Information for Parents

By Richard Hall | Posted: Tuesday March 24, 2020

Currently our school site is closed. This does not mean that learning has stopped. Teachers will be available online through google classroom and other platforms to assist students with learning while we fight Covid-19.

The Calendar:

• 26/27 March - school is open online and teachers will be posting work.
• 30 March - 14 April - school is closed for holidays.
• 15 April - 24 April - school is open online and teachers will be posting work.

As a parent you can help by:

1. Setting a regular place and time to complete online learning. Ideally at a desk or table, not in front of the TV.
2. As a school we have asked staff to follow their normal timetable, so it makes sense that the boys do too. This means, whatever they have period 1 on a day, the teacher will be available during that time for them. This way every child will have the same access to a teacher.
3. Understand that the boys will take a while to get into the discipline of 'working' for 5 hours a day. In a normal classroom there is a range of activities that allow them to move; it is what works for boys.
4. If this is a challenge, try 20 minutes on (time it) with 8 minutes off. Plan the off time to include movement, not more screen time. If they are into it, hopefully they won't notice.
5. Schedule breaks as you normally would in a day.
6. A break from their device, does not mean getting on another device!
7. Being outside, is still ok, if managed sensibly. The sun, if we have any, is important for health. A quick walk, run or other form of movement should be encouraged.
8. Use a piece of paper or their homework diary to plan and tick off what they complete in a day. Celebrate it, we are building a discipline that will flow into their exams.
9. Remember a phone is not a handy learning tool, keep it away during the time they are scheduled to learn. There will be a time that they can use it.

Self management by students includes building resilience. If they are struggling with the learning, there are people that can help. In the first instance though, re-reading the instructions and explaining them out loud to you can sometimes help to get a better picture of what they have to do. When their teacher is online, in that scheduled class, they will be able to ask questions.

For difficulty with content or ideas, resilience can mean not just relying on the content posted by the teacher. All of our boys have pretty good research skills. Remember though, we are after 'authentic' learning, the students own work, not copied from the net. 

Not all learning is for assessment. In fact during this period, it may be that we are able to engage with more knowledge rather than assessment. That is the advice we have given to our staff. If there is an assessment tied to the work, be clear on what it is and on how you can prove it is your own work. Teachers will be very clear if it is assessment work.

Contact with friends is important, obviously this will have to be through social media. Set time aside as a family to discuss things that will come up. 

If you have any questions or need to contact the school during this time; use [email protected]