Term 2 Info!

Good afternoon parents,

It's not long now until we'll be saying 'Welcome Back to Term 2!'

As we gather together again, I would like to take the time to reflect on the difficulty of the last few weeks… it has been hard...physically and emotionally taxing. Yet when I really stop and think, we as a family have gained so much from being together. Doing things we just never thought of doing or having the time to do them. We all have our ways to manage stress and for me I learnt that baking makes everything better (see some of my creations below)! My waistline doesn't agree, however I have tried to compensate this with the daily rides we go on as a family.

I hope that however you and your family have spent the last few weeks that it has worked for you and you have been able to find some silver linings.

Tomorrow we commemorate ANZAC Day, it is a good reminder that whilst my family and I have known difficulty in the last few weeks, we haven’t known real sacrifice. Not like the ANZAC’s, not like many of our grandparents who lived through war time and The Great Depression. ANZAC Day is a very special day to remember, so our family will be out on the end of the driveway at 6am for Dawn Service. Please see the email sent earlier today from Mrs Meyer regarding the Dawn Service if you are looking for more information.

As we head back to school in these uncertain times, I look forward to the structure of being back at school, and I am VERY much looking forward to seeing all the kids and getting stuck into a new term of learning!

My goal is to provide stability and normality for the students. Our school day will follow the suggested timetable below, which will allow for me to connect and teach the students who are at home and at school at the same time. I am really hoping this slight adjustment will enable a smooth learning model for both home and school. Please note due to the Specialist time (HASS) on Thursday, the routine is slightly altered.

IMPORTANT CHANGE: It is at this point I need to let you know that Alison and I have swapped days. I will now be doing Wednesday and Mrs Mrs Martin will be in on a Thursday.


Here is what our next few weeks will look like…

• US ONLINE– I/we will be doing a lot more teaching through our Teams Meetings this term. YAY!!!! All teaching will be done by Mrs Martin or myself…it is the responsibility of your child to ensure they are on those chats at the appropriate times, where possible. We are doing this to alleviate the amount of teaching you have to do, supporting your child as needed. We will be available online for any questions that your child may have in addition to our regularly scheduled meetings.

• ATTENDING SCHOOL - Some students will be attending school as needed and that is okay. They are to come to our class as normal. Social distancing and consistent hygiene practices will be in place. Please notify the school office if you will be sending your child to school.

• HOME LEARNING GRID (HLG) - It has been asked that we send out the work for the week via our class blog. I will be doing this on a Sunday each week (however Monday this week due to the Public Holiday). It will have a link to my daily work pad, which will provide details of the work to be completed, as well as our Team meetings laid out. This will all make sense when you open the document…please pass on any feedback that you think of!

• PRINTING FROM ONENOTE - We have found a way to print from OneNote! On each page I create their are icons that look like the icons to the right. If you double click on either of these icons it will open the document in adobe or word for you to print.

• STUDENT ACCOUNTABILITY - All assigned work is expected to be completed over the week. It has been clearly stated in the Home Learning Grid which tasks need to be uploaded to the 'Completed Work' folder in OneNote and what tasks need to be completed on OneNote in their folders directly. I will be checking each day to ensure that the work set for that day is completed. I have lighten the load slightly this term to ensure that this is achievable.

• MARKING – all work is to be marked by me. Please make sure that at the end of each day your child is uploading a clear photo of the work requested into their 'Completed Work' folder or another folder if requested on the HLG.

• All class work will be distributed via One Note as per last term and we will use Teams to communicate via meetings and on our channel for any questions.

• TEAM MEETINGS– I have set a schedule for these via the Teams calendar, including a Parent Check In on Monday afternoons at 1.00pm. This one is just for us…you can ask questions, vent, sob quietly into your cup of tea or entertain me by dressing up 😊 My goal is to support you all in this difficult time. Please feel free to throw out the “Don’t make me tell Mrs Ricciardone…” I am more than happy to play Bad Cop!

• Do what works best for your family – if it helps your child to follow my daily work pad that is great. If you need to switch things around in your day to suit you working from home, no problem. Please make sure that however you choose to structure your day that your child attends ALL scheduled meetings.

• MEETING ETIQUETTE - Your child will need to be ready a couple of minutes before the meeting – please make sure they have read through my daily work pad, so they are ready. For example, they have their writing book or pencils etc. Each morning they are to have their Gratitude Journal open on OneNote ready to complete as a class.   They don’t need to join the meeting until I am there…this is not a catch up for them 😊

We will be having a Welcome Back To Term 2 Drive By on Tuesday 28^th April at 11am. Further information will follow but we just wanted to do something to welcome you all back to term and reconnect as a community.

Resources – if your child is returning to school, can you please ensure they bring back all the resources they took home at the end of last term. It is vital to continue to develop their organisational skills and they can't do this if they don't have their belongings with them.

In the coming days, I encourage you to take some time to get winter uniforms organised, set up work spaces for those students working at home, do a stationery and book check, have your child check their iPad is synced to One Note, charged and ready to go.

Thank you for reading my essay, I hope it all makes sense and answers any questions you may have! Please let me know if you have any questions.



Many thanks,

Mrs Ricciardone & Mrs Martin