KORERO FROM FRASER
Welcome to Week 3 of Term 4, everyone. I hope everyone is keeping OK out there during Level 3 lockdown.
Positive news yesterday with some easing of restrictions and we are hoping to have more students back for face to face learning before too long. At this stage it looks unlikely that this will be before Week 5 (November 15).
Over the coming week we will be developing some tentative plans for welcoming students back in some capacity, even though we cannot be sure of this happening. However if we have some options drafted ahead of an announcement it means we should be able to put them in place quickly. With the easing of restrictions at Level 3, I understand that more people will be required to go back to face to face work and workplaces so we will continue to host students in our current bubbles until we know what is happening.
A significant part of being prepared to return to school is carrying out the collection of vaccination information for staff and anyone who may be on site and have contact with students. The Health Order states that from November 15 staff, contractors and any volunteers who come into contact with students must have received their first vaccination. As I am sure you can appreciate, this is quite a significant task so this is keeping us busy in the background.
At the end of last week we collected some information regarding student engagement at home with their learning. The graph below reflects a much lower level of engagement than we would hope for so I do want to ask again if you can reflect on the routines and follow-up you have in place in your house to ensure students are engaged and completing the learning tasks set. I totally understand that many of you are trying your best and in some instances there are complications or challenges that make engagement difficult. It is important with the extended nature of our lockdown however that we continue to try.
The graph shows student engagement. To be engaged, students have to have been present and participating in their Google Meet sessions and completed submissions of learning tasks each week.
To assist with your routines I want to remind you of the schedule that staff are following wherever possible (some have their own challenges at home that means they have to be flexible):
Google Meets should happen each week for 30 minutes at the following times:
Monday: Advisory online from 8.45-9.15am
Monday: Block 2 (Module line 2) from 11.30am-12pm
Monday: Block 3 (Module line 3) from 1.45-2.15pm
Tuesday: Block 3 (Module line 1) from 1.45-2.15pm
Friday: Advisory online from 1.45-2.15pm
Teachers have also been asked to offer another 'optional' Google Meet session each week which can be through a student choice drop-in or similarly could be by staff invite when they want to see specific students in a smaller group. The times for these sessions will vary. Year 9 and 10 students also have Flight Time meets to attend.
Visible checklists for Meet sessions and due dates of submissions are super helpful for you to support learning but also great for creating a sense of achievement for our young people. There is nothing like crossing something off your list for the week right?!
Advisors are doing their best to make weekly phone calls for those students who have a pattern of non-engagement across multiple modules so when they call, have a chat with them about the challenges. It might also be a good opportunity to get more information in regard to what hasn’t been attended or completed. The fortnightly ‘Effort and Attitude’ scores are also a great way to get a picture of engagement at a glance. Anything less than a 3 means something hasn’t been done or attended in that module or Flight Time.
If there is an issue in your household with internet connection or device availability, please let your child’s advisor know this. I would ask that you consider them coming along to a bubble at school where we can provide a device. Below is another sign-up form for L3 attendance at school for next week.