Weekly Message Dear Parents, Weekly message Dear Parents, Welcome back to Term 2 in what continues to be a challenging time for all members of our community and across the nation. While we will continue to operate remotely for the next two weeks there is information that you will need as we move into the next phase of schooling for Term 2. ZOOM All classes will be engaging with ZOOM - the on-line video conferencing platform - next week. While some teachers and classes may have been able to access this option earlier, we felt that as a school we needed to ensure that all staff were familiar with the technology (many of us have never used it before) and that all the required safeguards were in place. Information around the platform and the permission notes are available on the website and have also been distributed via the Skoolbag app. Students will not be permitted to join the conversation until that permission has been provided. Learning Plans You will by now know that all classes are working to a learning plan built around a central theme so that students are focused on one unit of work, and this will continue throughout the term regardless of whether students are at home or at school. The Learning Plans are uploaded to our website at 3pm each Friday, so that students and families can plan for the coming week. The link to plans is here: https://wollongong-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/learningathome/fromwps1/term-2.html WOLLONGONG PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 67a Church Street, Phone: 4228 9120 WOLLONGONG NSW 2500 Email: [email protected]Principal: Harold Cosier Term 2, Week 1
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Weekly Message Dear Parents,
Weekly message Dear Parents, Welcome back to Term 2 in what continues to be a challenging time for all members of our community and across the nation. While we will continue to operate remotely for the next two weeks there is information that you will need as we move into the next phase of schooling for Term 2. ZOOM All classes will be engaging with ZOOM - the on-line video conferencing platform - next week. While some teachers and classes may have been able to access this option earlier, we felt that as a school we needed to ensure that all staff were familiar with the technology (many of us have never used it before) and that all the required safeguards were in place. Information around the platform and the permission notes are available on the website and have also been distributed via the Skoolbag app. Students will not be permitted to join the conversation until that permission has been provided. Learning Plans You will by now know that all classes are working to a learning plan built around a central theme so that students are focused on one unit of work, and this will continue throughout the term regardless of whether students are at home or at school. The Learning Plans are uploaded to our website at 3pm each Friday, so that students and families can plan for the coming week. The link to plans is here: https://wollongong-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/learningathome/fromwps1/term-2.html
Facebook Page You will all be aware that we now have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WollongongPublicSchool As we become more adept at managing another medium of communication, we will share our information here as well as through our usual sources. Coming Back To School Most people will be aware that in Week 3 of our term (starting on May 11) students will attend one day per week at school. This is to begin the process of returning to school while still maintaining appropriate social distancing.
At Wollongong PS, we will have half of each class come in on one day, and the other half come in on another day. Most Classroom teachers will come in on both of those days so that every student gets the chance to work with their teacher. Due to special circumstances teachers that are considered vulnerable will not be attending at this particular point in time. Whilst not being physically in attendance, they will continue their monitoring and supporting of all of their students through the remote learning platform.
It will however still be very different from our normal school day, as students will probably be in a different class room (we will be utilising double classrooms and larger areas across the school) and will still be working to the same learning plan as those at home. Please be aware that on those days that teachers are with their half class, they will not be as available for the half class at home, as it is impossible to manage both! It is a very complicated process and will take some management, but early indications are that (Half of) Stage 1 and Stage 2 will be in on one day and then (half of) Early Stage 1 and Stage 3 on the next day; then the other half of Stage 1 and Stage 2 will attend followed by the other half of Early Stage 1 and Stage 3. One day a week would remain as a remote learning day.
I am sharing this information so that you have some understanding of our thinking. We have many details to finalise, but we will endeavour to make the experience as equitable and as educationally viable as possible while still ensuring the safety of students and staff.
Well Being at School and at Home You will be very aware that we have a strong focus on the wellbeing of all of our students, their families and our staff members. One of the things that we are already noticing with children of essential workers who are attending school is that they are finding the changes to school routines extraordinarily challenging, so as more students return to school there will be a strong focus on reconnecting and caring for our students. This will be a priority, as no student learns well if they are feeling anxious. We are including wellbeing strategies each day for students both at school and at home, so please ensure that your child is spending some time on self-care, just as I encourage you to; it is critical for the wellbeing of all members of our community.
Coming into School If you do need to come into school, please remember to practise social distancing and that the only place parents should go is to the office, entering through the pedestrian gate.
Students coming to school should go straight to the garden beds and sit on the wooden edging. If it is wet in the morning, the classrooms will be open so please send them straight into the building opposite the front office entrance. There is no need for parents to enter the school if dropping children so please remain outside the school fence.
In the afternoon, if picking up children, please wait until the teacher on duty sends them to you. Again, please do not enter the school grounds.
On-line Etiquette Teachers are currently spending many hours on-line, answering queries, giving feedback, setting up work challenges and planning together. While I am trying to keep the workload to a manageable level, I am very
aware that all of them are working far in excess of the recommended times, and all of them are working harder than they ever have before as we learn new ways of delivering learning. Please be mindful of this when you or your children communicate on-line with teachers. Remind your children that they need to be as polite on-line as they would in class – it is very easy to display your frustration and demand an answer, but it is not appropriate. We all find this difficult, and need to help each other out by showing that appropriate care and kindness. Something to Smile About One of the rare benefits of the restrictions that we are all dealing with is that it has meant some long overdue maintenance work is happening at our school. We are getting new roofing on all of our older buildings, although there is currently a delay around C Block (our very old building) while some heritage questions are answered. However, once those have been overcome, I look forward to rainy days where we don’t have buckets strategically placed under the many leaks! Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones over the weekend, Harold Cosier
Opportunity Class (OC) Information for Families of Students in Year 4 2020
The placement process for opportunity class entry in 2021, including the Opportunity Class Placement Test, will be delayed until later in the year. As a result, applications will not open on 28 April 2020 as previously advised and published by the department. This delay is in response to the social distancing measures that are currently in place to help slow the spread of COVID-19 throughout the community. The opportunity class placement will still go ahead in 2020 however, the process for that, including the timeline, will look a little different this year. The department intends to ensure Year 5 students are placed in opportunity classes in 2021 with minimal disruption to schools and families. Revised dates for applications, tests and process changes will be announced by the department as soon as they are confirmed. We encourage parents and carers to continue to monitor the department's website to remain up to date with information relating to Opportunity Classes: https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-5. When the school receives further information from the department, we will inform you. If you have any further questions please email the school on [email protected] and title your email Attn: Miss Axam.
