今日吃瓜

“Prayer is the breath of faith. It is like a cry that comes forth from the heart of the believer and is entrusted to God.” Pope Francis

 

As with all things during this time, our Ministry content has moved online. We have had several great initiatives that have sought to make Jesus Christ known and loved by our staff, students and families. All resources that have been created can be accessed via our College Website. Initiatives include:

Transforming Mission Web Series
This series invites reflections on relevant themes linked to the Marist Story and sets students challenges to help them through the week.

Student-Led Prayer
This occurs every Friday morning at 8.20am in the Chapel. Our Faith and Liturgy Captains, Georgia Whitely and Tegan Connelly, lead us through their own reflection and invite students to join them. Please encourage your child to attend either online or in the Chapel.

Anzac Day Liturgy
Last week we commemorated Anzac Day as a PK-12 community.聽聽This saw the coming together of our students to remember the brave men and women who served and continue to serve our Nation. We are grateful to聽Jim Truscott who shared his reflection with the students about the day.

Mothers Day Liturgy
Our Mothers Day Liturgy was another opportunity for our PK-12 community to gather and give thanks to our mums who do so much for us.聽聽The selflessness of mothers sits hand in hand with Christ鈥檚 example to serve others.聽聽We pray in gratitude this coming Sunday for all our mums.

Gamechangers / Remar

Our Youth Ministry program Remar and Gamechangers has launched again with Y11 and Y12 Remar students meeting online for the first time on Tuesday and our Y10鈥檚 beginning in Week 3. A great way for the students to restart their connections with each other and contemplate the other.

St Vincent De Paul – Emergency Assistance Program

St Vincent de Paul is running an emergency assistance program with drive and drop off hubs across Perth.

今日吃瓜 is proud to assist Vinnies with this worthwhile act of almsgiving as we all know that those in need were some of the hardest hit during this time of crisis. We also understand that there are families in our own community that have been doing it tough and so we only encourage you to donate if you can.

The collection will run just for Week 3 and items will be donated shortly after.

How to Donate:

• Marian and Lavalla Campuses – Students to give items to their classroom teacher.
• Marcellin Campus – Students to bring items to the Chapel

What to Donate:

Marian	Lavalla	Marcellin
Black Tea Bags (50 bags) Individual fruit packs – sultanas (6 pack) Unsalted mix nuts (375g) Milo (200g)	Tinned tuna (425g) Pasta, any variety (500g) Jam (480g) Pasta sauce jar (690g) 5 pack Noodles Mini biscuits – multi pack of 8 (250g) White rice (1kg)	Long life milk 1L Fruit Juice 1L Tinned Soup/ Bean Mix (400g) Olive Oil (500ml) Plain wholegrain cereal – Weetbix Muesli bars (250g box) White rice (1kg)

 

There has never been a time when there has been so much disruption, upheaval and dislocation in our lives. The impact of this pandemic on the social, economic and cultural fabric of our community has been alarming and unsettling. For our College the response from our students, families and staff has been marked by perseverance, patience and determination. These qualities have been underpinned by the collective aspiration to be in this together, which is definitive of our Marist family spirit.

I have witnessed so much goodwill and support across all facets of our College. Each day, our members of staff have been incredible in their efforts to develop a remote learning plan; to deliver high quality learning and teaching for each of the students in our care. The role of the teacher remains the critical element in ensuring successful learning by students. Clarity of communication and regular, specific feedback to students in offsite learning arrangements is essential.

Our goal is clear: To maintain and grow the engagement, progress and achievement of every student.

Students

Our students, in their active response and feedback, have been both constructive and affirming.

This crisis has been enormously difficult for our Year 12 students. Their final year is one of legacy and the traditional rite of passage that, to this point, has been compromised. They have however remained committed and actively engaged in their learning. Moreover, they as a cohort have come together and demonstrated maturity beyond their years.

Vice Principal, Lisa Fogliani, and I spoke to College Captain, Anastasia Berti last week and her feedback to her teachers, individually and in the collective from her peers, was one of admiration and affection. She misses being at school and the relationships that come with being here鈥�with her teachers and her friends.

Families

For our families we recognise the enormous shift in paradigm to accommodate learning from home. Your collaboration and mutual support have imbued our staff with a confidence and determination to provide the very best in quality Catholic education. It is challenging and we are all learning the best mode of delivery specific to age, campus and year group.

Feedback

We have received significant feedback from students and families, notwithstanding some of the challenges remote learning has presented to us. It is these learnings that have been critical in our professional learning days this week and so I thank everyone for their input.

