believe that when they spend time in a live learning classroom with their peers and teacher support we will continue to see benefits in education and wellbeing. It is important that you continue to communicate with your child/ren’s teacher. Please use email to discuss any concerns that you may have.
TheirCare
TheirCare will now only be able to offer care to students who are attending onsite. Access is only for students where both parents are permitted workers (one, if a single parent) Permitted worker permits are required to access the service.
Please take care everyone,
Kirrily Lamers
Principal
DEAF FACILITY NEWS
Hearing Australia
Unfortunately with the current circumstances, we are unable to facilitate the next Hearing Australia visit due to restrictions. If you require any support from Hearing Australia, please contact them directly.
SUSTAINABILITY
STUDENT WELFARE
Student and Family Wellbeing
This has been an extra challenging week for the RGLPS school community as we all adjust to the stage 4 lockdown.
These strict lockdown rules and changes will impact some people more than others. It is important that we are all kind and keep an eye out for people’s wellbeing in these challenging times. Teachers and school staff will do their utmost to support with student wellbeing, however there is only so much we can do from a distance. More than ever before, schools need to work in partnership with parents to support students and families who may be struggling. As I have mentioned previously, the school will understand if your family circumstances make it too challenging for your child to engage with all the remote and live learning tasks that the school is providing. We respect your judgment, as parents, to decide what is in the best interests of your child. If the quantity of tasks scheduled daily is too much, then we support you to make appropriate decisions around how many learning tasks your child engages with. Please contact your child’s teacher or leadership if you need guidance around what tasks children should prioritise or to let them know if your child is struggling. It has become a cliché but we really are ‘all in this together.’
Mental health and wellbeing is a priority for all at the moment. Here are some signs your child might be struggling:
- – Heightened emotions – crying, angry outbursts, tantrums
- – Withdrawn behaviours such as; being less talkative or limited emotional expression
- – Difficulties sleeping or bed wetting
- – Digestive issues and stomach complaints
- – Being overly clingy
- – Increased anxiety and worry
- – Lack of motivation for simple tasks
Ways you can help your child:
- – Contact the school and let your child’s teacher or leadership know that your child is struggling.
- – Make use of Kids Helpline (phone – 18 55 1800) or https://kidshelpline.com.au Through Kids Helpline, children can speak to a counsellor via phone, Webchat or email and these counsellors are specifically trained to support kids aged 5- 12 years or teens between 13 – 17 years.
- – Encourage your child to talk to you about their feelings and reassure them that they are safe and loved.
- – Establish a daily routine to provide some degree of normalcy. This includes maintaining a regular bed time and waking up time.
- – Find ways for your child to connect with friends and extended family via FaceTime, Messenger, Skype etc.
- – Engage your child in mindful activities such as yoga, colouring, meditation or drawing.
- – Ensure time for daily exercise is a priority.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Remote Learning Tasks on Seesaw
A reminder that Seesaw tasks are archived each week by classroom teachers. This action aims to minimise the backlog of tasks building up and reduce any stress or anxiety related to learning workload. Specialist lessons are archived every two weeks because students may need to refer back to previous lessons as they develop their knowledge and skills.
Classroom teacher’s Remote Learning tasks are scheduled for release on Seesaw at 5pm prior to each school day. This enables parents to familiarise themselves with tasks or print out any materials the day before the activity is expected to be undertaken. Activities that are to be completed during WebEx Live Learning lessons are released concurrently with the Live Learning lesson to limit students attempting tasks without the explicit teacher instruction and support.
‘Spot the Maths’ Challenge
If you are looking for an interesting maths and art project to work on while learning from home, you might want to have a look at the ‘Spot the Maths’ challenge from the Australian Academy of Science.
This is a national competition for students of all ages, which is open until September 25th, 2020.
The competition theme is ‘Spot the Maths.’
Essentially, students have to take a creative photograph of an aspect of maths in every-day life and then write a description in 240 characters explaining the maths in their photo.
Entries will be judged on creativity, mathematic merit, and demonstration of impact through image and description. There are also great prizes for schools with winning entries.
There are two school categories for students at RGLPS: Foundation to Year 3 and Year 4 to Year 6.
Learn more about the challenge at the following link: https://www.science.org.au/sciencexart/spot-the-maths
Have fun!
Maths Olympiad 2020
The Maths Olympiad Team will participate in Maths Olympiad #4 on Wednesday 12th August. The Olympiad will be released on Seesaw at 9am on Wednesday 12th August and must be completed on this day.
ICAS 2020
Thank-you to those parents who have registered their child to participate in one of the ICAS assessments in 2020. These assessments will be conducted online in October. 2020 Registrations have now closed.
Principal's Day
Finally, Friday 7th August is Victorian Principal’s Day. I’m sure that you will join me and RGLPS staff and students in expressing our sincere gratitude to Kirrily Lamers, Denisse Lobos and Luke Franklin for their tireless efforts, flexibility and support in 2020, particularly during this COVID-19 emotional rollercoaster. Our Principal team have done a fantastic job in putting processes in place and communicating regularly to the community, while keeping the health and wellbeing of students, staff and the community at the forefront of their decision making. The school has made huge changes over the last four to five months and we are very lucky to have such capable leaders at the helm. A big thank-you to Kirrily, Denisse and Luke from everyone associated with the school.
Have a great week everyone!
Kerron Worsdell
Teaching and Learning Coach
ART NEWS
Look what our artisits have been upto at home!!
CANTEEN
Due to current circumstances the canteen will be closed until further notice.
ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS
OSHC NEWS
LUNCH TIME CLUBS
Unfortunately, we are unable to run lunch time clubs at this time.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Disclaimer: Rosanna Golf Links Primary School (RGLPS) does not endorse any product or service advertised in this newsletter. RGLPS takes no responsibility for the content of advertisements or the quality and reliability of products or services offered in the advertisements
