Dear Parents and Carer’s of St Kevin’s,

Well we have light at the end of the tunnel, with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and students returning to school.

This time of lockdown has been tough, but from this tough time, many positive things have started to grow and flourish. Think of the new things you have learnt. Personally, I have learnt how to work in TEAMS as opposed to working with a team! The students have developed skills in self-guided learning and research. They have discovered new skills in IT and applied them. They have engaged in collaboration through their online learning. They have discovered how important it is to be persistent and resilient when things get tough and work can be challenging. They have discovered they can soar as high as they like when it comes to online learning. Students have discovered Youtube channels that promote creativity and artistic skills.

Some examples of amazing self-directed learning achievements during this lockdown are that some kindergarten students now know all their single sounds and some basic sight words and are engaging in writing simple sentences with correct punctuation and spelling. Some Year 3 students now have automatic recall of all their multiplication tables right up to 12x. A number of students in Years 4 and 5 have demonstrated outstanding skills in the areas of being organised and persistent, submitting work in a timely and efficient manner, thus also displaying amazing self-discipline and a desire to be always learning and owning that learning.

So, as we come together for full time schooling again from June 1, we eagerly await and anticipate the new learning opportunities that the remainder of Term 2 will bring. Learning something new is hard work, but so much fun when it is mastered.

Looking forward to the weeks of fun for the remainder of Term 2!

Take care and continue to stay safe.

Mary-Anne Jennings

Principal of St K’s whose learning intention for term 2 is mastering “Flipgrid”.