Mr Bernard Ellevsen

School Operations from Week 3 Term 2 – 11 May 2020

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our whole community for their support and cooperation during the start of Term 2 as we have been operating in “Phase 0” of our managed return to school. Below I have outlined the operating model we will be using from Monday May 11, Week 3 Term 2.

From Week 3

From Week 3, Monday May 11^th, we will be moving to “Phase 1” of the managed return to school plan. Each child in Years 7 to 11 will be able to attend school one day per week. Year 12 will be able to attend every day. The table below indicates the planned pattern of attendance for each year group throughout the week.

Students who are unwell or have any cold or flu-like symptoms are not to come to school. If students develop such symptoms whilst at school, parents will be contacted and asked to take their children home.

Daily Attendance by Year Group from Week 3 Term 2
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
12	12	12	12	12
11	10	9	8	7

Under Phase 1, whilst the school is open and no child will be turned away, we encourage you to keep your child at home for the other days.

Years 7 to 11

One Unit of Work

• Students will still be following the one unit of work whether they are at school or at home
• When at school year groups will be divided into classes of 10 and supervised by a teacher
• These groups of 10 will be roomed in the one classroom for the day to minimise movement
• Emails will be sent to students this week indicating the group and classroom students will be in for the day
• We will continue following our school timetable as closely as possible
• Students are expected to wear full school uniform

Roll Call

• Roll call will be at the start of period one in the room allocated for the day
• During roll call students are to log on to Sentral portal / Google classroom and check the work they have been set for the day

What to Bring

• Students are asked to bring their laptops for online learning
• A set of headphones /  earphones
• Usual books and pens for the day

Assessment Tasks

• Year 11 teachers may use the time students are onsite to deliver “in class” assessment tasks
• Students will be provided the required assessment notification if this is to occur

Thursday Afternoons

• The school day will finish at 2:30pm on Thursday afternoons as per usual
• Sport will not run on Thursday afternoons during Phase1
• Year 8 students will continue with their one unit of work online for two periods after lunch on Thursdays

Attendance

• Parents and carers are encouraged to send their child to school on the allocated day for the student’s cohort
• If you are keeping your child at home due to an underlying health condition please advise the school to ensure the student is able to continue learning from home
• Students who are participating in learning from home or school, will be marked as being present at school
• Teachers are monitoring student engagement with online learning and keeping a class roll based on student participation with online lessons

Social Distancing and Hygiene

• Whilst the Government has indicated that social distancing measures need not apply in schools, Menai High School is implementing a range of social distancing measures to ensure everyone stays safe at this time
• Class groupings will be kept to between 10 and 15 students depending on the size of the room
• Hand sanitiser will be available in every classroom and students will be required to use it when entering and leaving the classroom
• Desks have been marked inside classrooms indicating where students are to be seated in order for social distancing to occur
• Markings have been placed on outdoor seating indicating where students can sit to ensure social distancing is observed
• Students are not to be hugging, shaking hands, touching or having any other physical contact with each other whist at school
• Arrows have been placed onto walkways to indicate the direction of foot traffic throughout the school to avoid overcrowding in corridors and walkways

• If students do not comply with the social distancing measures implemented by the school, parents will be contacted and asked to collect their child  

Playground

• Social distancing measures are being implemented around the school, this includes in the playground
• Students are expected to follow the social distancing measures implemented by the school

Canteen

• The canteen will be operating, however there will be a reduced menu available
• Social distancing measures will apply

Uniform Shop

• The uniform shop will be open from Week 3 following the normal opening times of Tuesday mornings 8:00am – 12:00pm and Friday afternoons from 12:30 – 4:30pm
• Social distancing measures will apply

Buses

• Buses are currently running as usual and will continue to do so during Phase 1
• Bus companies are implementing additional cleaning procedures on all buses

Year 12

• Year 12 subjects will run as per our usual timetable although rooming will be altered
• Wherever possible Year 12 will have their regular teachers for their lessons
• When Year 12 class numbers exceed 15 students the lesson will be taught across two adjacent rooms
• Year 12 students who are continuing to learn from home will be able to access the lesson online
• Some Year 12 teachers with underlying health conditions will be working from home and will deliver remote lessons to their classes as per the timetable

HSC Major Works

• Thursday afternoon sport time has been set aside for Year 12 students to do additional work on their HSC major works
• Students can access this time by negotiation with their teachers
• Social distancing and hygiene practices will apply

We look forward to seeing all our students over the course of Phase 1 and supporting them with their learning on their allocated day at school.

Please be following the school Facebook page, website and be looking out for emails and texts messages for updates to school operations as they come to hand.

 

Ms E Sayed-Rich– Years 8 and 12

I would like thank our families for the tremendous effort, patience and resilience that you have shown throughout this difficult time as students and families have transitioned to remote learning and learning from home.

During weeks 1 and 2, students working from home are required to follow their timetables. Students need to log onto their google classrooms to view the work assigned for the day. Many teachers are also connecting and conducting with their classes via zoom.

Parents and caregivers are asked to please make contact with the relevant Deputy Principal, Head Teacher or Year Adviser should there be any concerns.

Year 8

I have been in communication with many families over the last few weeks and Year 8 students on the whole should be commended for their efforts to maintain and keep up to date with their work. Thanks to parents for their support and understanding during this challenging time.

