COVID-19 Update – 07/04/2020

by | Apr 7, 2020 | | COVID

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Once again, on behalf of the staff at Mindarie, thank you for your continued support, we acknowledge that these are difficult and highly unusual times, however, by us all working together we will be able to ensure that the whole of Western Australia and our most venerable people stay safe.  The part you are playing, by keeping your children home, is highly valuable.

Teachers have been meeting this week to consolidate the planning that we commenced last week.  You will have access to this planning, in a hard copy form, from the school tomorrow.  You will also be able to access this planning, via our website.  The document is called the Distance Learning Parent Guide.  This guide outlines how Mindarie Primary is approaching Distance Learning.  Please, if you have online access to the guide, familiarize yourself.  If you do not have on line access, do not worry, we have provided every family with a printed copy.

The password to access this new school resource is: MPS2020
Mindarie Primary School – ‘Distance Learning’

The printed copy is part of your Home Learning Resource Bag.  Our amazing Education Assistants have been working hard to pull together the resources in this bag.  Each family will receive ONE family bag.  In the bag you will find the following;

  • Distant Learning Parent Guide.  This is in the envelope labeled Very Important Read First. 
  • Seesaw Student Log In Codes. These are student specific and will be in the labelled envelope.
  • Laminated blank paper to be used as a white board at home.
  • Laminated year level appropriate lined writing paper.
  • Laminated graph paper.
  • Generic language based materials.
  • Year level specific mathematics materials.
  • A pack of playing cards.
  • Dice and counters for mathematics activities.
  • A writing journal suitable to each year level.
  • In addition, Kindergarten and Pre-Primary students will have basic stationary and also some manipulative materials.
  • Children’s iMaths books, if they were not sent home previously.
  • Children’s pencil cases, if they were not sent home previously.

Bag collection will be from 10.00am on Wednesday 8/4 to 2.45 pm and from 9.00am to 2.45pm on Thursday 9/4. The bags can be collected from the rooms shown below.
To recap the above table:All Other Suburbs: Library Block
Quinns Residents: Block 2 Wet Area
Clarkson Residents: Block 1 Wet Area
Mindarie Residents: Staff Room

To ensure we abide by physical distancing requirements:
  • Only have one family member attend the school to collect your family bag.
  • Do not arrive prior to 10.00am on Wednesday and prior to 9.00am on Thursday.
  • Abide by the social distancing requirements, 1.5 meters apart at all times.
  • Abide by directions of staff in relation to how many people can be in the collection area at any given time.
  • Only remain on the school grounds for as long as it takes you to collect the bag.
This week teachers have been working on ‘Must Do’ lessons and preparing a ‘Can Do’ activity pack. These are explained in the Distant Learning Parent Guide.
The ‘Must Do’ lessons are year level specific.  During their planning, teachers have been ensuring that they are planning for differentiation so that students who require more support can access the learning at their level.  They have likewise planned for students who require extension to also be able to do this.  The teacher, at this point, have planned for two weeks of Distant Learning and once we commence delivering this, we will be reviewing how the program is progressing.  We envisage that we will be modifying the program and delivery over the period that we stay delivering Distant Learning.

We think it is really important that, during these chaotic times, we keep in touch with our important school traditions, as such Miss Szczygiel has been working hard to produce a digital ANZAC Service.  This will be available on our website on Thursday afternoon, which is of course when we would have held our service.  Mrs MacLean is keen for our Senior Choir students to be part of this digital service, and has emailed, via Connect, all of these students.  Parents, can you please encourage your children to read this email and to get involved.  I’m sure that you will find the service very moving and that in future years it will become part of the ‘history’ that this time has brought to us all.

Please stay safe.

Kind regards
Barbara Bromley
07 April 2020