Week 3 and it felt like yesterday that we were really returning to school! I can honestly say that we have hit the ground running.
There are lots of activities that are coming up in the next couple of weeks that give our students learning opportunities that consist of more than writing notes and preparing for a test. Blended learning is all the rage at the moment and students are really responding to our new learner management systems. Student surveys that went out last week showed that 95% of students enjoy their learning being made available on Canvas and Google Classroom. We have also seen a boost in results for students across the board in subjects.
It has been amazing to walk the halls of the school and look at the learning that is going on within our classrooms. If you look at our Facebook page you will be able to see the amazing work our school has been doing in regards to learning both inside and outside of the classrooms. No matter what the obstacle is it’s great to see staff providing learning opportunities and students immersing themselves in learning. The smiles and giggles that our students show when learning makes this job all worthwhile.
Engaging students
Our teachers are always looking at ways to redevelop themselves and engage our students. Staff meetings have been focussing on Site Improvement and formative assessment as the driver for change in regards to giving our students the required skills to succeed in the 21st Century. If you are interested in your child’s learning and want to know more, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher and I am sure they will be able to answer any questions you may have. If you also want you can jump online and look at programs through Google Classroom for primary students and Canvas for secondary students
Library reopening.
With the easing of restrictions for COVID-19, it gives me great pleasure to announce that our library will be reopening from Thursday the 14th of May.
To comply with social distancing guidelines, there will different opening times and rules that will need to be adhered to by the community. I encourage all patrons of the library to have a look on our website or Facebook pages to see the change in operating times and new rules. If you’re not techno savvy, then please call one of the library staff who will be more than happy to answer any queries you may have.
Face to Face Learning
I just wanted to give parents the heads up about our plan to return to face to face learning full time. At this point in time we are doing a mixture of face to face and online due to the lockdown at Point Pearce.
Once we are given permission for the bus to travel from Point Pearce, we will be ceasing online lessons through Zoom and returning to face to face lessons for all students. We have been in continual contact with SA Health and SAPOL to have the bus reinstated. At this point in time we are really encouraging students to be attending school if they are able to.
Programs restarting
It’s been fantastic to see that we have been able to recommence our football program as well as SAASTA and Senior School lesson offerings to other sites. The music academy is looking to recommence sometime in the next fortnight or so. The return to a bit of normality has been welcomed by both staff and students.
School Upgrades
As was announced by the Marshall Government in the media last week, Central Yorke have been able to secure over $200,000 in government funding to upgrade our infrastructure. These funds were approved through our building plans to replace the roof, guttering and downpipes on our Secondary Wing. Over the last 5 years we have spent over $1.5 million to upgrade the school and bring it up to a standard that is suitable for cutting edge learning. Future plans are to upgrade our security with electronic locks as well as upgrade furniture throughout our classrooms.
As always we are here if you have any questions or would like to discuss anything further feel free to give us a buzz and talk to one of our staff.
Until next time
Grant Keleher.