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Marsden High School

Marsden High School

Telephone02 9874 6544

Emailmarsden-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Principal update March 30 2020

Principal Update March 30 2020

Principal Update March 30 2020

Dear parents and carers,

I am writing to thank you for your support and patience in the establishment of the 'learning from home' platform and to update you on operational changes. 

Flexible working arrangements: today Marsden High School initiated flexible working arrangements for our staff who are now rotating between working on-site and at home throughout the week. This is off course with the exception of those who have been identified as 'at risk' such as those staff with respiratory and immune conditions. There will always be adequate, trained staff, Executive and Senior Executive on site to effectively supervise students of essential workers, as they work on material provided through Google classroom. Staff working from home will continue to support their students online between 9.00 am and 3.00 pm.

Feedback: communication at this time of transition is important and feedback is crucial for students to grasp content and improve their skill base. Presently teachers are receiving an increased volume of communications from students throughout any given day via our Google platform. They will certainly feedback to students as soon as they can, though are themselves adjusting to a new approach of educational delivery without the support those working in distance education settings receive. 

Senior students: In developing our on site working matrix, we have also catered for senior students who would like to come to school to work on major projects or individual performances. Teachers of the relevant courses have been contacting parents and students to discuss how they may be best supported. I look forward to being able to provide further information and context about HSC Major Works/ performances. The NESA Board meets again this Wednesday.

Learning/ support and EAL/D provision: We have made arrangements for our students with diagnosed learning difficulties and those who work within individualised learning approaches. Our Student Learning Support Officer's (SLSO's) are assisting students with their learning and teachers with their resource adjustment between 9.00 am and 3.00 pm. Teachers have included them into their classrooms. We are continuing to operate our MacLit program remotely as well as many of our regular learning and wellbeing programs albeit in slightly different formats. Additionally we are supporting our students for whom English is a second language with our ESL teachers accessing Google classrooms of the students they support and adjusting the work to assist their learning. 

Attendance: Last Monday the Premier requested parents to keep their children at home, unless they work in essential services. If your child is sick please let us know by either ringing through to the front office or emailing the school directly so we can mark them down as such. We are focussing upon work completion and therefore not marking every lesson of every day. It is more important for students to complete tasks. When students have not completed course work or tasks over a period of time, usually two days, teachers will be ringing home to check up on what assistance is required.

Assessment guidelines update: given we are well into the assessing and reporting period of Semester 1, we have made changes to our usual processes to take into account the quick adjustment into 'learning from home'. Please refer to the link below which outlines our adapted approach.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h91CzfyBJQSaBYST0bFFZ-mRYYniRScA/view?usp=sharing

 

Survey on the first week of 'learning from home': please access the link below to feedback to us on how you have found this first week as far as teaching and learning of your child/ren. 

https://forms.gle/rMzYGxnSCDgAENxH7

Parent request for support: we distributed the link below late last week for parents to use as a way of logging support for your child in assessments, learning, wellbeing etc. We are finding this an effective way to get back to you quickly with resolutions to queries.

https://forms.gle/PwpXWdn9tZpPrHVs7

I would again like to take this opportunity to thank you for working with us through such challenging times and we look forward to supporting you amidst a very different educational environment. We will continue to update you as school operations continue to adjust.

 

Best wishes,

 

Lance Berry

Principal