What a different and unusual start it has been to Term 2 for Year 8 and the whole school community. I would like to congratulate the students in Year 8 for the amazing way they have embraced online learning and the challenges that this has faced for them. Year 8 came to school for the first time last Tuesday. It was so great to see them all again. Students settled straight back into the school learning environment and appreciated catching up with their friends and their teachers. 

 

Open lines of communication with teachers by students has been vital during the period of online learning. This is also a practice students should continue when they are back at school for face to face teaching. Asking teachers questions when you don’t understand something, seeking clarification on work you are completing and ensuring that students stay up to date with all work assigned is vital in ensuring that students are improving with their learning and participating in a growth mindset. 

 

It has been great to see the level of work that students have been submitting to their teachers during online learning. I was especially impressed with the Indonesian classes recent assessment tasks.

 

YEAR 8 INDONESIAN

Year 8 Indonesian have been working on a task based on how Indonesians are handling isolation, putting together videos in the style of Indonesian social media culture and using language to show the activities they've been doing while stuck at home. #dirumahaja is the Indo hashtag which means #stayhome. 

Click here or on the image below to view the fabulous videos created by Year 8 Indonesian.

It has been important to continue to participate in activities together as a year group during our LONG PALS time. Students were asked to complete a number of different activities including meditation, physical activities and brain training tasks.

One activity that really showed compassion and the idea of living out our Year Group motto ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me and loved me as yourself’, was when students wrote letters to residents in our local aged care facilities. These letters I know will touch the heart of these members of the community who have been isolated from the world during this time.

Students were also asked to reflect on their Year Group motto by nominating their peers for our Year Group Award. The ARK Award (Acts of Random Kindness) is given to students who show the true meaning of our year group motto by going out of their way to help others. Students who receive this award are normally nominated by their teachers and other staff members. I asked students this time to nominate someone in the year Group who had helped them in online learning. Below are some of the responses from students on why they nominated their peers. This award will be given out at our next Year Group meeting.

Students have also submitted entries for our at home learning ‘Talent Time Showcase’. Mrs Castles and I are currently putting these entries together for students to view. They will be released in the next couple of weeks. Make sure you look to our school facebook page to view these entries. I look forward to seeing Year 8 at school as the term unfolds. I encourage students to use the skills they have learnt during online learning and apply these to their classroom learning. 

'I was a stranger and you welcomed me and loved me as yourself'

Mrs Sophie Daley

Year 8 Coordinator