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CALENDAR TERM 1 PRINCIPAL’S NEWS As we wrap up Term 1 we find ourselves in extremely unusual and
challenging circumstances as we all come to terms with our new
“normal”. Social distancing has confined families to their homes
with parents ‘working from home’, children ‘learning from home’
and more ‘family time’ than probably ever before.
Throughout this disruption we have continued to work hard to
ensure continuity and excellence for student learning. Our staff has
worked incredibly hard and I am so proud of their professionalism
and flexibility under very difficult circumstances.
There will be confirmation during the holidays of how school will
progress in Term 2. Staff have been preparing for similar learning
from home to start the term.
The staff have appreciated the kind words and thanks from our
school community in these challenging times. We have made a
display in the staffroom of the emails and cards we have received as
well as some of the learning students have completed at home and
at school. The food treats have all vanished!
We hope you enjoyed the first of the daily stage welcomes this
morning. Watch the Google Classroom space for a short clip from
the staff later in the week. I’m not sure we can top the ‘Carpool
Karaoke’ clip from last year but we are working on it!
Our key concern is the support and wellbeing of our students, staff
and parents. Children work best with something to focus their
energy on. Therefore I thought it timely to remind students of our
Wellbeing Program and the core values of our school to help them
through the coming weeks and months ahead:
Respect
Responsibility
Reflection
Resilience
Self-Regulation
PAGEWOOD PUBLIC SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
TERM 1 WEEK 11 2020
Monday 6 April 2020
APRIL
WEEK 1
Mon 27 Staff Development Day
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These core values are more important than ever for their ‘online learning’. Students should develop a new “Goal for
myself” and “My Wellbeing Strategies” for their independent (as much as possible!) online learning at home.
Our lives are normally so hectic, juggling work, school, homework, after school activities and sport that we can use this time to bond more as a family and have some meaningful conversations with our children. I hope you all enjoy a break from school during the holidays and have some much needed family fun, whether that is going for a walk, playing cards or board games, watching a movie together or just hanging out. For many of you this will be difficult as work goes on but the schoolwork doesn’t. I am putting together some fun activities your children can do at home with hopefully minimal assistance or mess! More about this later in the week. Thank you to our student leaders for their uplifting video posted on the Google Classrooms this morning. Thanks to Martin for leading the way with this initiative.
In staffing news, Mr Kerry Ioannidis will be permanently joining the teaching staff next term. He has been working with
us recently teaching as part of the Stage 2 team while Mr Lewis has been on a short period of leave. He will remain a
part of the team teaching 4J from next term. 4J families look out for a welcome video from Mr Ioannidis later this week.
Mr Lewis will rejoin us next term as part of the Stage 2 team teaching 4L. I would like to thank Mr Matt Johnstone for
his work this term and look forward to him remaining a part of our casual teaching team.
Our school psychologist, Ms Anna Robertson, has been offered a permanent fulltime position in another school where
she will begin next term. Thank you to Anna for her work with the Pagewood Public School community, we will miss you.
Once a new school psychologist is appointed I will let you know. In the meantime please contact your child’s teacher or
stage assistant principal for any assistance.
We will get through this together!
Ms Nicole Mayhew
Principal
PARENT AND STUDENT ‘LEARNING FROM HOME’ SURVEY
Thanks to the parents and carers who completed our survey, we had over 100 responses. Please find below a
summary of some of the feedback and what the staff are considering as we move into Term 2. Mrs Sutherland
posted a student survey last week on Google Classroom for Years 1-6. Please encourage your child to complete the
survey if they have not already done it via this link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SX2RWYZ
Amount of learning being set
◦ Week 1 was quite light but Week 2 is better and more challenging.
◦ Manageable
◦ The work is fine, it's a problem motivating the kids to do it.
◦ Year 5 work getting done very quickly & doesn't seem to be as much as Kindy.
◦ Generally good. But depends on each individual child each day.
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◦ The work seems a little high volume. At a very minimum, I would suggest not issuing any homework, this
seems overkill as the children have had enough during the day, plus they are at home.
◦ It’s challenging as having the two together requiring different attention. It’s overall getting better.
◦ We really are only doing 2 x 45 min sessions a day and reading. Mostly Math and English / handwriting
◦ With two children at different levels, and working from home, we are yet to manage to fit in all the
scheduled work in a day.
◦ About right
◦ Just right
◦ Adequate
◦ For our Year 3 child it seems like a lot. While for our Year 5 child, it doesn't seem as much.
Aspects staff are considering:
The setting of ‘homework’ outside of the usual school day. It could be incorporated into the day.
How to have recorded sessions that students can view in line with the NSWDOE guidelines.
How to have live sessions that students can join in line with the NSWDOE guidelines.
The balance of online and paper based learning.
How staff can connect with students at home and how students can connect with each other.
Whole school activities such as Anzac Day service.
Internet access and device accessibility for all students.
How to keep the balance right of student learning, teachers programming, teachers responding to online
learning and staff being required onsite.
KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENTS FOR 2020
Pagewood Public School’s Kindergarten 2021 Open Day will now be held on Thursday 20 August 2020. Individual interviews are planned for 1-17 September. Kindergarten Transition sessions will be held on Wednesday 4 and 11 November.
Pagewood Public School will start taking Kindergarten 2021 enrolment forms and all supporting documentation via email from Tuesday 28 April 2020 at [email protected]
LEARNING FROM HOME
Here are some more examples of wonderful learning and teaching both at school and home.
