As we wrap up Term 1, we are certainly in a place that none of us could have imagined going into 2020. We commenced the year with a very different optimism. Today, for me there still is optimism to be found in the foundations, and core values that are the heart and soul of our school. This can be summed up in the sentence that is threaded across the very big poster we gave the children at the start of the year. When we gave the children this poster, little did we realise what was ahead for us all.

“We are a collaborative, innovative and compassionate community.” With this we will continue to move forward, no matter what lies ahead, framed and empowered by the love of God. These are the things that we must hold on to in the face of such uncertainty and the anxiety that comes with this. 

So, in all of this, here are some reflections on what has been important to us over these past few weeks. 

In the midst of the disruption to  everyday school life, we have worked hard to ensure continuity and excellence for the children’s learning, providing connection to teachers and classmates, with as much consistency and stability as possible to their daily routines.

Of key importance is the support we are providing for the health and wellbeing of children, our staff, parents, families and our wider school community. I am thankful for the way we have been able to engage, consult and work with the P&F. Together as a community we have reached out to provide strength and support to people in need.

We have prioritised communication in what has been an ever-changing landscape of news and updates, much of which has been inconsistent, unhelpful and confusing. 

Our staff teams have been working incredibly hard and doing their very best. I am so proud of their professionalism and willingness to be flexible under very difficult circumstances.

The strength and resilience of the Claremont College parent community is being demonstrated each and every day in the support and appreciation that has been expressed. We value your prayers too. Thank you!

As we wrap up this term, and head into the “unknown” of Term 2, be reassured that all of these things will continue to remain our priorities. For this reason I have optimism no matter what things might look like in these ever changing days.

Off campus and/or ‘at school’ arrangements for Term 2

As mentioned in my update yesterday, it is difficult to anticipate with any confidence what our arrangements will be at the commencement of Term 2. I will be guided by both the State and Federal Government in my decision making, and I will communicate with you as soon as I have direction and clarity. Please understand that we are unable to provide greater certainty due to the constant flux caused by COVID-19 but we commit to ongoing communication throughout this time.  

Term 2 School Fees

The Anglican Schools Corporation, is working with the Claremont College School Council and myself to determine possibilities for fee relief for families facing significant financial hardship related to COVID-19, and who because of this are not able to pay school fees in the usual manner. This will most likely be in the form of Bursary assistance provided to families who complete and submit an application, and who demonstrate that they meet certain criteria. However, it is foreseeable that the school will not be able to provide assistance to all who apply. Additionally, we will be considering applications to defer the payment of fees, and/or to set up a repayment plan for those who may need more time. I anticipate that the full details of options will be outlined and provided to parents early in Term 2.

“In the pit” - What am I learning from the COVID-19 crisis?

The children at Claremont talk about being “in the pit”. The teachers are trained to design lessons and the learning experience so that the children (the learners) find themselves in the pit. Ask your child about this. The pit is the place of challenge where we learn the most, and where the lessons learned are the ones that stick with us the longest. I am a great believer in reflecting and learning. So, as I reflect, what am I learning from all of this? I am learning that the people in my life, my wife, my kids (yes, the ones at home who are driving me crazy) are the most important things in my life. I am thankful for the people (you, who are reading this newsletter) who I get to do life with. I am thankful for friends. I am thankful for the many simple blessings that I never want to take for granted. I am thankful for the strength and hope that my faith gives me. At this point in time, my faith has never been more important to me but to be honest with you, this crisis has stirred up a myriad of new questions and doubts about things that don’t make sense. I am thankful for Easter, that the historicity of the death and resurrection of Jesus, brings me an assurance of God’s presence, peace and a sense of hope in my life… that ‘no matter what’ He is in control and He is with me and my loved ones.

The COVID-19 crisis is also providing me with the opportunity to reflect more philosophically as well. My in-box is filled with so many COVID-19 related articles. Here are three articles that I have found particularly helpful.

The 'Fake' Bill Gates Letter 'What is COVID-19 teaching us?' Not written by Bill Gates

This is the most fun way to make your life awesome: Pandemic Edition by Eric Barker 

Leadership Insights in Times of Crisis by McKinsey

Staff Articles

Thank you Mrs Ford and Mrs Cameron for your contributions in the Newsletter. 

