PRIMARY COORDINATOR

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Week 7 of Term 3 and our third week of remote and flexible learning. This is an unprecedented time that none of us were fully ready for, and for the second time as well. So being unsure, confused, and frustrated are all valid feelings to have. You are not alone in thinking and feeling the way you do as there are others out there feeling the same and always remember, that we are in this together!

I want to reassure families that there will be good days with learning and with children’s behaviour at home, and the other days, will be challenging. This is when we as parents (and teachers) must guide our children and set clear and realistic expectations.

I would like to share some strategies that might be of help for the remainder of this term. I know that most of you might be already practising these at home but for others it is still not too late to make a start.

Establishing a Daily Routine: School provides a daily learning schedule that we encourage families to follow. Help your child structure their day by following this schedule. Follow the same routine as when they are attending school, by waking up on time, getting ready, having breakfast, and joining into their morning Zoom session.

Creating a Workstation: A space/location for learning should be a public/family space, not in a bedroom. Ideally your child should be using a desk or table and a chair. It should be a place that can be quiet and above all, it should be a space where you or another adult is present and monitoring your children's learning, at least during the Zoom sessions.

Getting Enough Sleep: Studies have shown that kids who regularly get an adequate amount of sleep have improved attention, behaviour, learning, memory, and overall mental and physical health. To achieve this, we need:

*Consistent Bedtimes: Routine, routine, routine! This is very important for children. Try to send them to bed at the same time every night; this helps their body to get into a routine.

*Set Up A Bedtime Routine that is calming, such as taking a warm bath or reading a book rather than using technology which they already have had a fair share of during the day.

I am pleased to say that whilst the majority of our students are regular with attending sessions and showing exemplary behaviour, we do at times have instances of students not following rules and investing enough time in their learning. Therefore, please go over the rules below with your child/children so that we can make the rest of the term an enjoyable and successful learning experience for all.

Rules to be discussed with your child:

Zoom meeting is a virtual classroom. Appropriate classroom behaviour is always expected.

• Please show up on time.
• Log into your meeting from a distraction free, quiet environment.
• Sit straight and still.
• Make sure the video is on so the teachers can see your happy face and it should stay on for the whole session. If you login with video turned off and then leave and not respond to your teacher, you will be marked absent.
• Please keep your audio on mute until you want to speak. This will help to limit background noise.

• If you would like to speak or answer a question, raise your hand. Then mute yourself after you have spoken.
• Have paper, a pen or pencil handy to take notes or do corrections.
• Eat your food before or after the session.

Thank you, parents, for doing an amazing job at home with your child’s learning. We greatly appreciate your efforts and I look forward to your continued support in the future.