Year 12

As Term 2 commences, please find below an overview of the NESA COVID-19 Committee’s latest decisions about the 2020 HSC.  Year 12 students should be commended for their hard work and efforts to maintain their studies.

I thank all of our teaching staff, especially the Year 12 teachers for the incredible work, preparation and feedback they are delivering to our students. Teachers are demonstrating great innovation and collaboration to address curriculum delivery issues and are doing a remarkable job.

Written Exams
HSC written exams will proceed this year, so it is vital that students continue to focus on their studies and preparation.

Results will be released in mid-December as originally planned.
The HSC Written exam timetable will be released by 15^th May (Week 3 Term 2).

Major Projects and Bodies of Work
The marking process has been changed for major projects in Technologies and Visual Arts bodies of work.

Students will have an extra two weeks to work on their projects, and the marks for the practical component will be provided by their teachers.

Portfolios will be marked externally, as normal.

I have included here an HSC Checklist and Reminders Click here

which has already been issued in Term 4 last year. Year 12 students will have this information emailed to them.

University Entry

It has been acknowledged that there's never been a Year 12 class that have had their learning more profoundly disrupted than this year's class. Understandably there is some concern about what happens about university entry. The advice given from the Department is that universities, particularly with the challenge they've faced around international students, are going to be keen to enroll students from this year's Year 12. Further information will be communicated as it becomes available.

Stay safe and have a good week.

Student Good News

HSIE Faculty

Ms Scevity would like to commend Phoebe Seretis, Chloe Burling, Jack Lacy and Hannah Bunyon (Year 11) on their outstanding Ancient History Assessment Task on the Role of Museums and the Ethics of Ownership of Artefacts.

TAS

Mrs Kendrick congratulates Ben Exton, Emily Cliff, Kayla Whitehall, Jack Vickery, Tim Roberts, Chris Oberg, Lara Ewerlin, Elouise Cameron, Sophie Paice and Chloe Johnson (Year 10 Food Technology), Maya Cox, Abbey Gielissen, Fine Tuitavake, Isaac James and Ebony Hatton (Year 7 TAS) on their excellent start to online learning in Term 2.

The current COVID-19 situation has created many challenges for our students and has impacted on people in varying ways. It is understandable that during times like this, students might feel worried, anxious and overwhelmed. Our fantastic wellbeing team are here to support students remotely so if you have any concerns about your child’s wellbeing then please contact the school and your concern will be directed to the most appropriate person on our wellbeing team.

It is important that students remain physically active at this time and that parents and carers continue to monitor their child closely, ensuring channels of communication remain open.

We look forward to seeing students back on their nominated day during Week 3.

Stay safe.

Miss B Stone

Head Teacher, Welfare

 

 

School Photos

I anticipate that school photos will arrive at the school in the early part of Term 2 as usual.  In terms of distributing photo orders to students, I will wait until the school has finalised what our staggered return to school will look like from May 11^th, and will endeavour to get photos out to students as soon as possible once they have arrived at school.

Online Learning

Students and parents will be using Sentral as the main form of communication as we continue with online learning until at least Week 4.

Most parents are registered with the Sentral parent portal already, but if you are not, the most efficient method of gaining access is to email me at leonie.ferraro@det.nsw.edu.au

Similarly if you have forgotten your password or require the access key, emailing me is the most efficient method of dealing with your enquiry.

If you would like to message the teachers of your children, below are some useful instructions:

Once you have logged in, click on the messages button which is blue and at the top of your screen.

Then click on NEW MESSAGE on the far top right of the screen and fill in the information in the pop up box.

Google Classroom:  The individual teachers of each subject have the google classroom keys which are only accessible by students.  Parents cannot be members of the Google classroom.  Parents will be able to see via Sentral Homework or Sentral messages that work has been set in the Google classroom for students to complete.

NESA Students Online

Year 12 students are encouraged to regularly log onto their NESA ‘students online’ accounts to stay up to date with advice from NESA regarding their HSC exams https://studentsonline.nesa.nsw.edu.au/go/login/

Mrs L Ferraro

Head Teacher, Administration

 

 

 

 

 

Distance Learning Update

In these unprecedented times, our students and teachers have overcome some challenging hurdles to get distance learning underway. Creativity has found its way into every lesson with some wonderfully engaging lessons being presented. From home practical work to demonstrations via video conferencing to competitive kahoot games run online, the learning has been seamless and this will certainly be a historic time to reflect on and remember.

Below are some photos of what has been happening in Science during the COVID lockdown.

    

Sleek Geeks Competition

Students looking for a challenge, an engaging activity and a great way to practise explaining a concept, the Sleek Geeks Competition is running again this year. More details are at https://australianmuseum.net.au/get-involved/eureka-prizes/sleek-geeks-science/?gclid=CjwKCAjwnIr1BRAWEiwA6GpwNeztj32bUpzBo598J4zxtvfS1L3WMLxa61W1kgfjq3McPt6_5GcALhoC1oYQAvD_BwE

Please contact Ms Hanna or Mrs Rogers if you would like to enter.

Ms A Hanna

Head Teacher, Science

 

 

 

    

 

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