The Vine Issue No 13 - 30 August 2021

Message from the Principal

Mrs Felicity Grima - Principal

Dear Families

Today has been another day in the life of the College. Hundreds of learning packs have been prepared and distributed to families across the Primary School. Our Year 12 students have completed their Trial Examinations online – a new format established in a very short amount of time. Work in these areas has taken place at the same time our staff have prepared and taught rich and engaging lessons for our students. Our staff are going above and beyond to care and support students during ‘Off-Campus Learning’ and I sincerely appreciate the incredible work they are doing at the moment.

NSW Government Announcements - Friday 27 August 2021
The NSW Government has announced many plans for schools at their daily media conference. At this point in time, these plans are quite broad and will require changes to Public Health Orders, as well as significant detail to be worked out by governing bodies such as the Department of Education and the NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA).

The plans announced today include:

Staggered return to face-to-face learning from 25 October

From 25 October – Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 12
From 1 November – Year 2, Year 6 and Year 11
From 8 November – all other year group

HSC Exams will be delayed until 9 November with a revised timetable and guidelines to be released in September.
Vaccinations for all school staff will be mandatory from 8 November.
Vaccinations are now available for students aged 16 years and above. It is likely that students aged 12 to 15 years will also be given priority to be vaccinated. Schools have not yet been provided with any information on this process.

There was no statement regarding the return of students in Pre-K but it is likely that they will return from 25 October.

As always, we will provide families with specific information as soon as it is received by the College.

Attendance at the College
There are increasing pressures to reduce supervision further at schools during the pandemic and we are reminding families that they must keep their children – across the Primary and Secondary school – home unless they need to be at school.

This is particularly important for families who reside in one of the 8 LGAs or one of the hard lockdown suburbs of Caddens, Claremont Meadows, Colyton, Erskine Park, Kemps Creek, Kingswood, Mount Vernon, North St Marys, Orchard Hills, Oxley Park, St Clair, and St Marys.

The College remains open but only for students who need to attend because parents are working outside the home. Students who attend the College will be supervised by staff to complete the Off- Campus Learning Activities.

Please be aware that we have been asked to continue to keep staff on-site to a minimum. It is likely that students will not be supervised by their normal year group teachers.

Information for Students attending the Campus
Students should not attend school if unwell, even with mild symptoms of COVID-19. Any person with any COVID-19 symptoms will be sent home immediately and should not return to school until they have received a negative test result and are symptom-free. In circumstances where children have other medical reasons for recurrent symptoms, a letter from your Doctor is required.

Uniform
Students are permitted to wear their Summer, Winter or Sports Uniform on the days they attend the College and are encouraged not to mix and match items from all their different uniforms.

Support for Students and Families
We recognise that the continued lockdown is becoming increasingly difficult for students and their families. Please do not hesitate to contact the College if we can be of assistance. The important contact details for staff can be found at the end of the ‘Off-Campus Learning Guide 2021’.

Alternatively, please email one of our Deputy Principals directly and they will ensure you get the assistance you require.

Mrs Luby Mansell (Deputy Principal – Primary) l.mansell@pac.nsw.edu.au

Mr Leighton Corr (Deputy Principal – Secondary) l.corr@pac.nsw.edu.au

The Nepean District is blessed with many beautiful views of the Blue Mountains. Many in the College community will know that one of my favourite passages of scripture is Psalm 121 and each time I look at the mountains, my mind recalls the words of the Psalm. As we continue to navigate these times of lockdown, I encourage you to look at the mountains and remember the promises found in the Psalm.

Psalm 121

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?

² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the College.

Mrs Felicity Grima
Principal

Message from the Governor of NSW

Meet Our 2021-2022 Ridley House Captains

Meet Our 2021-2022 Ryle House Captains

Prayer and Praise

Message from the Director of Teaching and Learning

Mr Mitchell Clarke - Director of Teaching and Learning

I would like to once again commend all members of the College community (particularly our students, parents and teachers) for continuing to work off campus so seamlessly. It is far from a simple task, but has once again been made easier by the collective efforts of all involved.

Prior to the most recent lockdown, I noted that one of the key foundations of the College Learning Culture is the implementation of a common language for all College students; one that helps students describe and define the characteristics and dispositions of a powerful learner. Just as students can build their physical muscles by completing the right kinds of exercise, so can their exercise these ‘learning muscles’ to develop their learning capacities.

The Learning Language is divided into four domains: Resourceful, Resilient, Reflective and Relational. In this post I wanted to take a look at the third domain of the College Learning Culture, what it means to be a Reflective learner.

The more I look into the research of learning and comprehension of new information, the more I am struck that there is something of a contradiction in learning. According to research, we all need to let go of what it is we are learning in order to truly understand our learning. In other words, when we take time to step away from a problem, we often learn more about that problem.

You’ll know this feeling from experience. Disagree with a friend over an issue on the news, for instance, and often your best arguments arrive while you’re washing the dishes later. Read a manual on how to master a new skill, and you will find good amount of your comprehension can come after you shut the pages.

In short, all learning benefits from reflection; the kind of reflection that requires a moment of calm. Maybe we’re quietly reflecting over the different parts of an essay in a quiet room, or talking to ourselves as we’re in the shower. Whatever the case, reflection usually takes a bit of cognitive quiet, a moment of silent introspection, for us to engage in any sort of focused consideration.

At the College, teachers work promote students to reflect by:

Clearly identify what students need to achieve at the beginning of each lesson (success criteria), allowing students to reflect on their own progress and processes.
Ask students to plan their learning, and then reflect on the process they went through in developing this plan.
Encourage students to practice outlining the key component of concept, skill or ideas, discussing what they have learnt with one another.

Parents and carers can also play a role in developing student reflective capacities by:

Ask students to consider what aspects of their approach they might change in the future.
Prompting students who are stuck to move on and try something else.
Encourage students to take responsibility for their learning by reflecting on classroom experiences at the end of each day.

Reflection is not just a great tool about understanding more about the learning process, but also about learning more about the world around us.

Mr Mitchell Clarke
Director of Teaching & Learning

Chapel

Wacky Wednesday

Amazing Art

Budding Weather Reporters

Chatting with the Local MP

Compassion Child Sponsorship

Keyner Jose Padilla Gutierrez

Keyner Jose Padilla Gutierrez

Keyner is 11 years old and lives in Columbia with his mother and grandfather. His grandfather occasionally works as a day labourer. There are 3 children in the family. At home, Keyner helps by caring for animals, running errands and doing odd jobs.

Keyner likes playing soccer, group games, playing with marbles and toy cars. He also likes to go to Bible class. His favourite subject is PE.

Keyner has been sponsored by the current Year 6 students since they were in Pre K.