RevelationsThe fortnightly newsletter for Pre-K to Year 12 families of St Paul’s

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 54 1

Issue No. 54 7th April 2020

From the Principal

Ian Wake Principal

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17

The last two weeks have certainly been the most unusual I have ever experienced in schooling. The rapid increase in COVID-19 had the consequence of school moving to remote teaching and learning mode very quickly.

On the whole the transition to this mode has gone quite smoothly considering the significant change that it is has been. I am extremely grateful to our very committed and hardworking staff who have definitely gone above and beyond to provide the highest quality remote learning experience as possible. I am equally grateful to our students and parents who have also committed time and effort to ensure this new experience works in their context.

We have intentionally tried to set up the remote teaching and learning experience to reflect the routine of a typical day at school. This will be important for our students to be able to maintain the focus as this experience is expected to continue into Term 2. We are very appreciative of the feedback we have received from many families as they share what the remote experience looks like for them. For some students this style of learning is very challenging, others are coping very well. We are endeavouring to continue to adapt and modify our practice to cater for the large diversity in our student population and the large range of contexts from which they are operating. This is certainly a learning experience for us all.

By now, you should have received communication from our Business Office regarding Term 2 fees. As a school, we are aware there will be some of our families whose finances have been significantly affected due to the impacts of COVID-19. We are encouraging those in this situation to contact the school directly so we can discuss how we can be of assistance in this stressful and difficult time. We are also deferring any service levy charges for Term 2 until we have a better idea of what school will look like in the short to medium term. Obviously, it is important for us to maintain an income from both fees and government funding as we pay our staff to ensure the ongoing delivery of a high-quality learning experience.

As we conclude what has been an incredibly unique term in so many ways, we look forward to Easter and the wonderful message that it brings. A message of hope in the midst of uncertainty. On Good Friday we remember the death of Jesus and his sacrifice for each of us. On Easter Sunday we celebrate Jesus’s victory over death and his resurrection.

May God grant you and your family peace over the coming school holidays.

CRICOS 02267A

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From the School Chaplains

Easter Greetings to One and All These days remind me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry has a friend who is a ‘close-talker'.The episode takes us through the challenges that Jerry is facing with a friend who invades his personal space, so much that it puts the friendship in jeopardy! I am thinking Jerry Seinfeld may be quite comfortable in today’s ‘social distancing’ measures we’re observing!

Since remote learning began and as Easter approaches, we as a staff have taken the opportunity to consider these words from the apostle Peter, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.” (1 Peter 1:3-4). In a time of uncertainty and chaos, what we all just might need is the reassurance of the hope that Jesus’s resurrection gives us - a certain, unshakable, living hope. This living hope enables us to give our fears to God in trust and navigate the here and now, seeing a bit more clearly to the light that exists beyond: the certainty of eternal life with God, both now and forever. The presence of this living hope, Jesus, might just be what we need right now.

This Easter will be unlike sny other I have experienced in my life. We will withdraw away from one another into our homes, in isolation to help our society manage the COVID-19 situation we are in. Perhaps, though, we might take this opportunity not to be socially distant with God, but to draw near and closer to Him, reflecting on Jesus our living hope.

We hope you can join us for Easter Chapel on Thursday, 9th April. There you’ll find a range of different ways we might use to remember Jesus’s death and resurrection, including a link to local churches holding online Easter services, a live-stream video of Mr Steele-Smith speaking from Mark 8. You can also find us on mystpauls here.

May I close with the last lines from the prayer you’ll find on the Easter Chapel page:

God bless this Easter. Stay safe and well.

Matthew Palmer Matthew Steele-Smith Senior Chaplain School Chaplain

"In light of this living hope and compelling love, this measureless grace and eternal inheritance, free us for spending the rest of our days living and loving to your glory. So very Amen we pray, Jesus, in your resurrected and reigning name.”

