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Term 2 starts at home

Belinda Leckie —

Term 2 starts on Wednesday, 15 April with Day 8 of the timetable. Getting yourselves into a school day routine is important for everyone's wellbeing.

Scheduled classes run between 10 am and 12.30 pm beginning on the half hour as shown on Edge. This means that students need to be prepared to attend a class Zoom meeting at 10.00, 10.30, 11.00, 11.30 and 12.00 by sitting at a table with their computer on and headphones in. Attendance will be taken for each of these classes.

In reality, however, students should be getting ready for classes at 9 am by opening google classroom.  They should then spend ten minutes focusing on each of the classes they have coming up. For each class, students should remind themselves

  • What we are doing at the moment
  • Why we are doing it
  • When any work is due
  • How I am sharing my work
  • How I am going with this - what I need help with. Note down any questions you have. If you don't get the chance to ask them in the Zoom class, send your teacher an email.

Students should have a short break and clear their heads by walking away from their computers before beginning their first class at 10 am. 

Zoom classes will follow different formats ... some may be short, some may be long. Students are expected to attend all Zoom classes. If required, additional Zoom classes may be scheduled between 1.30 and 2.30.

At the conclusion of their Zoom classes, students should make a rough study plan for the remainder of the day. Junior students should plan to study for at least six 20-minute sessions while NCEA students should study for at least six 30-minute sessions. To ensure success, most NCEA students will need to plan 8-10 sessions, depending on what work has been set.

Students should give themselves a one hour break once they have made a plan. Go for a walk, cook some lunch, do some backyard laps, practise a musical instrument ... something away from their computers.

Students should begin each study session with a quick overview. What am I doing? What do I need to know? What is my aim in this study session? Aims could include writing a paragraph, learning a list of words, completing a worksheet, explaining an opinion, teaching someone how to balance an equation or describing a sequence of events. Caregivers may need to help students creating and/ or fulfilling aims. The focus for the remainder of each session should then be on the student fulfilling the aim. They should spend the final few minutes noting down what's next for the work they have been doing - this will help with creating work plans in the future. 

At the end of each 20-minute or 30-minute session, students should have a 10-minute break - have a snack, play with a pet, fold some washing, go to the toilet. Remember that the study plan is only a plan and students may decide to continue with what they were doing in a previous session.

Please note, caregivers should not help students with assessments. Through assessments, teachers learn about what a student has yet to learn and if caregivers help them, the wrong person is being assessed. Students need to complete the work themselves.