term 2 week 3, 15 may 2020 - figtree high school › content › dam › ... · term 2 week 4(a)...

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Term 2 Week 4(A)

Week 4 Starting 18 May 2020

Monday 18/05/20

Year 11 & 12 Visual Arts – Body of Works Workshops: 3pm – 4:30pm

Tuesday 19/05/20

Year 12-Society and Culture Assessment Task P1 Year 10 – History and Geography Assessment Task

Wednesday 20/05/20

Year 11 – Hospitality Incursion Periods 1-3 Year 10 – Spanish Assessment Task P3

Thursday 21/05/20

Year 11 – Mathematics Extension Assessment Task – 7:30am – 8:30am

Friday 22/05/20

Year 12 – Drama Assessment Task P6 Year 11 – Physics Assessment Task Year 9 – Marine Studies Assessment Task P5

Term 2 Week 5(B)

Week 5 Starting 25 May 2020

Monday 25/05/20

Year 11 – Earth and Environmental Science Assessment Task P1 Sorry Day Year 11 & 12 Visual Arts – Body of Works Workshops: 3pm – 4:30pm

Tuesday 26/05/20

Wednesday 27/05/20

Reconciliation Week – In This Together

Thursday 28/05/20

Year 12 – Physics Assessment Task P1 & 2 and Ancient History Assessment Task P1 & 4 Reconciliation Week – In This Together

Friday 29/05/20

Year 12 - Modern History Assessment Task P1 & P5 Year 9 – History Assessment Task P3 Reconciliation Week – In This Together

Term 2 Week 6(A)

Week 6 Starting 1 June

Monday 01/06/20

Year 10 – Commerce Assessment Task Reconciliation Week – In This Together

Tuesday 02/06/20


Wednesday 03/06/20


Thursday 04/06/20

Friday 05/06/20

Year 11 – Business Studies Assessment Task – P1, P3 & P6 Year 8 – Technology Mandatory Assessment Task Year 7 – Technology Mandatory Assessment Task

Year 12 Purple Year 11 Olive Year 10 Blue Year 9 Red Year 8 Green Year 7 Orange

Thoughts from the

Principal

I was excited to see the students out and about this week with Phase 1 of the managed return taking place. All of us have missed them very much. We know that students have been doing it tough and especially missing contact with their friends and even the teachers. Whilst we have enjoyed seeing year groups return on designated days this week, we are all excessively looking forward to having all students return together and can’t wait to enjoy a return to regular face to face teaching.

Of course the health safety measures we have put in place mean it is not quite ‘business as usual’ but students are also happy to see their friends and teachers in person again. The school which has been so eerily quiet for so long is now gradually coming back to life.

During the holidays, I read an article in The Guardian which said …

Term one at Australian schools did not so much end, as unravel. Its final weeks were described by the NSW Teachers Federation as “one of the most difficult school terms for the profession in living memory”.

SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Term 2 Week 3, 15 May 2020

Address: 2 Gibsons Road, Figtree NSW 2525 Phone: 02 4271 2787 Email: [email protected] Fax: 02 4271 6626

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Hard to argue with that assessment … Term 1 had bushfires, floods and a worldwide pandemic. I dare to wonder what Term 2 will hold. In this time of constant change, one thing that I am confident about is that Term 2 will be full of similar challenges. Whether we return to online or if students are 100% returned to school or we have a blend of both ….I am convinced that Figtree High School can manage it. Our HSC students are also being well supported. Year 12 need not feel more anxious than is usual in Term 2 about their HSC because they have such dedicated and caring teachers. I feel this Facebook post written by a teacher in the UK perfectly describes the teachers of Australia and particularly those at Figtree and Flametree;

We gave educators almost no notice. We asked them to completely redesign what school looks like and in about 24 hours, local administrators and teachers "Apollo 13'ed" the problem and fixed it. With kids’ learning needs being met in the midst of a global crisis. No state agency did this, no so-called national experts on curriculum. The local educators fixed it in hours. HOURS. No complaining and no handwringing - just solutions and amazingly clever plans. Remember that the next time someone tells you that teachers have it easy or try to persuade you that educators are not among the smartest, most ingenious people in society. And please never say to me again, "Those who can't do anything else, just go into teaching." Get out of the way of a teacher and watch with amazement at what really happens.

