Last week saw the Prep and Year 1 students return to the Primary Campus for face-to-face teaching.  Our worries as to whether they would need time to adjust to being back were unfounded and in fact, they all resumed learning as they had left it over six weeks ago.  As well as praising the students for this, it is also a credit to the teachers and the parents who have worked so closely together through the Learning@Home program.  It has certainly been lovely to hear the excited chatter of over 100 students on the campus each day and we are looking forward to welcoming back the other students on 25 May.

For those students in Years 2 – 6, the Learning@Home program will continue and the teachers are expecting that learning will still occur, whether they are at school or at home.  Through conversation with some of the older Primary students, there is a very real sense that they have gained a greater understanding of themselves as learners during the past six weeks.  They reflected, for example, on having a better understanding of time-management, on the need to be more resourceful when encountering challenges and also on a greater sense of organisation.  I encourage parents to have a conversation with their child about what they have learned about themselves.  These dispositions or qualities will be what sustains a person in any learning situation in life. As teachers, we have learned many things about the students, ourselves and teaching and learning through this period.  Our challenge now is improve what we do in the classroom by incorporating some of the tools that were embedded into the Learning@Home program, such as the students keeping a digital portfolio of their work, creating videos of content for students to refer to when they need them and further developing learner independence.

Last week we also welcomed three new students – Jeremy and Tayla in Year 3 and William in Year 1. At the start of the term we also welcomed Liliana into Year 2.  All four students have been made to feel very welcome by those students who have been at school and I am sure that this will continue once all the students return.

Finally, I am sure that everyone would like to join me in wishing Mrs Charlton a speedy recovery from her recent health concern.  All being well, we anticipate her being back with us in Week 6.  In the meantime she is getting plenty of rest.

With God’s blessings.

Sarah Yates
Assistant to the Principal Primary