Principal: Mrs M Crelley Issue No: 14 Term: 3 Monday 30th August, 2021

~~PRINCIPAL’S REPORT~~ Roadmap to return to face-to-face learning Thank you to our Leeton High School community for all your efforts over the last two weeks, both at home and at school, managing the challenges that have presented to keep our students safe and learning. Last Friday’s announcement by the Premier confirmed stay at home orders for regional New South Wales will continue until at least 10 September which will result in our school remaining on Level 4 restrictions for the next two weeks. In the event stay-at-home rules are lifted in regional NSW before the end of Term 3, schools in those areas can expect to return to face-to-face teaching and learning with Level 3 restrictions in place. Information has been attached to this email to explain more about Level 3 restrictions and what they will look like at school. Below is a brief summary of what the roadmap to return to face-to-face learning looks like for students across Years 7-12. Year 12

• Home learning will continue for the next two weeks in keeping with current stay at home orders with learning posted in Google classrooms or Teams. Face to face learning may also occur through Zoom. Hard copy learning from home packs are also available. Please contact the office on 69532122 if you would like one for your child. I encourage all students to return their work to their teacher when learning is complete. Please contact the school and we can arrange for that to happen.

• Trial HSC Examinations have been completed as of Friday in an online format. Well done to students and teachers for navigating this alternate assessment path.

• The Higher School Certificate Written Examinations have been delayed by NESA to now commence Tuesday 9 November 2021.

• Year 12 reports will still be available by the end of this term as planned. We will mail these reports to students and families.

• Students in Year 12 and those completing their HSC are already able to return in a limited way (major projects and practical works), and this will continue for the remainder of Term 3. From 25 October, Week 4 Term 4, these students will have full-time access to school campuses and their teachers.

• Any student facing difficulty with their learning or wellbeing, should reach out to their teachers, Year Adviser or Wellbeing staff for support.

• End of Year 12 celebratory activities have been deferred until after the completion of the Higher School Certificate examinations, following the guidelines in place at the time. The constant changes to restrictions have made it almost impossible to plan any events in the short term with confidence.

Year 11

• Home learning will continue for the next two weeks in keeping with current stay at home orders with learning posted in Google classrooms or Teams. Face to face learning may also occur through Zoom. Hard copy learning from home packs are also available. Please contact the office on 69532122 if you would like one for your child. I encourage all students to return

P.O Box 843, LEETON 2705 Ph: 69532122 Fax: 69535085 leeton-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au ABN: 22 761 278 122

“Educating young people for active and responsible citizenship”

their work to their teacher when learning is complete. Please contact the school and we can arrange for that to happen.

• Year 11 will undertake their final preliminary course examinations online. Information and the examination timetable were emailed to students and parents on Friday 27th August. These examinations will take place from 9th-14th September. Best wishes to Year 11 for their upcoming examinations.

• From Monday 1 November, Week 5 Term 4, students in Year 11 will return to school sites under Level 3 plus settings.

• Any student facing difficulty with their learning or wellbeing, should reach out to their teachers, Year Adviser or Wellbeing staff for support.

Years 7 to 10

• Home learning will continue for the next two weeks in keeping with current stay at home orders with learning posted in Google classrooms or Teams. Face to face learning may also occur through Zoom. Hard copy learning from home packs are also available. Please contact the office on 69532122 if you would like one for your child. I encourage all students to return their work to their teacher when learning is complete. Please contact the school and we can arrange for that to happen.

• In the event stay-at-home rules are lifted in regional NSW before the end of Term 3, schools in those areas can expect to return to face-to-face teaching and learning at Level 3.

• From Monday 8 November, students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 return to school sites under Level 3 plus settings.

Please note: Students attending school must wear a mask. All teachers and students must wear a mask at all times inside the classroom and outside. Learning from home – Time expectations for families Please find attached some information from the Department regarding time expectations for families when learning from home. All information provided is a guideline only. Families are encouraged to be flexible to meet the learning needs, abilities and technology access for their children. Zoom Check-In – Instant support with learning and technology As of this Monday our innovative Learning and Support Team will be running a Zoom meeting everyday from 9am-3pm for students who need help. Our Student Learning and Support Officers will be on hand to help students with their work or any technical problems they might have. The Zoom link for this support resource has been added to all Google Classrooms. Students are welcome to ‘drop in’ to ask any questions about their learning.

