Newsletter – Week 3, Term 1, 2022 – Message from Admin Team,P & C Annual Meetings,Canteen, Library,Swimming Training and Carnival,Auskick

Message from the Executive Administration Team

Dear parents and caregivers

I thank you for your continued support and understanding as we shift and pivot our school operations due to the presence of COVID-19 in the community. Our students continue to be very settled at school and we have the calm approach of our staff and community to thank for this.

As communicated in an email last week, the Department of Education released new operating guidelines for schools to suit the new ‘high caseload setting’. We are currently at Level 1 of these settings. A shift to ‘very high caseload setting’ will likely come into effect in the future based on the Chief Health Officer’s advice. Right now, we have made all adjustments necessary to keep the school open for learning and mitigate risk.

The difference between the settings in the general community and schools are in place to limit transmission as much as possible. In a large school such as Wembley, we already had play zones for phases of learning in place to best utilise our outdoor footprint and keep similar ages together. We have asked students to play with students in their own year level in these play zones, in line with the Department direction of ‘cohorting’ as much as possible. Siblings can still connect to say hello in the playground, this presents no further risk. We know that sibling support can be very important for our junior students in particular.

Teachers will also teach their own regular class for maths this term. Streaming has been put on hold for this term. It would not normally have commenced until after swimming lessons finished in Week 5. However, the intermingling of students between classes (indoor setting) does have the potential to increase the number of students being impacted by a positive case in a year level. Teachers are skilled at differentiating their practice in all learning areas and will continue to do so in maths while we navigate the presence of COVID.

We know there are many questions when it comes to COVID-19 and your children. I’ve had many of the same questions in relation to my own daughter, who is in Pre-primary this year. The Telethon Kids Institute has many resources online to help you navigate these new circumstances we find ourselves in. Wembley PS parent, Infectious Diseases specialist and our STEM Professionals in Schools partner, Associate Professor Asha Bowen features in a video alongside Professor Peter Richmond on the website. There are also many other resources to access. Telethon Kids Institute – https://www.telethonkids.org.au/our-research/research-topics/covid-19/

Teaching and Learning

Home Learning: The Senior Leadership Team have reviewed our School Continuity Plan again since the move to a ‘high caseload setting’ last week. The focus of the plan is to ensure school operations continue effectively and the learning needs of our students are catered for.

By the end of this week, a Seesaw Home Learning Code will have come home for safe keeping. These codes are to be used in the event of your child being required to isolate and learn from home. These codes are to be used in conjunction with the Seesaw Class app on a mobile device or via https://web.seesaw.me on a computer by selecting ‘I’m a Student’. This is a separate app to the one families currently use to engage with their child’s learning. Seesaw Class app is what students use when at school to upload and share their work with you.

Teachers have been creating Seesaw ‘Activities’ based on Term 1 learning which can be assigned to students learning from home when necessary. Learning from home activities will only be assigned should your child be directed to isolate by WA Health. If your child is unwell, we would not expect your child to be engaging in home learning as the focus would be on them getting better.

Seesaw Activity Example – Junior Primary

In Years 4-6, if an entire class was directed to isolate, the Office 365 application Microsoft Teams would be an additional tool used to support learning at home. For individual students required to isolate, from Kindergarten to Year 6, Seesaw will continue to be our school platform for delivering learning activities.

It is also important to note that activities will be delivered online, however the majority of the work assigned can be completed in a regular exercise book or on paper. Seesaw is just the delivery platform and will also allow teachers and EAs to post additional work, feedback or messages in a safe and closed online environment. Students can submit their work through Seesaw but will not be required to be online for extended lengths of time. Clear instructions will be provided to families in the event of your child being required to isolate.

The home learning plans are designed to be flexible and easy to follow for families. I don’t think there is a parent or caregiver out there who wishes to be placed in the situation of home learning, so should this occur, we want it to be manageable and focused on everybody involved looking after their health and wellbeing as the priority but also for learning to continue for every child.

Learning Environment

PP Playground Upgrade: As mentioned in the newsletter last week, the long planned upgrade to the Jungle Gym commenced today. It will be inconvenient for a few days but the additions are sure to be popular with our Pre-primary students once the area re-opens next Monday. Thank you to the community and the P&C for your support in this enhancement to our learning environment.

Engagement and Relationships

Parent Information Sessions: Teachers have been working collaboratively in year level teams over the past week to update parent information books, create short introductory videos so you can ‘meet’ the teacher/s and ensure any year level specific information is communicated. While we had wanted to do this face-to-face, unfortunately health advice provided to the Department of Education understandably means this format is the safest at this time.

Videos and booklets will be communicated via Seesaw by the end of the week. Seesaw is a closed online environment which is not accessible by the public, which is why this format is the best digital tool to deliver this information to you. It’s important to note that you can view Seesaw on a computer or laptop, not just via the Seesaw Family app on your phone. On a computer, use this link: https://web.seesaw.me and select ‘I’m a Parent’ to login. You can use the same email and password as you do on your phone.

Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you are experiencing any difficulties with connecting to Seesaw.

Yours in learning

The Senior Leadership Team

Tamara, Milani, Alan, Rachel and Natalie