Dear parents and caregivers
Well two days in to our home learning journey and to say it has been challenging would be fairly accurate. We expected it to be though and with every new situation or unprecedented Pandemic there is going to be challenges. I just want to assure you that we are facing the same challenges here at school and that the department and ourselves are doing all we can to rectify the issues you are facing with connectivity and inability to access resources. I know they are working around the clock to have the websites and platforms up and running and ready to handle the large volume of traffic they are encountering.
All of our work is sitting on One Note for you however if you are having difficulty accessing it do not worry you are not alone. If you are in fact encountering trouble getting on to the site don't forget that you can log on at any time and download the work. A large number of people are trying to log in between 8 and 10 am maybe the afternoon or evening will be a better option to log on and download the work the day before.
There are also a few alternate options that you have. Your child's teacher will be emailing you a daily check in. In this email will be a message to yourselves/your child, it will contain weekly or daily work, and perhaps a video message. Alternatively you can ring the school and ask for paper versions to be prepared that you can come in and pick up at the library. Keep it fun, keep it simple, do what you can, any learning is good learning. Please know that we are here to support you and your children. While there will be some adjustments along the way as we learn together, our teachers are here to support your child's learning. Please stay connected with your teacher, to our school and to one another.
We are facing exactly the same issues here at school as you are at home. The students of essential workers who are coming to school are receiving exactly the same work as you are at home .We aim to ensure that no student is getting it better than another and that everyone has equal opportunity with their learning.
I know it is painful but could you please keep checking in every morning with your child's teacher as we are still required to mark our roll here at school. This allows us to make sure that the wellbeing of every child is being looked after and that you are able to engage with our home learning system in one way or another. If you do not check in with your child's class teacher then you will receive an SMS from the school asking you to check in. Apologies however this is a departmental requirement. Thank you for your support in this area.
Our dedicated teachers and support staff continue to be here to teach and support your child. Together we will be learning and doing all we can to support you in this new mode of home-based learning. I assure you we will continue to maintain close contact with you over the next few weeks to provide learning for your child and together we will support each other and see all of our students continue to grow.
Further information on supporting your child, maintaining healthy learning routines and setting up a learning space at home can be found at https://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/learning-at-home/wellbeing-of-students
Regards
Scott Thompson
Principal
Gympie East State School