I trust that you will find these interesting and helpful.

Keep connected and stay in touch

All means of communication that have been outlined in previous updates will be available to you over the Term break. Please reach out to us if you need help or support. Similarly, I will stay in touch over the break and let you know of anything important. We are in this together and we will get through this together. Please also stay in touch with other Claremont families. The children really need to have supervised virtual play-dates with each other. Quick 5 minute catch up chats are a great idea. 

Be blessed this Easter and the weeks ahead.

My prayers are with you and your family.

So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One! Romans 8:38-39

Love and prayers

Doug Thomas  
Principal

  Follow me @DougJThomas

The Claremont staff will be spending next week planning and preparing for Off Campus Learning (OCL) in Term 2. Our plan is to continue to use the current approach (refer to my document titled ‘Off Campus Learning Because of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in the T1 W7 Newsletter). This approach requires our students to try as much as possible to be independent when completing their tasks. Our teachers are online from 9am to 3pm every day to help the students and we will continue to encourage students to use Zoom to ask any questions they have.

A couple of parents have requested that we provide a more teacher directed approach throughout every day where a teacher is online directing each learning task. Research tells us that less meaningful learning comes from this direct instructional approach, and as it is our least recommended co-teaching model at Claremont, we do not believe that we should introduce more teacher direction now. Yes, we believe in some limited direct instruction but then we enable the students to learn by doing.

Please believe us, we know this is a big ask of many students: to be independent, to be problem solvers, to be self-directed and to remain focussed in their learning. I witnessed a group of students yesterday who were so distracted by their own image on the screen that their constant rearranging of their hair was their main focus, not what the teacher or their peers were saying. There is so much to learn in this new form of pedagogy, but we will get there.

As quoted in our new Home Learning Policy, Martin (2019) said the following of ‘homework’, “To get better, they/students need practice. It takes time to develop the vital knowledge, skills, and self-direction required to do homework effectively (indeed, we wouldn’t abandon soccer practice… just because children weren’t scoring goals!)”.

We have also been asked to provide all tasks a week in advance for some families. Unfortunately, this is not going to be an option as teachers follow a broad plan each week, they will only be preparing the activities the day or night before. We will endeavour to keep to the same structure for each grade so that you know when the Zoom meetings are, when your child needs to work independently, or when your child is timetabled to join a Zoom group. Hopefully this will help you with your timetable at home. 

Now that we have experienced two weeks of OCL, we will be looking for realistic and sustainable ways to go deeper with learning in Term 2 while still scaffolding the learning when the tasks are challenging. This means that each activity will have 2 additional options:

1. To break each task into smaller chunks for understanding; and
2. A challenge option for fast finishers and for those who find challenge ‘interesting’ (Nottingham).

This will be explained in greater detail at the beginning of Term 2.

We will also be investigating ways to assess student learning in Term 2, so it will be essential that students complete their own work, and if they have support from a parent, we will need to know this.

There have been a few unexpected challenges for our staff over the past two weeks... Please make sure your child is fully clothed when they are on Zoom and please try to keep Zoom out of their bedrooms (unless they have their desk in their bedroom, then remind your child to be sitting at the desk not lying on their bed). Also please read these extra challenges below that have arisen because of the unprecedented position we are in. We recognise that many families are carrying a lot of stress and anxiety. If you are one of these parents please do not transfer your stress and anxiety onto our staff, or to your child while he/she is learning.

To the very small percentage of parents who are causing us grief...

For your child’s sake don’t do their work for them

For your sake and your child’s sake, don’t compare your child’s work to that of other children

For our teacher’s sake, don’t join zoom to question or criticise the teacher

For the respect and privacy of all of our students, don’t judge the work other students do

To respect every child’s right to confidentiality, do not share their work with others, ever

Do not comment on any other child’s work

Don’t feel you have to give written comments on your child’s work during OCL, (you live in the same house as them, tell them in person)

For the sake of our precious school community don’t go into WhatsApp and criticise our teachers

Don’t beat yourself up if you are not loving OCL while you are also trying to work from home

Don’t blame our staff if you are not loving OCL while you are also trying to work from home

Don’t take your stress out on our staff

Don’t blame our teachers and our OCL Program for all that is going wrong in YOUR world and THE world

And for that same small group of you, PLEASE do what most of our amazing parents and families are doing.