Community

One could consider that our sense of self is being challenged more than ever in light of the social isolation which is being enforced upon us at this time. We are used to being able to reach out to others more easily than what we can now and people are realising the importance that community has on our own wellbeing.

At 今日吃瓜, we exist to support the Catholic Church鈥檚 evangelising mission to make Jesus known and loved and to ensure quality education in the Marist tradition.

It also draws us to the heart of Catholic education, which is Jesus centred and student focused. This imperative has never been so important than it is today. As we draw towards Easter, I ask all families to ponder on the Christian story and the message of hope and new beginnings.

Over this holiday period I hope all families are able to re-set and draw from the experience of being together as one family. We will learn, discover and come to appreciate the power that love and hope can bring.

Remote Teaching and Learning Plan Term 2 Weeks 1-4

The latest version of our Remote Teaching and Learning Plan that will support teachers, students and families for the commencement of Term 2 will be shared with families after Easter. The College Senior Leadership Team and teachers have been remarkable in their capacity to adjust quickly to teaching remotely. This professional learning week has given teachers the opportunity to test, interact and engage with a suite of tools and materials to understand how remote learning might look into Term 2. Thank you to those who participated in surveys; this feedback has informed our next steps and aspires to improve the learning experience for our students and teachers.

Our intention has always been to place students at the centre of our planning. We recognise the challenges shared by many families during this time. Our vision for our plan is to;

1. Promote faith formation and wellbeing activities and experiences for students and their families.
2. Prioritise student connection and sense of belonging to the College community and our Marist family.
3. Establish sustainable routines for teachers, parents and students.
4. Ensure the continuation of curriculum delivery by designing integrated, authentic learning experiences and offering timely, formative feedback to students.

To support student engagement on the Marcellin Campus, a Remote Learning Assessment Policy has been developed. This is especially important for students in Years 10-12 as they prepare for post schooling pathways and will be shared together with the Remote Teaching and Learning Plan.

Staff Professional Learning

I extend my sincere gratitude to all staff for the way they engaged wholeheartedly in a suite of activities, collaborative planning and resource development this week. This time has been critical in how teachers are placed to deliver remote learning in Term 2. Our College’s Vision for Learning, Shine through Discovery has shaped how our teachers and education assistants have come together to accept the challenges before them, collaborate and create meaningful learning experiences for students.

Staff Wellbeing 鈥�鈥�

During these complex and uncertain times, it is important to acknowledge that teachers are supporting and managing their own family arrangements as well as preparing lessons, being present for students and marking and providing feedback to students. All our teachers are now working from home to adhere to social distancing protocols. I thank you in advance for your understanding as teachers seek to establish good learning routines with their students and in some cases, for their own families and households. Teachers can be best contacted by parents via email and as per College communication protocols. We ask that a 48 hour reply window is respected.

School Holiday Parent Communication

Parents can expect communication from the College over the holidays which will serve to inform families and students for the commencement of Term 2 on Tuesday 28 April. Leaders of Wellbeing will communicate with families and students by Friday 24 April to ensure the students are ready for classes. Thank you for your patience and support as we continue to work towards a seamless return to remote learning for all staff, students and families.

Student Supervision Term 2

We are committed to adhering to social distancing guidelines and as such it is our preference, at this point, that families prepare to keep their children at home. A form will be circulated on Wednesday 22 April to help prepare adequate supervision for children of essential service employees who require it.

College Website – COVID Updates 鈥�

The College website houses many resources to support families and students during this uncertain time. Leaders of Wellbeing across the College are also available to support students who may find remote learning difficult, are feeling isolated from their peers or are anxious about their return to the College. Please reach out to your child鈥檚 relevant Leader of Wellbeing for additional support during this unprecedented time.

Childsafe Framework

To support positive and appropriate engagement on remote learning platforms, the following expectations have been shared with staff, parents and students:

1. Communication must be on school agreed platforms, take place at appropriate times and be limited to interactions only related to student learning.
2. The Code of Conduct and Child Safe Framework applies for communication between all members of our community. Students and teachers can communicate via Direqt message, where formal and professional communication standards still apply. Teachers are not permitted to use unofficial platforms, such as Skype, to communicate with individual students or parents. This includes one-on-one telephone conversations with students.
3. Online conferencing will be for groups not individuals. Online conferencing will be recorded for reference.
4. As per the Code of Conduct, staff must report behaviour that is not in keeping within the Code to Vice Principal, Lisa Fogliani.
5. 今日吃瓜 recommends parents actively supervise all children, especially primary aged students whilst working online and establish boundaries to ensure responsible digital citizenship.
6. Students must present themselves in communal family spaces and in a dress code appropriate to a classroom setting.