These are true words and reflect what really happened and was achieved here at Figtree High School. Thank you to the Figtree HS teachers - our very own superheroes. I once more thank the entire incredible staff - based at both Figtree and Flametree campuses - whose efforts in moving to online learning and supporting students in the digital sphere have been remarkable. What most would have deemed impossible, they accomplished in the blink of an eye. Although I cannot speak about other schools or their staff, I can most certainly speak about mine – they have been men and women of the hour and are truly AMAZING!!! And they continue to perform under pressure.

On a further positive note, despite the dilemmas COVID-19 have created for us, dare I say that we have been fortunate in other ways:

• having the opportunity to enjoy more family time

• the chance to get to house maintenance and tend to the garden

• the sublime weather While in other parts of the world:

• the water in the canals of Venice are now strikingly crystal clear and dolphins appear in Italy’s waterways

• for the first time in 30 years, the Himalayas are visible 125 miles away in parts of India

The Times 11/5/20 People in India can see the Himalayas, many for the first time ever as the lockdown decreases air pollution. And here in Australia, there have been so many heart-warming acts of kindness and generosity as well as funny stories, memes and videos that make us smile just when we need it the most. To quote the Red Cross:

In our neighbourhoods and around the world, everywhere we look, people are sharing their strength, resilience and compassion in the face of the coronavirus global pandemic.

Lastly, I thank you - our parents and carers - for your overwhelmingly positive support and understanding. We know how challenging it has been and will continue to be for you and your families. We have a long way to go but we will get through this together.

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Flametree – introducing ASPIRE – a learning and wellbeing framework As you know Flametree is a campus of Figtree High School in North Wollongong, which provides specialist education for students across the Illawarra who have significant difficulty in managing their behaviour and emotions at school. The Flametree staff are specially trained, highly skilled special educators led by Head Teacher, James Bell.

Flametree Campus together with the leadership team of Figtree High School is trialling ‘A Secondary Program for Inclusion, Retention and Engagement’ (ASPIRE) Strategy. In essence, the ASPIRE program aims to:

- increase student attendance rates

- decrease student referrals for behavioural incidents and suspensions

- support students with successful transition to post school options

- enhance students’ reading and numeracy ability and level

- ultimately improve student academic attainment

To achieve these outcomes, the ASPIRE initiative will involve modification of the physical environment, enhanced pedagogy, the use of “wrap-around” services and the integration of three innovative classroom models: the Neurosequential Model in Education, the Berry Street Education Model and HOW2Learn model. The ASPIRE Program will be assessed by measuring the change in learning and wellbeing results between the start and finish of the project.

“We have an obligation to ensure our school system not only does not discriminate but actively brings out the best in all students, especially those with special needs” ~ NSW Parliament Legislative Council

I wholeheartedly compliment the staff at Flametree for their strong knowledge, value and care for all of their students, undoubtedly some of the Illawarra Region’s most vulnerable young people. If there is a way that things can be done better at the Flametree setting, I am very confident that the teachers and school learning and support officers at Flametree will find and embrace it. Let’s have the best Term 2 we can and continue to take care of one another! Daniel Ovens

Principal

Expectation of the Week

WEEK 4: BE SAFE – Technology Keep personal information private

WEEK 5: BE SAFE – All Settings Respect personal space

WEEK 6: BE RESPECTFUL – All Settings Expect Respect

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Deputy Principals’

Report

Learning from Home

It has been such a challenging time to be learning, with

email, Google Classroom, Moodle and Zoom providing

the platforms for electronic communication about

learning activities and for the submission of completed

tasks. It has been a steep learning curve for students

and staff – as we have learnt to negotiate and work in a

completely different way.

At the start of this term, we provided students with a

revised structure to the school day when learning from

home. This has enabled students to have some break

time between lessons, and embedded some time for

wellbeing activities in their day, to provide a break from

their screen. We also provided students with a Daily

Learning Plan, to assist in organising their learning

activities for the day. We have had some great feedback

from students and parents about these two changes.

A Managed Return to School – Phase 1

This week it has been fantastic to see our students

return in year groups for a minimum of one day a week.

We were so excited to see students and their smiling

faces. A number of students were genuinely pleased to

be back at school, even though it is slightly different to

what they are used to. Students are encouraged to bring

their laptop to school as well as their own head phones,

to minimise the sharing of equipment.

