Remote learning update

Last Thursday, all ACT schools were placed into a lockdown which pushed schools back into Remote Learning. All our SFX teaching staff were ready to go as we had been preparing for the move to Remote Learning for a couple of weeks.

Our staff have gone above and beyond to prepare engaging, manageable learning experiences and our priority is to ensure our students are engaging with their learning in a positive way. Students being connected to their peers and teachers is a very important part of being successful in a Remote Learning environment, so please contact your child’s teacher or Year Coordinator if your child is struggling.

We are trying to create an interactive and supportive environment for your children. Please don’t let classwork become the divide between you and your child. Relationships are so important when in isolation. Teachers are happy to work with individual needs and will make adjustments to suit your individual circumstances.

SFX College Remote Learning will revolve around the Learning Management Platform Canvas

We are aiming for consistency across all subjects to help students manage their Learning. All students are required to use Microsoft Teams each morning at 8.30am. This is a great opportunity for students to connect with their Pastoral Leader and daily attendance is documented.

All Canvas pages have a remote learning button which will direct students to their weekly learning tasks. Each Monday, all classes will upload the new weekly content for students to access. Teachers will set an aspect of classwork or assignment to be due on or before 4pm Friday. If a student does not upload the task, parents will be contacted by email to keep them updated on their child’s engagement in their classwork for the week. Tasks will be marked complete/incomplete. Students are not formally assessed on these tasks; however the completion of these tasks ascertain student participation in their learning.

Students are required to complete around 3 hours per day—this is reflected in the reduction of class work being set. We are encouraging students to take regular breaks and not sit all day on their screens. Physical activity is encouraged as a daily event and our Senior Leadership Team and Year Coordinators are going to provide fun, interactive activities throughout lockdown to engage students in a variety of ways.

Conferencing (Microsoft Teams)

Teachers have nominated one lesson a week to video conference their class through Teams. All students should now have a timetable that was developed in PC time on Tuesday 17 August. These class conferences are compulsory and a roll will be marked for attendance.

Elective selections 2022 for Year 8 & 9 students

Next week we will be running remote Elective Selections for Year 8 and 9. This will consist of a PC session on Tuesday 24 August, where Pastoral Leaders will share a video to explain the process of how to select courses using Edval. On top of that, our amazing elective teachers will hold a virtual Q&A session for each elective on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. The timetable for these sessions is now available on the SFX website.

Parents are asked to go through the Elective Guide with their child over the weekend so they have some information before these sessions.

Students will be sent an email with an individual code to make their selections. This form will open at 9.30am August 24 and will be due on Friday 27 August at 9am.

To all of you who are parenting and caring for our students during this time please know we are here to support you both. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you or your child is struggling.

God Bless and Stay safe

Tracey Potter

Assistant Principal Teaching and Learning