Step back so your child can step up

Encourage independence

Accept that your child may not be able to do some of the work set for them

Allow your child to make mistakes

Allow the teachers to make mistakes - they are human too

Accept that the Claremont staff are working hard to do the best we can do

Remember our staff are virtually going into all of your homes to deliver lessons and support to every Claremont child

Remember our staff are under the same pressures as you are because of the coronavirus

Breathe and relax a little, we have only just started

Find the positives in a challenging world

Appreciate the small blessings in our lives

Celebrate successes, show gratitude

Celebrate you child becoming an independent online learner, even the small steps

Continue to provide feedback in a constructive way

We need to be a great team and a great school community, to get through this together. We also need to support each other. We know you are all in new territory, but please remember we are in new territory too, we don’t have all the answers. We are all on a very fast treadmill working this out as we go, as are you, with every day throwing up new challenges. It is important for us to improve, so with your feedback, as well as our own professional evaluations we are confident that OCL will get better and better.

Do not hesitate to contact us via the given channels should you need help or support.

‘A team is a group of people who trust each other.’ Simon Sinek.

Trust us, we really are trying our best to support your child’s learning (your children’s learning), and to support you too.

Be strong, take care, be safe, keep well.

Janelle Ford
Deputy Principal

As Term 1 draws to a close, I think it is safe to say that none of us has ever experienced anything like this before. Most have never witnessed such a rapid transformation in the way we work, interact and connect, at any scale, let alone what we are seeing on a global level. The changes that we are witnessing in our school and in society to make things 'work' and keep ourselves and others safe, are inspiring and often heart-warming. However, as a school committed to ensuring that we support students' learning and wellbeing, it would be remiss of us to not recognise that with these changes comes losses and the potential for increased challenges for many of our families.

As a parent of a 5 and a 3 year old, I am cognisant of the pressures faced at home, with most of us having moved to Off Campus Learning and flexible working arrangements to support the social distancing measures implemented across our country. Juggling work, keeping our children motivated to learn, dealing with the heightened emotions of everyone in the household, and maintaining the usual home duties at this challenging time is no easy feat. My advice, and the advice of the experts in the field of wellbeing  is to practice self compassion. It’s okay if your child’s work is not to the standard you had hoped for. It’s okay if, despite your best efforts, to support them with their learning, your child doesn’t seem to ‘get it’. Learning takes time - sometimes children grasp things quickly, and other times they are in ‘the pit’ for a while. It’s okay. We need to be kind to ourselves. When on Zoom, don’t focus on other students and compare your child’s ability with theirs. Focus on what your child can achieve, their effort and the small successes along the way. Remember there will be days where not everything is done or works out the way that you had hoped. Celebrate the little moments… the small wins. Over these past two weeks, I’ve needed to stop and breathe, and do just that.

Something I would encourage all parents to do is to make time for your child (and you) to connect with loved ones. Social connections are essential for our mental health. It is one of the identified '5  Ways to Wellbeing', an evidence-based framework that identifies 5 behaviours people can undertake to stay emotionally, socially and psychologically healthy. These 5 behaviours include: Connect, Be Active, Be Aware, Keep Learning and Help Others. Catherine McKersie, our School Counsellor, recently wrote in our School Newsletter about this framework. I strongly encourage you to read her article if you haven't done so already, and if you have, to re-read it, as it will be helpful for both you and for your child, as we enter the Term 1 break.

Being socially distanced, however, does not mean that we cannot connect with others. We just need to think of ways we can do this creatively and to try to remain as positive as possible to ensure that social distancing doesn’t tip into social isolation. Human beings can be more resilient than they can ever imagine, and connection through a screen is better than no connection at all.

Off Campus Learning will not be continuing during the school break. However, there are many activities and routines you could maintain or establish, in order to ameliorate the impact of social distancing. I draw your attention to some articles below, written by BlackDog Institute, Australian Psychology Society and our very own Mr Thomas and Miss McKersie, which outlines some useful strategies you can use to maintain good health during this unprecedented time of social distancing. I have also included a list of other excellent resources further down, to support you and your family during this time.

