Dear Parents
In reflecting on the past few weeks’ one cannot avoid the fact that our students have been witnessing an economic implosion, global racism, rampant gender based violence on top of the uncertainties and anxieties of the pandemic and its daily impact on them. Certainly we have to be aware of our children’s frailties and fears and support them through this. And without doubt we have to support the call from our President to speak out about these issues and gender based violence in particular.
This all feels heavy as we immerse in the effort of delivering a challenging school year. We wanted to celebrate all that our students have accomplished and to acknowledge their successes in distance learning year. Yet they are certainly experiencing a complex mixture of feelings, as we all are. It was an still is, really hard for teachers not to be there in person to support all our students and families.
Without doubt, 2020 has been a “beast” so far. It’s natural that you as parents would feel unsettled. Things are different —travel is complicated, extended family gatherings present health and safety risks, and lock down restrictions sometimes leave us more confused than understood. There is great uncertainty about what lies ahead, and more. We as a school had to make decisions in an uncertain world as to how and when to reopen the school. Something so natural for all of us was an elusive topic because of changing circumstances, emerging health regulations, and many other unknowns. There were dozens of questions and we lacked straightforward and precise answers.
As we look to the future, we need to focus on positive strategies. The goal is to keep our school community focused, inspired, and action-oriented as we move towards the shortened mid-year break. A creative atmosphere also needs to be modelled for teachers so they will feel motivated to bring their creativity, resourcefulness, and resolve to our preparations and planning for the second half of the year.
I am circulating a follow up survey and would value your feedback on the current status of the online program and future possibilities. This will come through in a separate email.
I believe it’s essential to clearly state that we believe in having students in school as much as possible, and that we are therefore working toward the goal of functional campus. As communicators, it seems important to state it and plan for it. Our school has three intentions behind reopening school:
- being back together as a community,
- keeping students and staff safe, and
- optimising our learning environment to deliver our curriculum and refine and provide an online program that is equivalent to a classroom based approach for those unable to return.
I acknowledge that it’s difficult to accomplish all three intentions equally and at the same time. As one parent asked in a recent survey: “Can we balance safety with an appropriate educational experience without overtaxing our staff”? Indeed! And by clearly stating our goal and intentions, we keep everyone focused on what we’re aiming for and how we’re addressing all of the challenges through scenario planning.
Our school’s three scenario-planning has clear directions for the development of educational models, operational protocols, and school preparation plans. I’m also trying to paint a picture of the complex realities we’re facing. I ask you as parents to appreciate our acknowledgement that we don’t have all of the answers and that plans may change again. By stating the goal and intentions, we demonstrate the value of our education, put students at the center, and stay focused on our mission and values.
In mid-March, the unexpected and abrupt transition to distance learning was a heavy lift for our staff. Suddenly, and without warning, our teachers needed to be ready to reopen the school in an entirely different way. Think about it: For almost two months, distance learning has been one learning mode (online) with a built-in safety protocol in one location (home). Reopening school required our teachers to be even more inventive. It required more adaptability, more flexibility, and more scenario planning in order to deliver parallel streams of instruction.
Now, back at school, our teachers need to ensure that students adhere to all health protocols, and teach in class as well as in the distance learning format. Someone at my school said it’s like a sprint (lock down distance learning) leading directly to a marathon (June reopening). This is exhausting and takes an emotional toll on teachers and students alike. We must therefore do everything we can to provide tools to support self-care and help regulate the trauma of this pandemic.
With all of this top of mind, we are constantly discussing our workplace culture, staff wellness, and how to care for the team. We’re saying “thank you” in a variety of ways, setting aside time for individual conversations to ask how they’re doing, asking them to use their inventor’s mentality by joining our planning efforts.
Daily academic schedules organise people and time. As an organisational framework, schedules are an important anchor for staff, students, and families. When we reopened we could not replicate regular on-campus learning because of regulations for health, hygiene, physical distancing, and other protocols like limiting interactions among classroom groups as much as possible.
We prioritised schedule/timetable design because other decisions follow from it, and we needed an organisational framework to reopen school so that teachers could start teaching right away. We developed a design that used a “phased approach” for our reopening. However, Recognising that things can change, here’s where things stand today:
- For the Foundation Phase we have open for Grades R (and some RR), Grade 2 and Grade 3
- The Primary school is open for Grade 6 and Grade 7
- The High School is open for Grades 10,11 and 12.
- When we reopen on July 6 we will open for the reaming grades with Grades 4,5,8 and 9 returning on alternative days.
- There will be an option for families to elect 100% distance learning, based on specific family needs and we plan to refine a develop this further for 2021
Looking ahead . As the reopening of the school unfolds, we continue to need elements of distance learning for our students who are unable to attend classroom lessons in addition to the possibility of returning to distance learning full time in the event of another lock down.
It was refreshing when teachers willingly collaborated and shared hints and tips to improve their online teaching. We are exploring ways to improve the distance learning model without being required to create it and implement it at the same time. A number of key elements have emerged from this and will guide us going forward from here.
- Timetable with common anchor points: Common elements and anchor points to ensure routine, predictability, support, and school cohesion.
- Connections: Balance of synchronous and asynchronous instruction to build learning relationships, create high-touch interactions among teachers and peers, and optimise opportunities for independent work.
- Teacher-Guided: Balance of live and recorded instruction to meet the needs of a range of learners and assess their progress in the curriculum.
- Independence: Amplifying small-group and project work to deepen student motivation and engage students in building essential executive function skills.
- Individualised: Multiple avenues for teacher feedback, assessment, and individual teacher-student interactions so that students understand their progress toward meeting clear academic expectations.
- Rigorous: Delivering excellence in academics and emotional intelligence by a high-qualified and skilled staff so we maintain our high educational standards.
- Rally Points: Designing intentional and occasional “exciters” or rally points to break the monotony of screen time and energise student enthusiasm.
I hope that these strategies will continue to generate an inventor’s mentality at our school. It is also important to view them as a framework for creative scenario planning, effective communication, and informed decision-making about the new normal at school.
As always stay safe stay healthy and have a good weekend.
