St Andrew’s Anglican College ready for stage two of online teaching and learning
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Students at St Andrew’s Anglican College have jumped back into online learning, with a refined comprehensive online teaching and learning program and a strong focus on increased connection and support for students and parents
Students at St Andrew’s Anglican College have jumped back into online learning after the recent holidays, with a refined comprehensive online teaching and learning program.
After trialling online learning successfully in the last week of Term 1, the Peregian Springs based school transitioned to stage two, which has a strong focus on increased connection and support for students and parents.
Parents praised the College’s swift transition to online learning in the fast changing and unprecedented environment in a survey released at the conclusion of Term 1.
Supported by multiple online platforms including the College’s dedicated Online Teaching and Learning website, the week provided students and staff a great insight into how online learning could be sustained if needed over a longer period of time.
Feedback from parents has now been implemented to ensure students continue to learn in a connected environment and eases the pressure of parents working from home.
Students have transitioned well to the online environment, with Year 12 student Faith saying that she is proud of her whole school community and the way in which teachers, students and parents are collectively navigating their way through COVID-19’s challenges.
“From a technological standpoint, St Andrews has been ahead of the game the entire way,” Faith said.
“The flexibility and agency in online learning has challenged me at times and has been an incredible opportunity in others.
“The camaraderie, support and uniting of my community have been so evident in a tangible, raw way.”
College Principal Chris Ivey said his staff were committed to providing as much normalcy as possible for students and families who are facing challenging times.
“The health and wellbeing of our students remains a top priority for St Andrew’s, even in this online teaching and learning environment,” Mr Ivey said.
“We take great pride in being a relational school that encourages and nurtures connections between students, teachers and parents, and will continue to strive for this in the online space.”
Faith said that she has appreciated the one-to-one pedagogical and emotional support of St Andrew’s staff.
“The pastoral care for students, parents and staff alike is unprecedented, both in the formal vehicle of support expected from the school, but also in a manner that demonstrates a genuine and personal level of interest in each student,” she said.
Stage two of online teaching and learning at St Andrew’s focuses on three main areas:
- an increase in teacher and student interaction online
- a greater focus on our pastoral care
- opportunities for live discussions with teachers and fellow students.
For Primary students, this means an increase in live contact with teachers and classmates to four times per day. Teachers will teach an explicit numeracy and an explicit literacy lesson each day from Monday to Thursday, combined with activities for students to complete offline in an effort to create less screen time.
Specialist lessons including art, music languages and physical education will also be taught.
Additionally, every Friday, each classroom teacher will contact every child in their class for a ‘check in’ to see how they have been going in the week and to answer any of questions.
In Secondary school, teachers will commence all lessons with a live check-in and be available for students in a live capacity for the entirety of each lesson. Half of all lessons will also include a 20-minute teaching session for the delivery of new content.
In a move to ensure the overall wellbeing of all secondary students members of the Teaching and Learning Team, Deans of Students and Heads of Faculty will be checking in with students and parents at random about the level of student engagement in their subjects, as well as 20-minute individual catch ups with mentor teachers on a Friday.
Additional opportunities both academically and in the co-curricular space have also been planned and will launch this week.
In a move to ensure the overall wellbeing of all secondary students members of the Teaching and Learning Team, Deans of Students and Heads of Faculty will be checking in with students and parents at random about the level of student engagement in their subjects, as well as 20-minute individual catch ups with mentor teachers on a Friday
“Student involvement in co-curricular opportunities is a big part of what makes St Andrew’s so great,” Mr Ivey said.
“So, I’m pleased that we will be offering a range of exciting co-curricular opportunities online this term that I’d encourage all students to get involved in.”
The first of these opportunities includes an open microphone session using ‘flipgrid’ and a stay-at-home art recreation challenge.
Bands across the music department will also be meeting weekly for online rehearsals.
As per the direction from government, St Andrew’s will remain open for children of essential workers.
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