Dear Parents,

Welcome to week 2 of remote flexible learning.

Firstly, I want to acknowledge the support we have been getting from families as they navigate what this new form of learning looks like with their family. We know it will be different for each family and will support you in whatever learning you are managing.

Research from places such as Christchurch where schools were closed for several months suggest that time away from school with family won’t impact the long term learning of the students. Professor John Hattie was the adviser for the New Zealand Qualifications Authority that oversaw school examinations after the devastating Christchurch earthquakes of 2011. Schools were closed for weeks and most students did not have the opportunity for online learning or discussion with teachers. But results did not suffer and high school students did not drop out.

He said the difference was that once school returned teachers focused on "what has to be learned" instead of getting through a lot of curriculum.

Professor Hattie said Australia had the "longest school year and school day" of any country in the world. Even if 10 weeks were removed, he said "students would generally still be getting more classroom time than students in countries like Sweden, Finland and Estonia", which consistently outperformed Australia in maths, science and reading scores.

This did not mean students should not embrace online opportunities for term two and Professor Hattie said it could be a chance to better outcomes. "You have to be amazed what teachers have done to turn the whole system around so that kids can work at home doing various things," he said. "But my message is 'let's not get stressed about it'. "When we get back to the old normal the recovery will be reasonably quick." (adapted from article Sydney Morning Herald)

Leadership are meeting regularly throughout this time and discussing the feedback the teachers are getting.  You will have noticed that this week there are only 5 tasks being set home with one of them being the feedback task. We know each families circumstances are different and as such are supportive of whatever you are able to achieve within your family and managing the needs of your own work requirements. Even if you can only manage the feedback task each day that will be ok, in other words, be kind to yourselves!

Thank you to those families who have been able to change their work arrangements and/or find someone to help supervise their children. We know for some parents there is no other option but sending the children to school for onsite supervision must be a last resort.

Kind regards

Jodie

The leadership team at St Michaels Traralgon will provide a care and supervision program for some students. These students must meet one of the below criteria:

• The child’s parents/carers are classified as essential worker/s and cannot work from home during school hours
• The child is in statutory (court ordered) out of home care
• The child may be at an immediate risk of harm

It would be expected that this would only be necessary during the days you are at work, if you are working part- time then the days you are at home your child would be learning at home with you. We know that we will have families who meet one of these criteria and whilst the majority of staff will be working from home, we will have staff available to provide supervision during this time. To ensure we have adequate numbers please fill in the intention form each week.  

Victoria's Chief Health Officer, Doctor Brett Sutton has amended the current stay at home directions to provide further clarity about childcare arrangements. You can have another person come to your house to look after your child if you need to go out for one of the four listed reasons (food and supplies, medical care and care giving, exercise, and work or education), or if you are working or studying at home. You may also drop your child at another person’s house to be looked after, while you are out, if it is for one of the four listed reasons. This may help some families who have concerns about how they will manage their work commitments during this time.

The intention form for week 3 is due by Thursday 23rd April by email to principal@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au

The Office team will also be working remotely for Term 2 therefore the office will be unmanned.

• If you need to contact the Office please email office@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au or call the school mobile on 0455 952 026 and they will pass on messages via email to staff.
• If you have any questions regarding remote learning please contact your child's classroom teacher via email.
• Please refrain from contacting all staff via personal mobiles/email or social media.

Answer from last week:

93 – 23 = 70
70 – 48 = 22
22 – 5 = 17
17 people got off the train at the second station.

Welcome to the 2020 Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge.

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and St. Michael’s Primary School is excited to be participating. A new application is being used this year that offers a range of exciting features including: 

• access to a library catalogue (including book images and blurbs)
• a modern user-friendly interface
• rewarding  students with badges as challenge milestones are achieved
• the option for students to mark books as a favourite, give them a star rating or complete a book review 

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 4 September 2020. 

Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books. 

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers. 

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklists and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit:www.education.vic.gov.au/prc 

As you know, reading helps ensure children develop important foundational skills –
setting them up for school and for life. Just as importantly, reading also helps our kids imagine, explore and learn more about the world around them.
This year, everyone who completes the Challenge will receive a Certificate of
Achievement – and with more than 12,000 titles on the Challenge’s reading list, there really is a book for everyone.
For children not yet at school, the Challenge invites parents and carers to experience
40 books with their child. For students from Prep to Year 2, the Challenge is to read or experience 30 books and for students in Years 3 to 10, the Challenge is to read 15 books.
I also encourage you to visit the Challenge Facebook page: facebook.com.au/VicPRC
There you can join the community of avid readers to share stories, stay informed and
recommend books.

We currently have 32 students participating reading 83 books with 67 books finished!

Please follow the link if you wish to order from this catalogue. Orders Will close the 8th of May. We will not be accepting cash payments for this catalogue. 

https://scholastic.com.au/book-club/virtual-catalogue-1/