Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Firstly, thank you to you all for the trust that you have shown to our staff at Mindarie Primary. Last week the drop off and collecting of children was seamless and this was largely due to the manner in which you approached this. The children all managed really well with the new model and indeed showed themselves to be very resilient and also very responsible. It was lovely seeing older siblings walking younger siblings to class. It was also terrific to see the students amazing awareness of social distancing and their skills at hand washing.
Their classrooms did look very different to the ones that they left during term one, this did not phase the students and they have very quickly settled into this new classroom structure. Feedback from the kindergarten teachers has been that the children love having their own space (desk). We have learnt a lot during the past six weeks and the staff at Mindarie have shown how resourceful and flexible they are.
Wet Weather
Today did present a few challenges, around the weather, so we have done some brainstorming around this. We do ask that if possible students do have a raincoat. I am aware that this will not be a popular fashion choice for older students, however with this week’s forecast, it is a sensible one. Otherwise and umbrella is a good idea. The Bunnings umbrellas are an excellent choice, large, durable and cheap!!
Content, Teaching and Feedback
I trust that our students working on ‘Distance Learning’ are finding that the lessons are engaging, relevant to their year level and not too complex. Class teachers are following these lesson plans at school, so all students are accessing the same content. There are pros and cons to both forms of learning. ‘Distance Learning’ is one-to-one or one-to-however many are in the family, ‘Face-to-Face’ is one teacher to however many students are in the class. Teachers are currently preparing the educational content for the next two weeks; weeks three and four.
In relation to feedback through ‘Distance Learning’, teachers will only be providing feedback to students in relation to the tasks they have requested be uploaded to ‘Seesaw’ for teacher feedback. Please note that in relation to other tasks, parents, siblings or other family members can provide feedback that would be beneficial.
Printed Copies of the HELP Packages
Printed copies of HELP packages, for student continuing ‘Distance Learning’ for weeks three and four will be available for parents to collect from outside the office on Friday May 8 between 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm. We ask you to adhere to these times to reduce congestion around the school.
Please, only collect the package from the school if you are continuing ‘Distance Learning” at home.
Student Numbers
On numbers, last week we had 52% of our students at school. This week, as of today, we have 69% of our students at school. Some students are absent due to illness; others are still choosing to ‘distance educate’. As the Premier and minister have both said, it is parental choice. This will be reviewed by the Premier and Minister at the end of next week. We will continue to take our direction from them.
Communication
As you will all appreciate, these are very tumultuous and strange times for us all, whether at work, at home or working from home. The staff at Mindarie are working hard to deliver a ‘face to face’ teaching program and to also maintain their connection with students learning from home. Please note that it the stance of the Department of Education Western Australia that teaching staff are not required to respond to communications outside of their normal working hours. In addition, teachers and school staff are not required to respond immediately, however they will make every effort to respond within a reasonable time-frame. The school day at Mindarie commences at 8.30am and finishes at 2.45pm. Staff do remain on site for up to one hour after the end of the school day.
Bikes and Scooters
Please reinforce with your children that they are not to ride bikes or scooters to school. Social distancing in the bike cage is almost impossible. Also we do not have the staff to supervise this.
Assembly
Next week we will be having our first virtual assembly. This is being hosted by the students in TA26 and TA28. We will be giving our Achievement Certificates and following the general assembly format. We know that it will be very memorable. This will be uploaded to Seesaw for our ‘Distance Learners’ to engage with.
Mother’s Day
Our thanks go to the P&C and especially to Dianna Bagnell for all the work around the Mother’s day stall. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, our stall will not go ahead this year. Dianna did give an early shout out about this, just to remind Dad’s and significant others that they will have to source their own gifts. To all our mums, do have a restful Mother’s Day.
Once again, to all members of our community, thank you for the kind support that you show to our staff and our school.
Kind regards
Barbara Bromley
4 May 2020