Leeton High School Merit System

Over the last few months, we have made some updates to our Merit System with the intention of making the pathway through the system clearer. Information and a flow chart have been attached for your benefit and this information will be explained further to students on their return to school. Students who are engaging in their learning online or through the return of learning from home hard copies will continue to be recognised through our merit system. Since we commenced learning from home on Monday 16th August until last Friday 27th August, teachers have awarded 754 positive PBL merits to students across Years 7-12. Keep up the great work everyone. We are proud of you!

Leeton High School values the importance of communication between home and school. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the school on 69532122. Stay in touch with events and information via the School Website http://www.leeton-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/ or our Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/LeetonHS . Take care everyone!

Mrs. Meagan Crelley Principal

~~ DEPUTY PRINCIPAL – TEACHIING & LEARNING REPORT~~

Subject selections for 2022 closed last week. The majority of students have made their choices and will now be part of the decisions made on what subjects will run in 2022. Approximately 20% of students from Years 8, 9 and 10 did not make any selections. It is important that this process continues through lockdown and we will attempt to contact any students throughout the week who are yet of complete their subject choices. As soon as the subjects running in 2022 are finalised, any student that needs to make changes to their subject choices will be contacted. This will be done via phone if lockdown continues.

I would like to thank the Year 10 students, their parents and staff for their involvement in the Academic Mentor Program this year. As a result, students and parents were better informed about the Higher School Certificate and the options available to them. We look forward to improving this program in the future and there will be an opportunity for students and parents to let us know what they thought was good about the program or more importantly what they fell was missing.

Mr D Bush Deputy principal, Teaching and Learning

Learning @home

Online learning expectations

It is expected that students who are learning online from home will visit their Google Classrooms and student email account when they first go online each day to check for announcements and assigned work. The Department of Education has guidelines for the amount of time students should devote to online learning. Students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 should aim for 3.5 hours per day. Student in Year 11 and 12 will follow their usual pattern of study, approximately 5.5 hours per day.

Zoom scheduling

Where a teacher has scheduled a class Zoom, it will only occur at times when the class would have been in that subject if they were at school. To help students and parents plan, teachers will schedule and announce Zooms for the coming week in Google Classroom before Monday morning.

Parent access to Google Classroom work

Parents and carers can request to be invited to their child's Google Classrooms. This means you will receive emailed Guardian summaries about upcoming assignments, missing work and general announcements. These FAQs help explain how the Guardian summaries work. If you would like to take up this option, please contact the school.

Online learning support available through Zoom

From Monday 30 August, students can access help with their online learning through a Zoom that will be open from 9am-3pm on school days. A link for the Zoom is posted in students’ Google Classrooms and the same link will be used each day. Students can join and leave the Zoom as needed throughout the day to get help with their learning. It will be staffed by our school learning support officers (SLSOs) and if they are unable to solve the problem it will be passed on to the class teacher.

Wellbeing Team

Our Wellbeing Team

Tracey Byrne Head Teacher Wellbeing Pat Hubatka Student Wellbeing teacher Joey Longford Special Program Coordinator Sandra Richardson Counsellor Jannette Dundon Student Support officer

YEAR 7- 9 PBL for Term 3 For Term 3 our students will be learning varies themes for PBL.

Gratitude – Week 8 Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. ... Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.

Benefits of GRATITUDE

In just 21 days…… ● You rewire your brain to start scanning the world for the positive, negating our natural negative bias. ● You become 3 times more likely to notice a positive; looking for things I HAVE, and not what I DON’T HAVE In 42 days…… ● are less likely to get sick ● have higher levels of energy ● feel happier ● Improved self-esteem ● are more focused ● are more optimistic ● have a better quality of sleep ● have lower levels of depression and anxiety

GRATITUDE IN PRACTICE The benefits of practicing gratitude are nearly endless. People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things they're thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems.

