ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC
SCHOOL
TAKAPUNA

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Dear Whanau and Parents

Welcome to the end of Term Three. It has certainly been a very long term for everyone, seeing us all home in our bubbles for nearly seven weeks. We understand the pressure this has put on our community. We hope to see a continued move down the alert levels over the coming weeks, so that we are able to welcome the children back to school next term.

Distance Learning Programme
Thank you for the feedback we have received on the Distance Learning Programme. It has been great to hear from students and parents, via the various platforms we communicate on, as to what students have enjoyed about the programme and where there could be possible future developments.

This feedback has been helpful for the leadership team and the teachers as we have continued to evolve the programme this term. As we are conscious that there is no ‘one-size fits all’ when it comes to online learning, we have designed the programme to provide access to a range of activities across the curriculum, along with flexibility in terms of what, when and how the children access their work.

Following several changes this term, our online learning programme now includes:

Daily school prayers, delivered online by Mr. Bridgman
Online sessions of ‘Read and Feed’
Weekly, live Zoom children’s chats for all year levels
These have evolved from being ‘pod’ to home group focused for our students in Years Three and above, while our Year Ones and Two’s meet in slightly larger groups
Bespoke Google learning sites for each year level that cover all aspects of the New Zealand curriculum that are updated weekly and are available 24/7
Weekly, email communications directly to students (Years 3 and above) outlining the programme of learning for the week
Individual communications and feedback from teachers to their Home Group students or parents (via email and through learning platforms such as Seesaw, depending on year levels)

We acknowledge that this has been a particularly hard and long lockdown for all our families. We have appreciated hearing from parents who have reached out for support. Our team are always happy to get directly in touch with you to provide individual support for your child. This is the case whether we are teaching in our physical classrooms or via the online portal, so we encourage you to reach out to your child’s Home Group teacher anytime we can help.

At this stage we are awaiting Cabinet’s decision as to what Alert Level we will be in after Tuesday 5 October. Hopefully we will be returning to school in Alert Level 2. Just prior to the start of Term 4, information will be sent out as to what Alert Level 2 will look like at school.

We will continue to review our Distance Learning Programme in order that it caters for all Alert Levels.

Thank you for all your support of your children’s learning through this time. May they and you be able to have a break over the coming fortnight.

PTFA Support
Before I close off my message, I also wanted to make a special mention of the PTFA who have continued to support our community during lockdown. The My Food Bag vouchers received by nominated families were well received, and the Funlympics and online family quiz nights organised over the past few weeks were a great way to bring our community together. Thank you to all those involved in organising these initiatives and for all that you do for our school.

The Principal’s Message will cover the following topics: