Dear Parents/Carers,

As we enter a new and uncertain reality I wish to express my deep gratitude for the ongoing support of every member of our community. Our staff have been working very hard to establish a consistent platform to continue the learning for our students in all grades.

We are currently working on landing page that will house all resources for online learning. This page will be linked to our school webpage for ease of access. We hope to have this page active by the end of the week. The landing page will include an overview of daily learning experiences for each grade, as well as access to resources that would further support parents in establishing a home environment that is conducive to learning. 

Today we are emailing via Compass a matrix of learning for each grade from Kindergarten to Year 6. These documents provide additional opportunities to review and revise content that is currently been covered by the students attending school. All parents will receive by the end of the week student login details to access Google classroom.

Our management plan during this time recognises that the best place for learning for all Mary Immaculate students is always the school environment. Our goal is not to try to re-create face-to-face classrooms, as this is impossible to do within the current circumstances.

I want to pay tribute to all our staff who are currently juggling the demands of attending to the needs of the students who are at school and attempting to support parents to continue learning at home, as well as planning for the future that still remains unclear. Currently the focus of the work provided to parents is the revision of concepts covered, but the longer term plan as we move into Term 2 will be to move to the release of daily remote learning including the introduction of new content, within the online environment. This release must be gradual as students, parents and staff need to build their skill levels and confidence in accessing and using this new platform for learning.

I want to thank parents in advance for your patience. It is essential to establish consistent platforms and consistency across the school and we very much acknowledge the need to work together with our parents to make this new reality a positive experience for our students.

As communicated yesterday, it is essential that all parents ensure their contact details including email addresses are current as Compass is the only endorsed form of communication by the school. If you have any issues with accessing remote learning please contact the school so we can try to make adjustments for your family’s circumstances. Our aim is support the continuation of learning.

We are so grateful for your ongoing prayers and although we might not be together in the same place we remain united for the benefit of the most important people in our community ~ our students.

Here is a timely quote from a colleague in New Zealand that helps to provide some perspective given our new current reality.

"...at the end of all of this, your child's mental health will be more important than their academic skills. And how they felt during this time will stay with them long after the memory of what they did during those weeks is long gone.”

With prayers and gratitude