All you need is 15 minutes per day, at least once per week for at least two weeks. Studies suggest that writing in a gratitude journal three times per week might actually have a greater impact on our happiness than journaling every day. Best practices include: Keep a gratitude journal. At the beginning or end of each day, write down 3-5 things you are grateful for and why. At the end of each week, read through your journal to remind yourself of all the things you feel grateful for. Below is an example of a gratitude journal, please fill out the page and be honest it can’t hurt can it?

If you have a couple of minutes watch this quick clip on GRATITUDE PRACTICES. https://youtu.be/s58bLjPw16E

Walking in someone else shoes - Week 9 Empathy is important because it helps us understand how others are feeling so we can respond appropriately to the situation. Empathy means experiencing someone else's feelings, it requires an emotional component of really feeling what the other person is feeling.

Benefits of Empathy ● Kindness ● Understanding other points of view – Diversity! ● Promote thoughtfulness, kindness and compassion for others ● Active listening ● Recognise feelings and occasions when these have been felt through storytelling ● Inference – identifying characters feelings and reasons why they have felt this Every time you do something kind for someone else, your brain releases OXYTOCIN. Oxytocin leads to: ● increase self-esteem/confidence ● increase energy ● increase levels of happiness ● increase levels of positivity Have you ever winced when you saw someone getting hurt? That’s your mirror neurons. It’s pretty handy as it keeps us from hurting each other and allows us to understand how someone else is feeling. It is essential for EMPATHY.

Please watch the following short clip on Empathy and the Brain https://youtu.be/17ZXKdIzXUY

YEAR 10-12 PBL for Term 3 Scientific Study Techniques Week 8 Study smarter, not harder. When it comes to effective study there is research backed techniques that you can do to make sure you are making the most of your time, and to ensure that what you are doing actually works. Watch the following Youtube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p60rN9JEapg

FlashCards - Week 9 Flashcards are one of the old school, tried and true study techniques that is actually backed by scientific evidence. Flashcards work – if you make and use them properly. In this lesson you will learn how to do so.

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzCEJVtED0U Make your own, either using the template in your books, or downloading an app on your phones or computers. Or view and read the list of the 6 best flashcard apps below. https://www.educationalappstore.com/best-apps/6-best-flashcard-ap

COUNSELLOR INFORMATION

The Department of Education has given NSW school counsellors and psychologists access to a tele-counselling platform that protects confidentiality and allows for video calls where the student has access to the internet. If the student you are caring for could benefit from an appointment with our counsellor, Sandra Richardson, by the online platform or by phone call please contact the LHS office. Students can make a self-referral by following the link on their year coordinators page and the Well-being hub. Outside of school times and in an emergency the following are good points of contact

* Accessline 1800 800 944 is an advice and referral line that can be called by parents, carers and the young person themselves.

* Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or at https://kidshelpline.com.au/ (24/7) * Reachout at https://au.reachout.com/ * headspace on 1800 650 890 or https://eheadspace.org.au/ * Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24/7)

In case of an emergency, please call 000.

UAC UPDATE: UAC UPDATE: IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR YEAR 12 STUDENTS APPLYING TO UNI 2022: You can now claim financial hardship under the Educational Access Scheme (EAS) if your parent or guardian has received COVID-19 Disaster Payments for at least three months. This is in addition to the existing provisions for applicants whose parent or guardian has received JobKeeker or JobSeeker payments. We urge all eligible students to apply. Go to http://www.uac.edu.au for more information. ATAR RELEASE AND ROUND OFFERS: Because of the push back date for ATAR release, university offers through UAC will be made in January and February.

To minimise uncertainty, students have been encouraged to take advantage of early entry programs offered by universities. More information will be forthcoming from UAC regarding cut-off dates for preferences and offer round.

With Mrs Goring & Mrs Palmer

RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE LEARNERS

RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE LEARNERS

RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE LEARNERS

RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE LEARNERS

RESPECTFUL RESPONSIBLE LEARNERS