Congratulations to all our staff and students who have been managing so well with our remote learning programmes. As I am writing this, I am aware that our Covid Levels may or may not change but it is important to remember some key messages. Teachers will continue to be teaching content and keeping assessment deadlines where appropriate. Routine and structure are good for our health but we will adapt our programme accordingly. There can be several ways to assess what a student knows or can do and we may look at alternative ways to gather evidence if internal assessment has been disrupted.

It is really important for our NCEA students to regularly attend Zooms which the teacher has indicated as compulsory. Collecting or witnessing evidence against their achievement standard assessment can sometimes be flexible because in some subjects, the teacher might see or hear digital evidence using a Zoom lesson or a piece of work done in real-time on Google Classroom. Please make sure you are making the most of all these opportunities. It is essential that all students maintain a timetable that allows them to continue work for internal assessments; attend Zooms; but also take time out away from the screen. The pastoral team or the Heads of Departments are here to help if you feel overwhelmed with your workload and you would like to talk about strategies to progress in your learning. As Mrs. Davidson has indicated, there will be some alterations to the calendar of events in the coming months to work with the change in external examination dates. This is still a work in progress and the Senior Leadership Team continues to work with the Curriculum Leaders or Hods to ensure a smooth path continues to achievement in 2021. For now, our students should focus on their current internal assessments that are underway and follow the advice of their subject teachers.