Working from Home: A Checklist to Support Your Mental Health

Maintaining your Mental Health During Social Isolation

101 Things You Can Do Without Technology

Promoting Wellbeing in These Challenging Times

Important Reminders for the Holidays

Please also note that the school iPads are the property of the school and have been sent home as a learning device. Your child may continue to use their school iPad during this school break, however, we ask that they do not engage in any chat groups online. We encourage your child to interact with their friends on your personal or home device, under vigilant parent supervision. Skype, Facetime, Zoom, an old fashioned phone call, or even a letter or homemade card (do you recall having a ‘penpal’?) are all simple ways to keep the connection with family and friends. It is important that you monitor your child’s use of technology, especially during the coming weeks, to ensure that your child is protected and behaving safely online.

For these next 3 weeks, I wish everyone a safe and healthy break. Let’s all reach out to others, be kind, try to see the ‘silver linings’, and never underestimate the power of self compassion.

“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” Brene Brown 

Larissa Cameron
Deputy Principal

Links to other resources

Black Dog Institute

Beyond Blue: Anxiety & depression support

Conversations Matter

RU OK?

Lifeline: 13 11 14

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800

F.A.C.E. C.O.V.I.D This is an excellent resource prepared by Dr Russ Harris.  He draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles to manage the challenge of COVID.  I highly recommend it. 

Coping with Coronavirus anxiety An article from the Australian Psychology Society

How to Stay Positive During Coronavirus An article from Dr Suzie Gree

Beyond blue Wellbeing Resource

Coronavirus Information for Australians An article form the Australian Psychology Society

My Compass

This Way Up

10 tips for managing anxiety during COVID-19 -

The importance of Self Care Planning

Smiling Mind

MindSpot

Coming Soon to a house-bound family near you.

Start practising your best dance moves together, as we search for 

Claremont’s most talented families.

There’s awesome prizes thanks to the P&F

#talent #inspiredforlife #insync

#myfamilyhasthemoves

#UBER-EATSprizes #creative

#staytuned for more details next week

Over the next three weeks we believe that iPad use can be at the discretion of the parents. You are all managing your own homes, family life and technology use through a difficult period so this choice should be yours. Please remember, however, that we do recommend strict boundaries, and how, when and where the school iPads are used needs to be closely monitored by parents. The school cannot accept any responsibility for this.

The students might like to go into the school online platforms and complete unfinished work or attempt some of the online holiday suggestions made by their teachers. Please remember none of this will be marked or monitored by teachers. Please ensure that your child does not post to Seesaw or Google Classroom throughout the holiday break - otherwise teachers will be receiving constant notifications. 

Janelle Ford
Deputy Principal

Be Kind!

Over the next 3 weeks, show random acts of kindness. Help your family in little ways. You might even want to make a kindness checklist, or start a kindness journal. Kindness is contagious and when you show kindness to someone, it helps you feel good too!

Larissa Cameron
Deputy Principal

Greetings to you all in what has been a very unexpected Term 1, not just here at Claremont College but for the entire world. I am writing to you from the confines of my home and hope and pray that you are all healthy and somewhat managing the new family “norm” in the midst of this pandemic.

Like all of you, the last two weeks have been anything but restful, juggling three children at home all doing online learning! One thing my children are thankful for is that they get to sleep in and relax a bit more in the morning, but really miss being with their friends and interacting with their teachers in person each day. 

Just recently I have come across an idea that we could also implement here at Claremont to support our community. If you have a business that is still currently operating, please email pfinfo@claremont.nsw.edu.au outlining the service you provide and contact relevant details which will be communicated to the school community, hopefully attracting support for your business.

During this time of crisis, my prayer is that we as a school community will become stronger as we continue to look out for one another and check-in with each other. We will get through this. Please reach out if you are in need, to the P&F executive team, grade representatives or the school. We are here to work through this together.

Lastly, I am thankful to belong to a school that has strong leadership, have been proactive as this pandemic has unfolded and been able to facilitate online learning so quickly. Thank you to Mr Thomas and the greater team of teachers and staff who continue to support our children’s learning and development daily over the past two weeks. May there be peace in your household over the Easter break, stay safe and I pray that God’s hand of protection will continue to be over you and your family.   

