Wentworth Falls Public School Newsletter

Wentworth Falls Public School 2 April 2020

Falls Road, Wentworth Falls NSW 2782 * Tel: 0247571604 * Fax: 0247573927 * Richard Giles Principal

Principal’s report 1

K/1P Learning at Home 2

Facebook Page 3

Inside this issue:

IMPORTANT DATES TERM 1, 2020 All events have been postponed April 9 Last day of Term 28 First day of Term 2

Proudly celebrating 133 years of continued excellence in Public Education

From the Principal..

Welcome to Week 10 and the final newsletter for Term 1. There will still be updates via our SkoolBag app for the remainder of Term 1 however as new information regarding school operations becomes available.

To start off this newsletter I would like to sincerely thank all of our staff for their amazing work in ensuring our students are receiving the best education possible, whether it is online or via work packs, possible during this time of remote learning. I would also like to congratulate and thank all of our families for their efforts in firstly adhering to our Premier’s requests regarding social isolation wherever possible but also for the amazing work they are doing at home teaching their children. It isn’t easy, especially if you have more than one child at home and are trying to complete your own work but it is deeply appreciated by all.

While all teachers have been vey busy our Stage 1 teachers have been upskilling all week to get Class Dojo up and going for their classes. This will make it a lot easier for teachers and students to communicate with each other and will make it easier for teaching to be done moving into Term 2. Work packs will still be available for those families who are unable to access the internet or for those families where paper work is easier to do in their particular setting.

In addition to the work packs / online learning being provided we have set up a remote learning page on our school website. On this page there are many resources available for parents and carers to use. Some are simply information pages and other are links to useful websites. These are not meant to be seen as additional work but rather as something different to look at if a bit of change is needed.

One particularly useful link is the “Brain Breaks” document. The message behind this is that breaks are needed regularly throughout the day for children and the adults at home. No one is expected to be sitting in front of a device or work pack for 4-6 hours during the day. Please look after you mental and physical wellbeing by scheduling regular breaks into the daily

routine.

With regard to devices, the school is currently working through a solution and do have a limited number of devices available for loan to families. As we don’t have enough to loan to everyone each request will be accessed as the school receives it. Please talk to your class teacher if you think a device will help your current home situation.

Printed work packs for the beginning of Term 2 will be available next week. We will let our community know via Skoolbag when this is and they will also be posted on our Remote Leanring page for those families who wish to print them our at home.

From this week we have had a percentage of our staff working from home. This means that what they have been currently doing they will continue to do from home to support student learning.

Once again I want to congratulate and thank our entire school community for everyone’s efforts towards meeting our Premier’s wishes regarding social isolation whilst at the same time ensuring our students’ education continues as well as it can be during the current situation we find ourselves in. There will undoubtedly be a few hurdles still to overcome during the coming weeks however I am confident we have the processes in place now to find ways around them.

Finally, I want to share a couple of points I have been telling parents I have been in contact with during this week:

please make sure your child is engaging in some form of school work each day (paper or online);

there is no expectation that children will be working in front of a device (or their work pack) for 6 hours every day. Work out a timetable that best suits your home (your teacher can help here) and take regular breaks;

many of your family’s routines can incorporate “school work” - find fun ways to do things together; and

Please don’t worry if everything isn’t done every day - your best effort each day is good enough!

Have a great final week of Term 1. Please have a safe and happy holiday. Mr Giles

Easter Eggs for Bodington

Wentworth Falls Public School 2

Positive ‘Home Learning’ Stories

Inside this week’s newsletter you will find pictures and stories of positive, fun home learning situations our families are experiencing that we will share which may then help other families get through the times ahead.

One particular sample is from K/1P. During their regular communication with Mrs Packer, the Wallace family shared their helpful tips for a success day which other families might find something useful to use:

setting up a routine is a tremendous help;

we are running different timetables however still have the same recess and lunch so we can exercise together;

fitness for 10 minutes every morning to kick start the day;

we do our maths and literacy in the morning;

online learning is used in the afternoon for revision (when the brain lag starts to set in) which also means I (Mum) can do some of my own work (housework and bookwork, etc);

outdoor learning has been a winner in our household - two times tables on the driveway;

displaying work on the display board each afternoon for Dad, sibling or video calling Grandies to see helps with motivation (our display board is an old cardboard box);

We have set up our own library from borrowed books a week ago with 3 “borrowings” a week allowed. Borrowed books have to be returned before borrowing new books, just like the school library.

We have had our moments and think this Dr Suess rearrangement sums it up well:

I will teach you in a room I will teach you now on zoom I will teach you in your house I will teach you with a mouse I will teach you here and there I will teach you because I care. So just do your very best. And do not worry about the rest.

Clancy and Lucy Wallace

K/1P Learning at Home

Wentworth Falls Public School 3

Facebook Page

Wentworth Falls Public School now has its very own Facebook page. It will go live early next week. Facebook is

an excellent opportunity for our school to connect with families and share information rapidly. The Facebook

page administrators will endeavour to keep the information on the page updated and accurate, so families

and the wider school community can remain informed and engaged with what is happening within the school.

Another benefit of the Facebook page will be to celebrate all of the wonderful things that happen at Went-

worth Falls Public School. Please like our page and read the ‘Rules of Engagement’ policy pinned to the top of

the page. The ‘Rules of Engagement’ outline the expectations associated with joining our community on Face-

book, the Department of Education Code of Conduct and Facebook’s Community Standards. There is a copy of

the policy a below and also available for download on our website.

Facebook - Rules of Engagement

In joining our community on Facebook, Wentworth Falls Public School follows the Department of Education Code of Conduct and Facebook’s Community Standards. Students Facebook Terms and Conditions state no one under the age of 13 years should have a Facebook profile. Therefore, any comments or page likes from primary students on the Wentworth Falls Public School page will be removed and, if warranted, users will be reported to Facebook. Tagging or naming student photos Photos of students can only be published if the correct Department of Education permission to publish forms have been completed by the student’s parent or guardian. The photo must be removed after one year of publishing unless further permission from the parent is sought. For privacy and protection, please do not tag photos of children, and please do not name them in your com-ments, unless the previously mentioned permission is sought. On rare occasions and with parental permis-sion, students may be named by the school Facebook administration team. Tagging of parents or friends within the comment box is permitted with the understanding that all other rules of engagement are fol-lowed. Comments Wentworth Falls Public School encourages interaction from participants with the understanding that the school does not endorse comments or wall postings made by visitors to the page. We ask that visitors mak-ing comments on the page show respect for other users by ensuring discussions remain civil. Personal attacks, trolling or spam will not be tolerated.