iServi News | 20 March 2020 | Term 1, Week 7
Community
In difficult times, quality communities gather together to support one another. In the current uncertain global climate, we lean on each other for help, care and assistance. We are most fortunate to belong to a Servite organisation which has long held the charisms of Community and Service at its heart. Combined with a sense of Marian where we model Mary’s compassion and courage, as Servites we strive to always look outwards to the needs of others.
The current global pandemic places greater emphasis on our need to look out for other and to lend support. This may be in a practical sense but also through the provision of emotional or social support for others. These can be anxious times for many and so a simple word or action can alleviate much pain and suffering. Simply knowing that we are surrounded by people who care can provide much affirmation and emotional relief.
At Servite we aim to provide a sense of consistency in today’s dynamic climate. We understand some anxieties surfacing amongst our community and we continue to be available to actively provide support to our students, their families and fellow staff members.
Our core business of learning of course is still very much front and centre at Servite and provides an excellent focus for everyone in these uncertain times. We have been working for many years to create a robust learning environment which harnesses technology to enhance learning.
In adopting a Learning Anywhere, Anytime approach, we promote both synchronous and asynchronous learning supported through contemporary physical and digital learning spaces. Allowing students to access learning 24/7 supports improves personalisation for students and connects them to a rich array of resources at time of need. It helps students to self-regulate their own learning and to adopt strategies and techniques that best support the way that they learn.
Our digital environment gives students access to information and the ability to interact, create and publish with peers, experts or others in a variety of online spaces and media. Students learn the importance of being curators and consumers of digital content and also creators and communicators in the digital space.
We understand the importance of developing our students’ proficiency with technology. Our students use digital toolkits to communicate and work collaboratively, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
The College has therefore invested considerable energy into the development of our online learning platforms which have been used successfully to support our Vision for Learning. We are very confident that we are well positioned to continue to deliver quality education to our students, should the need arise for them to learn from home during regular school hours for any reason.
Our digital learning platforms allow us to be very agile in the way that we deliver our curriculum. We have designed a remote learning timetable that will allow students to confidently continue to learn through regular access to explicit teaching, rich resources and collaboration with their peers, wherever they might be located.
We are communicating strongly with our community to outline the proactive measures that we are undertaking to support the health and wellbeing of our students and staff and also to provide latest updates in the current dynamic climate.
All families are requested to please ensure they have provided the College with current family contact information.
As detailed in our SEQTA communications to all families, Catholic Education Western Australia is acting on advice from health authorities to provide schools with relevant information and updates on COVID-19 coronavirus, available here.
Mr Jeff Allen
Principal