Melisse Lee
P&F President

A few precious gems from Mrs Neville and Sick Bay:

A couple of weeks ago a couple of Year 1 students came into Sick Bay with a large number of mozzie bites, one of the students commented:

"Mosquitos like people but I don't."

____

When a Kindy child was trying to explain her tummy pain to Ms Neville she said:

"Well, my tummy feels a bit like a soft cloud with some thunder inside".

_____

Another Kindy student commented:

“I love that you have the picture about Jesus on your wall. He seems like he would be a nice man!”

AND

A memorable moment from Year 5 this week

In line with the recent developments and measures undertaken by the Australian Government, NSW Health and the Department of Education to control the spread of the Coronavirus in our community, all upcoming school events and activities have been cancelled or postponed until further notice.

Janelle Ford
Deputy Principal

Current Events

The following events are still proceeding at present.

Postponed Events

The following events have been postponed.

Cancelled Events

The following events have been cancelled.

The following events have been scheduled for the first 4 weeks of Term 2 and are waiting confirmation.

It’s great to receive the feedback that so many people are enjoying our on-line Chapel. Many parents are saying that they are personally finding the service inspiring and uplifting during these difficult times, and they also appreciate the opportunity to watch with their children, when normally they would be at work. Online Chapel is open to everyone, and is available at any time, simply by following this link to our website. The Easter message in today’s service is powerful! Thanks for joining.

Littlescribe

Due to current circumstances, we sadly had to cancel the planned author visit of Andrew Daddo to the school this week. However, to keep in touch with Andrew and his work the Littlescribe initiative is worth exploring. Over a two week period, Littlescribe authors, starting with Andrew Daddo, Oliver Phommavanh and Deborah Abela are taking to the Littlescribe Facebook page to talk to students about the art of writing and storytelling through a series of live lessons.

On Tuesday live on Facebook Andrew Daddo and James Foley collaborated in a fun and engaging session. The authors explored how to create a story mud-map and set some creative challenges to inspire children to be curious, imaginative and express themselves through writing. On Wednesday Oliver Phommavanh held his session.

Head to Littlescribe Facebook page to join in all the fun.

The sessions are put on Littlescribe YouTube channel straight after each event.

Andrew Daddo and other authors are ready to share their writing experiences and engage students in writing tasks at home. Parents can obtain free access until 30 June 2020 to a range of resources. This includes the activity bundle of short writing activities, writing plans and printable resources. 

For further details go to www.littlescribe.com  

Sydney Writers Festival

Amelia Lush is the head of children’s and young adult’s programs at the Sydney Writers’ Festival. This year the Festival is cancelled but on their website Amelia recommends five book series written by 2020 guests. The Series is recommended for independent readers aged 7 to 14 years old. Amelia suggests five books for children to take on an adventure when stuck at home! Atticus Van Tasticus by Andrew Daddo is on the list.

For further details visit the website below.

www.swf.org.au 

Mrs Susan Kesur
Library Assistant

For Music in Term 2, I will be doing a percussion challenge each week with all students in K-6. For this, students will need something to drum and sticks to drum with. The options are:

• Chair, stool and sticks (students could drum the back or seat of the chair)
• Bucket and sticks.
• Drum kit (if you are lucky enough to have one at home)

To ensure that our percussionists do not damage any furniture or items in your house, please think over the holidays about what might best suit the children best for the challenge. I would like to help protect your furniture... perhaps find an old bin or bucket instead. For sticks I suggest chopsticks or go for a nice walk and find two sticks in the garden.

All family members are welcome to join in too!! Hopefully it will be a fun way to get active, make music and release a little bit of that Groundhog Day stress! 

Tara Barr
Head of Music

Eco Warriors

Great news! The Ozone Layer “Hole” (which is 29 million square kilometers) is expected to be fully healed in the next 55 years. This is due to the worldwide banning of chlorofluorocarbon and hydrofluorocarbon.

TeamKids have now announced that their holiday program will proceed.  If you were planning to use TeamKids and/or still need access to the program, please contact TeamKids directly on 130 035 000.

In the event of any future service updates, this will be communicated to you directly by TeamKids.