From the Director of Information and Communication Technology The tech.stpauls helpdesk will be operating across the term break on weekdays from 9am to 4pm. If students have technology issues and require assistance, they can submit a help request at helpdesk.stpauls.nsw.edu.au (secondary students only) or email techsupport@stpauls.nsw.edu.au, and one of the team will respond as soon as possible.

Thank you for your support throughout the recent transition to remote learning. We pray this holiday period can be a time of peace and rest for all of our staff, students and families.

Justin Warner Director of Information and Communication Technology

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 54 3

From the Head of Junior School

Easter Easter in Australia has always been one of those holidays that we all look forward to. For some, Easter provides a chance to catch up with family, take a break from the hussle and bustle of life and some even go camping! My experience of camping, as a young family a few years ago, was wet and cold. I have also had the experience of celebrating Easter in China on our Junior School Cultural tours – simple, yet profound as the group have listened to a Bible reading and prayed.

This Easter is like no other. Most likely we will be in our own homes, not visiting, not going to the Easter Show or egg hunts in the local park. It will be very different. Yet, we have an amazing opportunity to reflect on God’s goodness. Yes, it’s tough for so many, but we can be grateful for so many things; perhaps family, or a house, or that we live in Australia during this crisis. For me, Easter reminds me of the hope that is found in friendship with God. A hope for now and a hope for beyond this life. I pray that God will bless each family with good health and protection and that each of us might put our trust in God this Easter.

Ian Brooker Head of Junior School

Accessing Lessons Remotely As the term draws to a close, we are concluding a third week in which Secondary School teachers have fully engaged with students to support remote learning through my.stpauls. The school timetable has continued to be followed, with work set by teachers who supervise lessons and answer questions submitted by students by ‘chat’ or ‘social stream’. We have found that maintaining the routine of the school day has been important to move student learning forward.

We have experienced a very high level of engagement in lessons and with teachers each day over the last three weeks. I would like to thank you and your children for your support of remote learning through my.stpauls.

Throughout this period teachers have been active in discussing how they can maximise learning in a remote environment. During this time, the remote learning experience has evolved. Feedback received from students and parents has been especially helpful in assisting us adjust our teaching. Please continue to let us know how we can improve this experience.

Each day a small number of secondary students have attended in person and have been supervised in the Secondary School Library and during breaks. These students completed the same activities as students who were not physically at school. The school continues to remain open to students, however the advice form Government is that students should stay home where possible.

Students experiencing technology issues requiring assistance, should create a support ticket via the helpdesk.

Please remember that where a student is unwell and unable to ‘attend school’ please email using the student absence email address so that we may keep track of student well-being.

Thank-you again for your support and feedback. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions or comments regarding this message.

Information for Senior Students and Parents University AdmissionsYear 12 students have received emails from the Careers Advisor, Mrs Moon, and myself regarding access to the Universities Admission Centre (UAC). UAC is now open to students, but most information regarding 2021 university admissions will not be available until August.

We have been encouraged that the vast majority of St Paul’s students have applied for the School Recommendation Scheme (SRS) in past years and have almost all have been made university offers, many unconditional, before final results have been issued. We anticipate that this scheme will become even more important to students this year. I will advise students further on how to take advantage of thois scheme in Term 3.

UAC provides updates on its UAC Covid-19 page.

my.stpauls Lessons for Senior StudentsIn addition to the advice above regarding lessons through my.stpauls, teachers of senior classes have been trialling lessons using Skype audio and/or video using protocols developed for such lessons. Teachers are looking to support senior students in the best way possible given the current circumstances. We are actively exploring other options to ensure that we provide the best possible learning environment for students.

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 54 4

From the Director of Learning Services

Assessment AdjustmentsBoth NESA and the IB organisation are in the process of evaluating and adjusting assessment for senior students. Their focus at the moment is on students in their final year of schooling. At the time that I write this article the following advice is provided for students. All students should continue working towards their final examinations and assessments.

HSC students

NESA provides updates on its NESA Covid-19 page. The advice so far is:

• VET students are not required to undertake NESA work placements.

• Mandatory group performance exams in Drama and the mandatory ensemble performance exam in Music Extension have been cancelled.

