Dear Parents, Students and Families,
Congratulations on making it through the first three weeks of learning from home. We appreciate that this has been a challenging situation for everyone and we are all looking forward to life getting back to some kind of normal. What is most important now is staying at home when possible to ensure the safety of your family as well as the wider community.
We understand that learning from home has presented with lots of challenges for students and their families. I heard a great statement this week that said “We are all in the same storm but we are not all travelling in the same boat”. We understand that each family have their own unique set of circumstances and appreciate you supporting your child/ren in the best way you can.
We know that lots of you are concerned about your child’s academic progress but remember that you are a parent so we don’t expect you to worry about teaching and correcting school work. If you are supporting your child to complete their learning tasks whilst also providing them with love, routine and encouragement then you are doing everything you need to be doing. We completely understand that there will be times when the learning doesn’t go according to plan so in these times know that it is ok if not all of the tasks are completed.
During this time you are modelling to your children the important life skills of having resilience during tough times, regulating your emotions and having a growth mindset. You are also showing them how to adapt to challenging situations and cope throughout times of crisis. I’m sure there are a lot of different emotions that your whole family are feeling at different times throughout the day. Your children have learnt a lot about how it is ok to feel different emotions and be in different ‘zones’ but we can also use lots of strategies to help us ‘get back to green’. Discussing how you are feeling as a family and talking about strategies you can use to help you feel better is such a valuable lesson for your child to be learning. To view our Zone hand out please click here
Remember that social and emotional learning is just as important as academic progress.
Keeping it simple and going back to basics is so valuable for your child’s learning and development so if you want some digital free activities why not do some cooking or make an obstacle course in the backyard. Playing board games or card games could be lots of fun for the whole family. Encourage your kids to design some lego creations, make a scavenger hunt or build a cubby house.
Your child will be sent home with their Wellbeing Journal which they are encouraged to use whenever they need a strategy. It is also important that you are looking after your own health and wellbeing at this time so have a look at the following website for a range of links, resources and strategies for parents: https://parentline.com.au/parents-carers/issues/parent-wellbeing
Thank you for all of your communication with school, we will all get through this best if we work together. If you are concerned about the wellbeing of yourself or your child then please get in touch with me or your classroom teacher.
Kate McCallum
Leading Teacher for Engagement and Wellbeing