Phase 1 continues next week and we look forward to

seeing each year group for their rostered day:

Monday: Years 7 and 11

Tuesday: Years 10 and 12

Thursday: Years 8 and 12

Friday: Years 9 and 12

This term Year 12 students have been engaged in

interviews (via Zoom, phone or in person) with our

Careers Adviser – Mr Sargent-Wilson to look at their

HSC Success plans. Discussions are centred on support

pathways to the HSC as well as their post-HSC options.

Health and Safety at School

A number of health and safety precautions have been

implemented to ensure we all work together to keep

Figtree High School as safe as possible. These include:

• More signage around the school and in

classrooms to raise awareness and remind

students about good respiratory hygiene

practices

• Hand sanitiser available in every classroom for

staff and students to use before, during and

after the class as required

• Cleaning products available in all classrooms for

student and staff use.

• Enhanced cleaning of high touch areas such as

handrails, light switches, high frequency

classrooms, door handles and bubblers

throughout the school day. Staff and student

toilets are also being cleaned throughout the

day.

• Reminding students to wash their hands with

soap and water at the start of the day as well as

before and after lunch breaks.

• Reducing the number of students gathered in

the canteen area by changing the flow of traffic

to have one entry and one exit point, physical

distancing for students entering the canteen

area, students pre-ordering hot food before

school to increase the speed of service at lunch

time.

• Restricting the number of students in a

classroom space to ensure appropriate physical

distancing for students and staff.

Please remember:

• If your child is sick/unwell, even if the

symptoms are mild, such as a runny nose, cough

or sore throat, they must remain at home.

• Parents are encouraged to limit their

attendance at school so that we can adhere to

social distancing protocols that remain in place

for adults. Please ring or email the school if you

need to speak to a staff member.

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Communication from the school

At this challenging time our main form of

communication to students and parents/carers is

through email. Email has been used to provide

parents/carers with updated information about school

operations. The school’s email communication platform

sends the email to a family’s preferred email account.

Any family who is not receiving school emails is

encouraged to contact the school so they can be

included on our emailing list. Most information sent by

email is also placed on news section of our school

website .

Students are also expected to check their school email

account daily to keep updated with information.

Request for information from parents/carers about

student attendance

During the different phases of the Department of

Education’s Managed Return to School, we have

requested information from parents/carers about their

plans for their child’s attendance. The reason for this is

that schools are required to have an explanation from a

student’s parent/carer if a student is not present at

school. This requirement still applies during the COVID-

19 pandemic.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the great majority of

parents/carers have chosen to have their child ‘learning

from home’ When a parent/carer informs the school

that their child is ‘learning from home’ their attendance

is marked as ‘Flexible’ (not absent). However, we cannot

assume that this is the case for all of our students.

Hence, we require all of our parents/carers to let us

know about their child’s attendance in each Phase of

the Managed Return to School.

This process will start with the school sending an email

to parents/carers, requesting that you to advise us

about your child’s planned attendance. It is important

for parents/carers to respond to this email so that the

school can update your child’s attendance accordingly.

If we have not heard from a parent/carer about the

plans for your child’s attendance, an SMS will be sent

regarding the absence/s from school, seeking an

explanation. If we do not hear from a parent/carer via

SMS, then we will send a letter home in the mail,

seeking an explanation for the absence/s.

Technology to support Learning from Home

Our Technology Support Officer, Mr Michael Trajcevski,

has been providing outstanding service and support to

our teachers, students and parents/carers since

students commenced Learning from Home on 24

March. We thank him for the high quality service he has

given our school community during this time.

If parents/carers or students require technology

support, we encourage you to phone or email the

school to discuss your needs, so that the appropriate

support and a suitable time can be organised to assist

you.

School Photographs

Students who ordered and paid for the school

photographs taken earlier this year were issued with

their photographs this week.

All students should also have received their new Figtree

HS Student Identification card. This can be provided as

evidence for student concession prices and should be

kept in a safe place.

We have not been provided with any timeframe for the

different phases in the Managed Return to School, but

will keep you updated as information becomes

available.

We would like to thank our Figtree community for

supporting the school during this unprecedented time

in education. We are looking forward to the time when

all students can return to full time face-to-face teaching

and learning.