• There will be modification of other performance exams that breach social distancing requirements.

• Further advice will be provided soon on major projects for Visual Arts, Design and Technology, Industrial Technology, Textiles and Design, English Ext 2 and Society and Culture.

IB Diploma students

The IB provides updates on its IB Covid-19 page. The advice so far is:

• The May session paper examinations have been cancelled and grades will be awarded to students registered in this session based on internal coursework already completed and school historical data. This affects three St Paul’s students registered in Languages not offered in the November session.

• November session students should continue to work towards their Diploma but further advice will be available in late April or early May regarding possible assessment modification.

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From the Director of Learning Services Continued

Mr Antony MayrhoferDirector of Learning ServicesE: antony.mayrhofer@stpauls.nsw.edu.auP: +61 2 4776 4705

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From the Director of Students and Family Services

Student Welfare Further to my email to the Secondary School community last week, I wanted to take this opportunity to briefly touch on student welfare. Thus far, in general, our students have coped extremely well with the transition to remote learning, from a welfare perspective. Whilst this is the general trend, what has been really encouraging to see is that the families of those students who have found the switch to remote learning somewhat more challenging have been very willing to reach out to staff at St Paul’s to get the additional support needed. This is something we very much want to encourage, especially as things change for students should the current situation regarding school last for a protracted period of time.

Last Wednesday, our students completed a survey after the first week of remote learning. A preliminary analysis of the results of the survey confirmed our suspicion, which was that in our attempts to provide the best learning possible, we the staff, have tended to set too much work for our students to complete. This was reported by about two thirds of our students. Thankfully the anecdotal evidence for this was strong and we had put in place a method to address this on the very day the students completed the survey. We are now hopeful that our students are finding the workload much more manageable. Thanks to the large uptake of the survey by our students we have some excellent data that should allow us to refine remote learning next term to make sure that we are delivering excellent teaching whilst maintaining the care and welfare of our students.

Finally, you may recall that I mentioned in my email last week that various community welfare organisations have some excellent online resources to assist in maintaining our emotional wellbeing during the Coronavirus outbreak. I include a selection of some of the better links that I found from these organisations below as a potential resource for those amongst our community who may like to utilise them.

I do hope this edition of Revelations finds you all safe and well and that the upcoming Easter break is a time of great blessing for all our families.

Philip Heath Director of Students and Family Services

Headspace

How to cope with stress related to COVID-19 online resource

Beyond Blue

Looking after your mental health during the coronavirus outbreak

Lifeline

Mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus outbreak

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 54 7

From the MYP Core Coordinator

Safety Protocols for Student-Led ActivitiesService as Action (Years 8 3 -10 5) Personal Project (Year 10 5)

Two principles are key to all advice in this document:

1. Stay home if you are unwell.

2. Only plan trips outside of home in line with current Government instructions and consultation with your parents/carers.

The MYP requires students to Plan, Action and Reflect on their own initiatives. For all students, this will include Service as Action activities and for students in Year 10/ MYP 5 this is also evident in the completion of the Personal Project.

We always advise students to plan safe and ethical ways of engaging in their projects and the local community. This year is no exception and we are adding the following instructions to ensure the health of students and the community.

If students are ever unsure or need some support in regards to these tasks, encourage them to send me an email and I will help them work through their ideas and develop some creative solutions.

Stephanie ParagalliMYP Core Co-ordinator

General Advice for Both

Your Original Plan Recommended Alternative

Interviews or engagement with members of the community or teaching staff.

• Phone interviews with people you know or selectedexperts.

• Email interviews - just send through the questions forlonger answers. If doing this for diverse communities, youmay need to consider the language/literacy skills of youraudience.

• Electronic collaborative documents through OneDrive inmy.stpauls.

Research/visits to shopping centres, gyms, train stations, buses, or other crowded places.

• Use online resources such as websites, maps and photos.

• Ring businesses which are still open and ask questionsover the phone.

