Issue 6 - 28 April 2020

Newsletter Articles

MISSION STATEMENT

St Rita’s School mission is to create a community which inspires a love of holistic, life-long learning grounded in the Catholic Christian faith. Childhood is celebrated and nurtured by caring adults. A student’s capacity for their best future is realised in the context of our small rural community. We provide a safe and supportive environment, characterised by strong, life-giving and respectful relationships with students, staff, families, parish and the wider community. The school strives to ensure we are living out the Mercy values.

PRINCIPAL’S PEN

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Term 2 at St Rita’s! It has certainly been an unusual start to the second school term, beginning with five weeks of learning at school for children of ‘essential workers’ and others learning at home under the guidance of their families. The Covid-19 Pandemic has impacted on every member of the school community, and St Rita’s staff has worked tirelessly to ensure the education of our children is least disrupted as possible during the closure of our school. At this challenging time, the needs of our students will continue to be our number one priority.

Last Monday, the first day of the new term, we were grateful that the collection of Home Learning Packs by parents went so smoothly. We would usually have welcomed catching up and socialising with you, however social distancing regulations necessitated parents spending minimal time on the school premises whilst collecting their children’s packs and learning materials. I ask that we continue to minimise face-to-face contact with our parents, so children will be dropped off and collected from the school gate. Please phone or message Debbie in the office for any special pick-up arrangements you may need.

We are concerned that our operation of such a ‘closed door’ practice might hinder the usual high level of support we provide to our parent community. For the St Rita’s ‘Continuity of Learning’ plan to be successful for all students of our school, we must work as a team to guide, direct and support our students while they learn at home or with supervision at school. Using the two platforms of Seesaw and Google Hangout Meet, with the curriculum booklets and learning resources provided in the Home Learning Packs, our teachers aim to continue revising and teaching new learning in the weeks ahead.

If your child has any difficulty using either online platform, please contact us as a matter of urgency. Further details on the St Rita’s ‘Continuity of Learning’ plan is discussed in the ‘Curriculum Corner’ section of this newsletter. Also, we are aware that the pandemic can have a negative impact on the wellbeing of children and young adults, and the article provided in this newsletter may provide meaningful information on how parents can support their children at this time. Please remember we are only a phone call or an email away! We may be ‘behind the gate’, having little physical contact with our families, however St Rita’s community continues to work as a strong team in the education of its students.

Last Thursday and Friday, St Rita’s worked on constructing a meaningful ANZAC Day display which was set up at the front of the school. Staff and students painted a large banner, made poppies and a wreath, coloured ANZAC-themed pictures, cut out candle holders and hung our three national flags. We were proud of the display, which was completed on Friday afternoon, and it was wonderful to have parents call in briefly to St Rita’s and make their personal contribution. It was certainly an ANZAC Day with a difference, but the level of respect and pride shown by our school community was nonetheless noteworthy.

A PRAYER FOR ANZAC DAY

O God, our ruler and guide,
In whose hands are the destinies of this and every nation,
We give you thanks for the freedoms we enjoy in this land
And for those who laid down their lives to defend them:
We pray that we and all the people of Australia,
Gratefully remembering their courage and their sacrifice,
May have the grace to live in a spirit of justice, of generosity, and of peace;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever,
Amen

(A Prayer Book for Australia, p 628)

Stay safe and stay well everyone!

Regards and blessings,
Judy Billiau

APRE THOUGHTS

Easter Reflection

Almighty and all-merciful God, lover of the human race, healer of all our wounds,
in whom there is no shadow of death, save us in this time of crisis;
grant wisdom and courage to our leaders;
watch over all medical people as they tend the sick and work for a cure;
stir in us a sense of solidarity beyond all isolation;
if our doors are closed, let our hearts be open.
By the power of your love destroy the virus of fear,
that hope may never die and the light of Easter, the triumph of life,
may shine upon us and the whole world.
Through Jesus Christ, the Lord risen from the dead,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

CURRICULUM CORNER

Continuity of Learning

Despite some small glitches in becoming familiar with remote learning platforms, ‘home learning’ is progressing well at St Rita’s. No doubt, it is the immense love for our little learners, that is the force behind this accomplishment. On behalf of our teachers, may I express our sincere gratitude to our parents - for your patience, perseverance and commitment to the success of this endeavour. Nothing less than a whole community effort will have the impact we all are seeking, so thank you!

Whilst our teachers are dearly missing the liveliness of a bustling classroom routine, it is heartening to reconnect with all students through our daily virtual meetings. We feel that these ‘hangouts’ are vital, as they satisfy the human yearning to remain connected within a circle of friendship and do hope that these meetings are keeping spirits buoyed while learning from home. Certainly, there is much learning that comes from these, in terms of developing appropriate etiquette and good grace to honour the presence of each other, technical skill to navigate the digital spaces, and safety, as well. Social teaching underpins a compassionate, empathetic society; schools are more than mere places of academia!

In addition to the hard paper copies of Home Learning Packs, presently, we are utilising two digital platforms for remote learning, that is: Google Hangout Meets and Seesaw. These will continue, and in the coming weeks, teachers will begin to upload more lesson content and learning activities to Seesaw. Please use this as your ‘go to’ each morning for the most up-to-date space for teaching and learning, where digital activities that are necessary for completion are posted. Soon, we will also add MAPPEN Home Learning for the students to access.

In the past year, St Rita’s teachers have been using the MAPPEN platform to deliver a contemporary approach to teaching and learning. MAPPEN integrates the Learning Areas of Science, History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship, Business and Economics, as well as Digital and Design Technology, to teach concepts. MAPPEN Home Learning will require students to type in a six-digit individual passcode when they log-in to the site, and as learning modules are completed by students, work will need to be submitted to their teacher for marking. This home learning program has been specially modified for ease of use for students but may need some parent support. Please check Seesaw for details on how to log-in to this platform in the coming days.

Staff are particularly keen to support the continuation of reading at home. Your teacher has shared details of how to access a virtual library through ‘Sora’, yet we are also providing levelled ‘home readers’ from the library, commencing this week. Kindly drop off your child/ren’s pouches at the end of each week (Thursday or Friday), and pick it up again on the following Monday with a refill of a selection of readers! Other reading books may also be requested or ordered online through the ‘Oliver’ borrowing app on the St Rita’s Student Portal. Teachers will instruct students on how this may be achieved this week during our ‘Hangout’ meeting.

It would be ideal if parents were also able to send to school, at the end of each week, the Home Learning Packs for marking. Teachers will monitor student progress, and determine individual needs based on finished tasks. Simply pop the folder of booklets into the pouch, along with returned readers, and they will be returned for collection on Monday.

Amidst the interruption of ‘life’ that has been caused by the Coronavirus, I do hope that your family has experienced some positive outcomes, whether it has been a chance to spend more time with your family, engage more closely with your child/ren’s education or simply to appreciate the gift of time and learning. Upon reflection, I have noticed the people I pass by are engaging more by making eye contact, smiling deeply and respecting others’ spaces, and there appears more joy in the simple pleasure of being together. There has also been incredible collaboration and sharing of resources in our education sphere. I hope that you are feeling some of this goodness around you. Please know that the staff of St Rita’s are always here to support our school community in any way that we possibly can – we are but a phone call away, so do make contact if you have any concerns. Stay safe and well, until we next meet.

Blessings,
Maureen Gaul
Assistant Principal (Religious Education)

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING

DATE CLAIMERS

PARENT EDUCATION

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

ONE TIME CLEANING