Jemma Lawson – Years 7 and 10

Trish Morgan – Years 8 and 12

Ellie Donovan – Years 9 and 11

Deputy Principals

https://figtree-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/news.html.

https://figtree-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/news.html.

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TAS Faculty Report

Stage 4 – Technology Mandatory

While this has been a challenging time, learning from

home, many Stage 4 students have excelled in their

online learning tasks. Term 1 focused on designers and

students were able to research and investigate

Australian inventions, types of designers and what the

role of a designer entails.

During Term 2 all of our classes are focused on

Engineering. The students are working through

engineering concepts each week while planning their

Rube Goldberg machines. The Rube Goldberg machine

will be due Week 6 and we are hoping, all will be well in

the final weeks of this term to have a mini film festival

to show some of the best machines created by our

students.

Figure 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stage 5 – Elective Courses

Many teachers have reported how impressed they are

with many of their students in these classes. The

engagement and initiative shown by many students has

been impressive. Attendance at ZOOM classes and the

creation of quality work submitted via Moodle has been

very consistent. Specifically, our Food Technology

classes continue to refine their practical skills at home

during isolation and have shared their experiences with

their teachers. Our Construction students are about to

embark on a tile mosaic and Mr Olsen has arranged the

resources for students to complete their unique designs

at home.

Stage 6 – Senior Elective Courses

The beginning of the year was a hive of activity for many

of our practical courses. Our senior construction class

achieved many of the course competencies while

constructing a cement pathway for the school’s kitchen

garden.

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Year 11 Food Technology safely completed their first

practical exam. The class studied a unit on Factors that

affect Food Selection. Many of the students created

products that regularly featured in their homes.

Year 12 Hospitality started the year with a non-alcoholic

beverages unit. The students were kept busy creating a

variety of mocktails that were served in the schools

Coffee Bean Café.

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Finally, the entire TAS faculty are looking forward to the

safe return of all of our students to school. This will

enable the return to practical lessons and to the

completion of practical products. We are excited to see

the friendly faces of our students.

TAS Faculty Meeting Via ZOOM

Karran Williamson

Head Teacher TAS

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I LOVE WOLLONGONG BECAUSE…

Celebrating the success of our CAPA students Dakota

Daniela (Year 9), Alex Dawson (Year 8) and Tiana Brown

(Year 8) who each had photographs selected as part of

Wollongong Youth Services, ‘I love Wollongong

because…’ project. Our student’s work is now

beautifully exhibited on the exterior of the Wollongong

Youth Centre. Congratulations Alex, Tiana and Dakota!

Tiana’s two photographs featured above.

Alex’s three photographs featured above.

Dakota’s two photographs featured above

Please use the hand sanitiser provided

NSW Department of Education

education.nsw.gov.au

A managed return to school

1 day a week 4 days a week

Keep learning from home. You’re doing great!

Schools will remain open for students who need them and no child will be turned away

Bring a packed lunch and water bottle

Keep your distance

Parents and carers, stay in the car for drop offs and pick ups

Visit education.nsw.gov.au/learning-from-home to support your child’s learning

Follow health advice and keep your child home if they are unwell

For full details, visit education.nsw.gov.au/managed-return

Phase 1

education.nsw.gov.au

Stay safe at school

Remember to stay 1.5 metres apartWe all like to socialise with our friends but it’s important to keep a distance to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

NSW Department of Education

Clean your hands with soap and water, or hand santiser .

Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze.

Stay home if you are sick.

Avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms.

Please use hand sanitiser

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800

kidshelpline.com.au

available 24/7

5 STEPSto stop the spread of respiratory illnesses 1

Cover your mouth and nose with tissues when coughing, sneezing, blowing and/or wiping your nose

2Dispose of tissues in the nearest waste bin after use

3If no tissues are available, cough or sneeze into your inner elbow rather than your hand

5Wash your hands with soap and water or alcohol based handrub after coughing or sneezing into hands or tissues

4You may be asked to put on a face mask to protect others

January 2019 © NSW Health. SHPN (HP NSW) 190020.

• Remove jewellery and cover abrasions

• Use water or a wet wipe to remove visible soiling

• Dispense product into dry hands

• Rub all surfaces of hands for one minute

How to clean hands using an alcohol-based

liquid or hand rub

When rubbing, pay particular attention to the backs

term 2 week 3, 15 may 2020 - figtree high school › content › dam › ... · term 2 week 4(a)...

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