Time
Time Management
We are sure you are finding at home, as we are, the increased pressures of joining Zoom explicit explanations and teaching, has added a different kind of pressure to the Off Campus Learning experience. This change has been made primarily by the overwhelming number of requests from parents, so we ask you to help to ensure your child/ren join their Zoom meetings throughout the day on time. If they don’t join on time, they are asking the teachers to repeat the instructions which takes away the teacher’s time to support other students who are already working on their task throughout the lesson.
Our younger students will definitely need some help to know when to come into Zoom throughout the day. Our older students will be able to tell the time but may not have a concept of time, so they may need a little assistance as well. There are also lots of Maths lessons occurring to help the students to understand and manage their time, to set alarms and understand the importance of being punctual. Hopefully these lessons will help too.
Teachers will need to set assessment tasks from time to time, and they will let the students know when and what these will be, on the morning of each task. These are important so that we know where each child’s learning is up to, so future lessons can be planned appropriately. Please remind your child to be on time for these, and please do not help your child with an assessment task.
Trust us when we say we know that most of our Claremont households are feeling time poor during lockdown, juggling your own workloads, Off Campus Learning, filling the non-school times that were once filled with sporting activities, after-school groups and catch-ups with friends, AND finding time for your own mental and physical health. We really are in this together, our staff are going through the same challenges as you are.
Timetables
To help you plan each day, today our teachers have added their timetables to this newsletter. While we hope that all children will be able to come in to complete their lessons, connect with their teachers and their peers throughout each day, we know that this will not always be possible. If you would like your child to be considered for an adjusted learning program with the focus being on English and Mathematics, please speak to your child’s teacher, Ms DeRossi or myself as we will be happy to have this conversation with you.
NB It is important that we are involved in these discussions and so that staff are not contacting you about your child not submitting their work.
The Passage of Time
As frustrating as this lockdown is, I hope that with the passage of time, we will be able to look back and recall what a strange time this has been but one where we have:
- Taken time to rethink and reset some of our priorities;
- Thought about how much we have learned to do differently during this time; and
- Made some good life long changes to some of our personal life and work practices.
In an article by Jill Suttie from Greater Good magazine, she talks about five lessons to remember when lockdown ends; those being:
- Being with others is key to happiness;
- Reducing stress is good for everyone;
- Showing gratitude matters;
- We need less stuff than we think; and
- We are stronger when we act together.
Ref., https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_lessons_to_remember_when_lockdown_ends
As Ms Suttie says, ‘let’s not forget what we have learned going through a pandemic’.
Quality Time
Last week I wrote about how the quality of time spent with children impacts their developing brains, and I thought it was worth repeating here. After all it does fit in with my ‘Time’ theme.
I have recently listened to ‘What Happened to You?’ by Dr Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey. There are some really appropriate, research-based reminders for all of us now, especially when many of us feel even more busy than usual because of working from home while juggling Off Campus Learning, and feeling that there are not enough hours in the day. There are two chapters in particular (Ch2 How We Are Loved and Ch9 Relational Hunger in a Modern World) where Dr Perry says that children will not be disadvantaged by a parent or parents who are working long hours or have demanding jobs, it is the way parents interact with children when they are with them that has the most impact. If a parent only has a small amount of time each day with their children it is the quality of time that matters the most, the time to connect, to listen, to laugh, to talk, to play and have parent/child physical contact. It is the tone of voice and interactions with the child, the partner and with every other member of the family that matters, and the absence of phones and other devices while you are spending quality time with your child/ren, that will have the most impact on a child’s upbringing. He also says, especially in a pandemic, parents are not to beat themselves up about not having enough time to spend with their child/ren, but to remember it is the quality of time that matters.
Thank You for Your Time
Thank you for the time you give each week to keeping up with our newsletter communications. It is important to us that we have this one consistent form of communication for all of the Claremont Community.
The greatest gift you can give someone is your time. (Author unknown)
