Dear Parents and Carers, 

As we move into the third week of Remote Learning, I would like to thank all our parents and carers who have done an amazing job supporting your child’s Remote Learning from home. Your efforts and the feedback and support for the work the teachers have put in place is greatly appreciated.

As we learnt in Term 2, Remote Schooling is significantly different from face to face learning for students, staff and families. Put simply, it is tough and the last thing we want to do is increase stress levels in homes. A ‘bad day’ is ok and is probably a message to take a break and catch your breath. But if one bad day turns into two, we don’t want it turning into three so please reach out to the classroom teacher and or myself and let us know how you are traveling.

Whilst I totally understand the frustrations and the challenges that Remote Learning can present, I also understand the importance of us all working together to get through these tough times. The only way we are going to stop the Covid-19 spread is by strictly following the Stage 3 restrictions put in place by the State Government and our Employer DOSCEL. This means we have to remain vigilant in limiting access to our school site to only those who have a legitimate reason for their child to be at school for Onsite Supervised Remote Learning.

All students who can learn from home MUST learn from home, except those:

• Whose parents, guardians or carers are unable to work from home and no other arrangements for care can be made. If a parent is at home then children must learn from home.
• Who are deemed to be vulnerable including;
• children in out-of-home care
• children deemed by Child Protection and/or Family Services to be at risk of harm
• children identified by the school as vulnerable (including via referral from a family violence agency, homelessness or youth justice service or mental health or other health service).
• With additional needs who require learning adjustment and who also meet one of the above criteria.

If you meet the above criteria and require onsite supervision, please register your intentions each week by completing the Onsite Intentions Form.  This will enable us to ensurethat we have sufficient staff on duty to supervise students in attendance.

The school will continue to ensure that the health and safety of students, staff and the wider school community remains the highest priority with physical distancing measures and hand and respiratory hygiene practises remaining in place for all staff and students in attendance. In addition, all students attending on-site Remote Schooling will have their temperature taken each morning.

If you have any questions in relation to the on-site Remote Schooling arrangements, please contact the front office on 56237222 or admin@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au.

The information set out below outlines the learning content and expectations for students and families. In setting up for Remote Schooling this term we have taken into account what worked well in Term 2 via feedback and suggestions from staff, students and families.

The core curriculum areas for all our remote learning students are English (Literacy), Maths (Numeracy) and Religious Education. There will be daily spelling, writing, reading, number and maths learning tasks.  All students will be expected to complete work set in these areas unless explicit adjustments are made by the classroom teacher. As a guide, we would expect this work to be completed by 1pm if students start at 9am and take a 30 minute break.

Opportunities will be provided for Music, Library, Physical Education, Japanese and Digital Technology. Specialist Teachers have put a lot of time and effort into preparing their lessons and its important all students have a go at completing the tasks over the course of the week.

At various times each week, students will have the opportunity to participate in a class or level Google Meet. These meetings may offer an outline of the weeks learning, a prayer or a meditation or even a daily connect to share time with your class or level teachers. Students may also be invited to engage in a small group Google Meeting for Literacy or Numeracy, however these will not be every day for each child. A reminder, students are expected to wear appropriate clothing and not be in a bedroom when engaging in a Google Meet.

Some work tasks completed in Remote Learning will be considered assessment tasks. Teachers will provide direction as to which work tasks are to be submitted for assessment and feedback and how this is to occur. You can also contact your child’s teacher where you feel adjustments or extension of learning is required. The important thing is that you communicate your concerns to your child’s teacher via Class dojo, during Google Meet or a phone call.

Once again, families will again see there is a clear routine to the learning. Although students can sometimes mistake this as repetition, regular routine is a strong support for student learning, especially in a situation like this.

Could I please outline some important points to all parents and carers:

• Remote Schooling is not home schooling. Home schooling requires parents/carers to fully develop, implement and assess the curriculum for children. In Remote Schooling, the curriculum is being planned, implemented and assessed by staff, although this is being done in a very different way than usual as children are offsite.
• There is no right or wrong model with Remote Learning, it’s what works best for you and your family. We understand that Remote Learning will be different for all families.
• No child can fail Remote Learning. The work teachers set is to support all student learning and where possible we’ll adapt it to the needs of the individual.
• No child will be required to repeat a year due to struggling with Remote Learning.
• The remote learning kids do at home, is exactly the same learning as supervised onsite learning kids do at school.
• There is no set time agenda for daily remote learning. It’s what best works for you and your family. Some kids function well in the morning some kids function well in the afternoons.
• You are not teachers and we don’t expect you to be teachers. If your child is challenged or struggling please let their teacher know and they will contact them to help them through any challenges.
• The Google Meet sessions (which vary from grade level to grade level) are where teachers will outline the learning for the day or the week for your child. Please support your child to make these a priority.