Research/visits to outdoor recreation spaces. • Visits to some outdoor sporting facilities, such as parks/ovals may still be ok if advised by the government. Pleasemaintain a safe distance from other people.

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From the MYP Core Coordinator Continued

Specific Considerations for Service as Action

Your Original Plan Recommended Alternative

You may have been planning to participate in a fundraiser or event which requires lots of social contact and has most likely now been cancelled.

Example: The Memory Walk/ Jog/ Run.

Was scheduled to take place on 5th April at Nepean River.

• Think of alternate ways you could still support that causethrough accessing the organisation’s website.

Example: The Memory Walk/ Jog/ Run is now beingcompleted as a ‘virtual run’ in which you could stillparticipate.

You may have been planning to make delicious treats for your tutor group or support house activities within the school.

• You could still make some delicious treats for your newpeers at home to help create a hospitable workingenvironment at home.

• You could also come up with activities for your tutor groupto help continue our great tutor culture during remotelearning. Just make sure to run it past your tutor.

You may have been planning to help out at a local charity organisation, your local church or youth group.

Example: You may have been planning to visit a local nursing home with your church.

• Many of these organisations are developing strategies tohelp see things continue in virtual communities. Log in totheir online/social sites and see where you could maybehave a role.

• Example: Maybe you could instead prepare a videomessage to someone you know in a nursing home.

You were planning just to help out at school at various events and opportunities.

• There is a whole lot you can do from home! Find an issueyou are passionate about and write a letter to your localmember of parliament.

• You could host your own ‘winter sleep out’ in thebackyard.

• Earth Hour or an equivalent can be completed at home.Be sure to Plan (including by doing research online)before you Act and Reflect.

Specific Considerations for Personal Project

Your Original Plan Recommended Alternative

Interview or collaborate with a business, hospital, school or other service which may now be too busy dealing with COVID interruptions to work with you.

N.B. Most Personal Projects won’t need any changes to goals, and only a few will need changes to actions.

• Consider whether there is a specific person in thatbusiness/industry who may be less busy now and mayhave time to work with you over email or from home.

Or if necessary...

• Adjust your goal or product so that it is a researchedproposal for what you would do if we were not under thisyear’s restrictions.

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From the MYP Core Coordinator Continued

and the Music Academy

Things to Consider

• If your planned goal or actions are no longer possible, you don’t need to wait to chat to your Supervisor. Write anadjustment to your goal into your Journal now and email your change to your Supervisor for their thoughts. Startannotating how your actions will change in your Time and Action plan.

• Making changes and being flexible are important learning (and life) skills. Look at your ATL skills - can you annotate yourchanged goal/actions with some ATL skills you’ve used? Perhaps self-management skills?

• The draft written statement for students is due this week. They will receive feedback on their draft early in Term 2 andmay use their time between now and the final submission date to continue developing their projects.

Thanks to Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College for sharing their ideas.

From the Music AcademyIn line with current advice from the relevant authorities regarding COVID-19 and to ensure the safety of our community, 'Soundscape', the St Paul's annual Music Academy Concert, scheduled for Friday, 8th May, has been cancelled.

We will aim to provide an opportunity to celebrate the Music Academy Ensembles Programme in an alternative way later in the year.

Update on Music Academy - Conservatorium Programme

The Conservatorium Programme is still open for business. Individual Tutors have contacted their students directly to set up online Music and Speech and Drama lessons and it has been remarkable to observe the dedication of our Tutors and Students as they all adjust to life in the arts online. Tutors are still accepting new students and so if students or family members would like to sign up for lessons, please visit the Music Academy my.stpauls page to register: https://my.stpauls.nsw.edu.au/homepage/1701/

Update on Music Academy - Ensembles Programme

Students who are members of our music ensembles can continue with individual part preparation during this time of remote learning. Our Music Coordinator Mrs Jarman with the assistance of Mr Arblaster is currently updating the Music Academy my.stpauls ensembles pages: https://my.stpauls.nsw.edu.au/homepage/10777/ to provide copies of music and recordings for students to work on at home to prepare for rehearsals when we return to campus.