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Thank you for your continued support during this period of remote learning which has now been extended until Friday 17 September, the end of Term 3.
During this extended period of remote learning, all teaching will be delivered online either through live teaching, or by students accessing set work or resources provided by their teacher. It has been amazing to see such a high level of engagement from the students on their platforms and we appreciate the level of parent support required in establishing learning routines at home. Please remember to be kind to yourselves and take breaks when necessary for physical activities, family fun and a little bit of self-care.
A decision about learning in Term 4 will be made and communicated to families by Friday 24 September.
Learning Journey and parent interviews
We have decided to postpone our learning journey and parent interviews scheduled for Term 3. Once we have a clear understanding regarding schooling in Term 4, we will communicate ways in which we can celebrate your child’s learning and provide feedback on progress.
During the remote learning period please remember you can contact the class teacher or leadership team via email, we will endeavour to answer queries as soon as possible, if you have not had a reply within 48 hours please contact the school on 61423580.
Friendly reminders
- Classroom google meets are to set the learning for the school day and all students are encouraged to participate. Please be mindful that if your camera is on you should be appropriately dressed and ready for learning.
- Students who need to have a conversation with a family member during a Google meet are encouraged to turn off their microphone and camera for privacy.
- To assist parents, carers and the broader school community, frequently asked questions and other information, including Home Learning Resources by year level, is available on the Education Directorate web site.
- Don’t forget to follow our Facebook page as we are updating it regularly
- Please also regularly check the latest advice from ACT Health at Home - COVID-19 (act.gov.au), as more information continues to be available from ACT Health social media channels.
Thank you for your continued support, we are missing all our families and hope to see everyone soon.
Regards,
Paula Kinsman
Postponing the school climate survey 2021
As you may know, our annual School Satisfaction and Climate Survey was due to be distributed to our school community from 13 August 2021. Due to the ACT COVID-19 lockdown, the survey has been postponed. The survey is an important way for us to get feedback from our school community and provides valuable data to help us on our school improvement journey. The new date for the survey is currently under discussion but is likely to be early in Term 4. We will keep you updated on this matter. If you would like more information about the survey, you can find it on the Education Directorate’s website.
ICAS assessments
Just before we moved into remote learning, those students who were enrolled completed their Digital Technology assessment. The remaining ICAS assessments have been postponed. At this stage new assessment dates have not been confirmed. Once confirmed, I will notify those participating families.
It has been a whirlwind 3 weeks for our school community who should all be very proud of how well they have adapted to the lockdown and learning changes. For our ADF families, that has been compounded in some cases by the evolving news out of Afghanistan and the recent training tragedy in North Queensland. We continue to have families impacted by deployment, whether it’s in the Middle East region assisting with the repatriation and return or closer to home assisting with the covid response around the country. More still are impacted by extended field exercises or border closures. Our thoughts are with all of these families during this time. There are a number of organisations that are providing additional online and phone supports to ADF families including Soldier On, Open Arms, DVA and DMFS (formerly DCO). We are conscious that much of this has been communicated directly with families but should any family like additional information about these resources or feel you need additional supports, please email me at Karyn.heitmann@ed.act.edu.au
Defence Member and Family Support (DMFS, formerly DCO) also have a number of virtual activities coming up for families. If you are interested, you can find out more via their website or Eventbrite page here: DMFS Eventbrite
I will continue to be available throughout the remote learning period in a combination of working from home and supporting the CPS Hub. Should you have any questions or concerns, email is the best way to reach me in the first instance. Many students have seen me popping into various class google meets and I hope to get a chance to visit the rest soon.
Wishing you all a safe and healthy remote learning period and hope to see you soon. Finally, I would like to wish all of the Dads a very happy Father’s Day for Sunday! I can’t wait to see some of the creative ways your families come up with to celebrate.
Thank you everyone for your participation in Book Week last week. It was so wonderful to see so many students and teachers dressing up as their favourite book characters.
Preschool teachers shared video recordings of themselves reading their favourite books. A Google Slide was shared so children could see their friends in costume and a virtual bookshelf was also created with links to read a-louds of their favourite books.
Kindy Quolls had a virtual book parade and soon the photos will be turned into a video. Furthermore, they completed an activity on their favourite book. They had two questions to answer (1) why is it your favourite book? And (2) what is your favourite part of the book? Lastly, they tested the video and microphone functions on seesaw.
Year 1 students shared a favourite book during their morning meeting. They have also sent their teacher a photo of their book telling them why it is a favourite. Here is Mrs Dee and Mrs Wilson with their favourite children’s books as well as some Year 1 students and their favourites.
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Year 2 came together to celebrate Book Week by redesigning a front cover for one the CBCA books. They shared these in their afternoon google meet so their friends could see the designs.
