iServi News | 3 April 2020 | Term 1, Week 9
A Connected Community
As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, we keep the many people directly and indirectly impacted firmly in our thoughts and prayers. It is in difficult times like these, that we remain a strongly connected community where we look out to those around us to provide support and care.
We have had to be agile in our thinking and planning as a College to ensure the safety and wellness of our community. I would like to thank our families, students and staff for their incredible support of each other during these unprecedented times.
Bespoke Financial Support
I would like to again affirm that no parent or caregiver who wishes their child to receive a Catholic Education at Servite will be denied the opportunity to do so because of financial circumstances. I strongly encourage impacted families to contact the College to initiate financial support arrangements. Please rest assured that any arrangements made between families and the school will remain confidential.
Remote Learning
During this uncertain period, we continue to put our students at the very centre and remain committed to providing them with the best possible learning environment. This long held philosophy stood us in very good stead as we shifted our learning to being delivered remotely on Monday of this week.
We are strong believers that learning can happen anywhere and anytime – a belief that has been very much confirmed over the last week. It has been a real thrill to see students adapt so quickly to the remote learning environment, along with teachers working so hard to develop innovative and creative ways to enable high quality learning via our available technologies.
Our purpose-built remote learning timetable allows students direct access to teachers at scheduled times throughout the week. These sessions are balanced with Independent Learning time that enables students to further personalise their learning. We are encouraging rich collaboration between students as they work together to solve problems and to create new findings. We are also encouraging students to adopt regular routines and become mindful and self-regulated learners.
Wellbeing and Pastoral Care
We understand the isolation challenges that learning remotely can bring and so we have integrated Homeroom lessons into the start and end of each day. These experiences are proving invaluable for students to stay connected and enjoy each other’s company.
Our Heads of Community are leading formal Pastoral Care activities each week, including goal setting and reflections, to promote collegiality and connection.
As a leading provider of the Berry Street Educational Model in Western Australia, we will continue to rollout Berry Street Education teaching strategies across our learning and pastoral care delivery. The focus of the model is being ‘learning ready’ and giving students the necessary strategies for this to happen. These strategies include the ability to self-reflect and de-escalate heightened emotions and anxiety so that the working memory is maximised and the learning brain is activated. The model focuses on positive relationships between teachers and students and supports practical skill development through diverse activities from regular ‘brain breaks’ to mindfulness techniques.
Catholic Education Western Australia has provided extensive e-Wellbeing and e-Pastoral Care resources for students, families and staff, and the College will integrate key elements into our programs. We also look forward to launching our online faith development strategy which will support our students’ ongoing spiritual growth. It is important to remember to turn to Jesus in prayer to help sustain us during these anxious times.
As a staff we too strive to remain connected as we work remotely. In addition to the many different TEAMs meetings happening with other staff every day, we gather as we always do, albeit now online, to start the day with prayer. This brings all of us together as a community, no matter where we are physically located.
Remote Learning Feedback
As a learning organisation we seek feedback which allows us to grow and to improve the educational experience for everyone. With this in mind can I please ask families, students and staff to please provide their input here. We look forward to reviewing this information during the pupil free week scheduled for next week, with the intent to fine-tune our practices and protocols.
Remote Learning FAQ and Resources
A reminder to all of our parents and caregivers to please review our FAQ and remote learning resource bank for both parents and students, available here.
During these challenging times, we remain a connected community and encourage parents and caregivers to use the regular channels to communicate with the College about any learning, pastoral or wellbeing concerns for their child. This would include informing the College via the Absentee Line (by phone on 9208 0999 or SMS to 0477 700 714, or via email to absences@servite.wa.edu.au) if their child is unwell and unable to partake in remote learning activities on any given day.
Travel Restrictions
As families are aware, the Minister for Emergency Services has issued a prohibition on regional travel within Western Australia. These restrictions, while confronting for some of us, are vital to our State’s efforts to prevent community transmission of COVID-19 and protect regional and remote communities, including those that are most vulnerable.
Thank You
Can I again offer my heartfelt thanks to our community for their incredible support, particularly over the recent weeks. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with families to support the ongoing growth and care of our students in these dynamic times.
Mr Jeff Allen
Principal