Head of Junior School

Head of Junior School

JUNIOR SCHOOL UPCOMING EVENTS

 

Remote Learning

It has been fantastic to continue to see and be part of some of the synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences this week and as both Mr Webber and I said to the students in our Zoom assemblies this week, we could not be prouder of what they continue to achieve and how they are growing in every sense. I also continue to recognise the efforts of our staff and our families at home who are supporting the children in this important time in our partnership.

The lockdown didn’t stop Yr 3 go on a virtual excursion to Taronga Zoo which was planned for this term and our Home Fit program is well underway with some our student leaders prerecording fitness videos for our Junior School students to keep them active and connected. Look out for the return to some Saturday morning live workouts again!

Our teachers, Dean of Students and counsellors continue to do regular check-ins with the students as we place our emphasis on student wellbeing alongside learning. If you or your child needs any particular aspects of support or assistance, please contact our Dean of Students, Mrs Clinton, and either she or one of our counsellors will connect with you directly.

Uniform Shop

Open Saturday 31 July, 10am-3pm for Click & Collect only

 

Weekly Booking for On-Campus Learning for Children of Essential Workers

Thank you for continuing to understand the importance of minimising the numbers of students and staff on campus as we follow the government guidelines of reducing mobility across Greater Sydney during this period of lockdown. We continue to make provisions to support students of essential workers only who have the opportunity to be supervised on campus for remote learning. With our class teachers working from home themselves, these students follow the same learning that students at home will do remotely and be supervised in the Arnold Library.

Parents who are essential workers can make a booking request for next week (26-30 July) by completing this online form. Booking requests close at 8pm tomorrow (Friday) to allow us sufficient time to organise staffing and a separate request form is required for each child.  

N.B. Any student who presents at school with even the mildest symptoms of COVID- 19 will be sent home and not permitted to return before a negative COVID-19 test result and are symptom free.

Junior School Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Ably supported by other Yr 6 leaders, our School Captains, Caroline and Alex, have organised a fantastic virtual Scavenger Hunt for all Junior School students tomorrow morning after roll call which promises to be great fun so be pre-warned that your children may be frantically running around collecting things at this time! 

Redlands Cyber Hub

Even more relevant in the current climate, parents are reminded of our Redlands

Cyber Safety Hub specifically for our community, which contains current, research-based information and assistance for our families and staff.

This was shared with all families last term after a parent presentation led by Yasmin London from ySafe and I encourage every family to take the time to explore or revisit this valuable resource to support you and your child, which includes a range of relevant topics such as:

  • Cyber safety guides
  • Managing screen time
  • Creating a safe home
  • Gaming
  • Setting up parental controls
  • App and Game reviews

I draw your attention to a particular app that a couple of parents have asked teachers about called Discord which is listed as 17+ as a rating. Clearly, this simply should not be accessed by any Junior School student and parents should ensure that this is the case as our Cyber Safety Hub reaffirms.

We know that this is an ever-evolving landscape and look forward to continuing this important partnership with ySafe to support our students and wider community navigate the way through this important aspect of our current and future lives and most importantly, help to equip our students with the tools and information to keep themselves safe in an online environment.

Pandemic Fatigue

Earlier this week, one of our Junior School Counsellors, Mr Alessandro Digiacomo, joined the University of Sydney’s live panel discussion on the topic, “Pandemic fatigue: young people and mental health”. Whilst the focus was more on older students, I share some of his notes for Junior School families too as aspects may be of both interest and support.

Pandemic Fatigue: Young People and Mental Health (University of Sydney)

  • This period of time is impacting social connections
  • Young people are encouraged to follow a routine, get fresh air, make sure they do something they enjoy every day, try to find alternate ways of engaging in social interaction, and reach out to people.
  • Evidence has been reviewed and four key findings in Australia were:
    • a deterioration in mental health
    • self-harm has increased in young people
    • the service system is stretched
    • social connection really matters 
  • Young people are faring much worse than most people because of this disruption occurring  during a formative part of their lives.
  • Parents are struggling with the fact that they or their children may not be vaccinated by the time they have to go back to work or send their children back to school.
  • Technology is a divider but also a helper as a strategy for helping people to stay connected.
  • Zoom fatigue is real; shared experiences are important: watching movies together virtually, playing games online with people you know and using “old fashioned connections” through mail or email is encouraged.
  • Games and active involvement in the use of online digital platforms did not have a negative impact on mental health and for some they can in fact mitigate the negative experience of mental health impacts.

Mr Ari Guha
Head of Junior School 
aguha@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022