Identifying our ‘Silver Lining’

During our staff Professional Development Meeting last week, teachers took the time to reflect on the last two-and-a-half months.  As for many people during this time, regardless of their type of work, most aspects of our profession changed.  At the beginning of the pandemic, at times it was difficult to balance concerns of our own health and safety, that of our families and also that of our wider community.  So much was unknown, and it was difficult to predict how long the changes that were being put into place would last.  For all of us here at school, we chose to be part of the education profession as we wanted to work with children, to see them blossom and grow, and suddenly this was taken away.  Changes had to be implemented in a very short amount of time.

Taking the time to reflect and identify the many positives, that came from the experience was worthwhile.  As a community we are very proud of the efforts of all during this time.  Staff identified positives that included:

·         It was great to learn new technology

·         There was even greater collaboration across grades and stages

·         Class Zoom meetings were very special, it was great to see our classes

·         Working at home allowed more time for thoughtful planning as there were fewer disruptions

·         Staff Collaboration was evident as we shared new resources with each other - people supported one another

·         There were opportunities for many positive parent communication

·         Viewing quality student work – it was great to see how tasks were interpreted differently and how children and families were learning together

·         How our older student used their collaboration spaces effectively – feeding back to each other

·         The time strengthened the independence in our students

·         Parents understanding of how their children learn and what they’re learning

·         How we tried our best to maintain quality relationships with students and parents,

Conversations in our meeting then turned to identifying and committing to not forgetting our new practices.  Life has changed for everyone and embedding our new practices into our regular teaching and learning is important because we want to move forward rather than just "go back" to what is known and familiar. 

Year 6 Excursion to Canberra

Year 6 were planning to participate in their excursion to Canberra in Week 10 of this term.  Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic this has had to be cancelled.  The school is in conversation with providers to see how we could possibly accommodate this excursion later in the year.  The Year 6 excursion to Canberra is always enjoyed by the students and we’re committed to doing what we can within strict health and safety guidelines.  More information will be shared with parents of students in Year 6 as it arises.