Year 3 celebrated Book Week by dressing up and going on a scavenger hunt in their homes to find a favourite book. Then they went into break out rooms during their Google Meet to share their books in small groups.
They showed each other their costumes and played “Guess that book- an emoji game” through screen sharing a PowerPoint presentation on their Google Meet.
One student wrote the following as his reflection:
‘The most stunning thing about these two is that they may look very different, but interestingly act and behave nearly always the same way. The only different thing was that George was sometimes a pig. Acting like something else and being friends is an astonishing feeling because you are not alone.’ Jiyan 4NS
Year 5 celebrated Book Week by beginning their journey through the magic of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Each day, they have read a chapter from this epic story, enjoying the trials and tribulations of Harry as he not only has to confront devious ‘Dementors’ from the wizard prison Azkaban, but keep ahead of a mysterious black dog that keeps following him. Is this dog the omen of death?
Year 6 celebrated Book Week by either dressing up or bringing along their favourite book to our morning meet on Thursday. We also introduced Podcasts to our class as another form of enjoying books.
I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
Ms Woods.
Book Club orders can still be made for issue 6. Parents are able to order online by heading to the Scholastic website and selecting the "Shop" tab or you are able to go straight to the LOOP ordering portal by following this link Scholastic Book Club Ordering Portal.
The close of issue 6 orders will be 9:00am Tuesday 7th September.
If you have any further queries regarding the Scholastic Book Club please contact Mel Rhodes at melrhodes@ymail.com.
See below for a pdf. of the current issue.
Lock it Down! is a newsletter about life in lockdown by the ACT Children and Young People Commissioner, and issued by the ACT Human Rights Commission.
The newsletter is aimed at children and young people and provides child-friendly information, advice and activities on living under COVID-19 restrictions. If you're interested please follow the link to the Lock It Down Newsletter: COVID info for kids - ACT Human Rights Commission.
It is important to stay up to date with the information regarding COVID-19, including the exposure locations within the ACT. For the convenience of our school community please follow this link (COVID-19 Exposure Locations in the ACT) to remain up to date with the current exposure sites. We also ask that you follow the directions given by the ACT Government as follows:
"To keep our community safe, follow ACT Health directions and advice.
If you are directed to get tested for COVID-19 or to isolate at any time, you must follow the directions whether or not the exposure location is listed on this website.
ACT exposure locations
Close contact exposure locations in the ACT
If you have been to any of the exposure locations at the dates and times specified, you must:
- complete the ACT Contact Declaration Form
- immediately quarantine
- get tested for COVID-19 as advised by ACT Health
- remain in quarantine until advised further by ACT Health, even if you get a negative test result"
We ask that you please check this list regularly to ensure your saftey and the saftey of our school. Together we can stop the spread.
Presented as a joint initiative between ABC Education and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, entries are now open for years 3 to 6 students to participate in the 2021 My Place competition. The competition involves students entering a short piece of creative writing which captures the diverse history of their local area. Entries can take several different forms including diary entries, narratives, historical recounts, letters, news reports, poetry, or another form of creative writing. Entries for students in years 3 and 4 should be up to 500 words, while entries for students in years 5 and 6 can be up to 750 words. Winners will be announced in Term 4.
Entries for this year’s competition close on 17 September 2021 and can be submitted via the My Place Competition website. The attached poster can be used to promote the competition at your school.
The COVID-19 pandemic is not over. Restrictions are still in place - including in our schools - and we all need to be vigilant. This includes not sending children to school sick.
If your child has any kind of illness, even if it is just a runny nose, they must not come to school. If your child is unwell at school, you will be asked to collect them.
It is important that we limit the spread of disease during this pandemic. By doing the right thing we can help keep Canberra COVID safe.
We know that being in lockdown can be stressful for some families. For the next few weeks, the most important thing you can do is support your child’s wellbeing – they may be feeling anxious or distressed. Older children may also be feeling overwhelmed with the information they are seeing on the internet and they may need some guidance to help them find the most appropriate information.
Keep in mind that children can express their feelings in many ways. I encourage you to speak openly with your children about what they are feeling.
As a parent or carer you can help your child with what they’re experiencing:
• Listen to their concerns – let them know you’re there for them and acknowledge how they’re feeling
• Make time to talk – provide a space for them to share their feelings and worries.
• Focus on strengths and hope.
There are a range of online and face-to-face services that can help you support your child. ACT Health has put together a page of information that families may find useful: Ways you can support your own mental health and wellbeing | Health (act.gov.au)
- Download the Check In CBR App from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
- Register your details (required for the first time only).
- Open the app, select 'ckeck in now' and hover your smartphone camera over the venue's displayed QR Code.
- Add in any additional people - those who are with you without their own device or app.
- When the check in is complete, show venue staff the app successful check in screen.
