Staying
positive in tough times
Parents
Victoria totally understands how overwhelmed many parents and
teachers are feeling right now and we know many are uncertain
about Term 2.
PV wants to congratulate all our schools for the work they have
done and are doing to make the education life for all students
continue as best it can during this pandemic. We must recognise
all the contributions everyone is making, from the Minister, the
central and regional Department, School Principals, teachers,
education support and all school related staff and contractors
doing what they can to assist. It won't be perfect but it'll help
in some way.
More
than ever, relationships are central
PV is
extremely fortunate to have amazing people who reach out to us in
these times of need to support our families. Here are some
wise words from John Hendry who we are collaborating with on
Relationship Based Education (RbE). (Some of you would have met
John at our 2017 and 2019 Conferences.) John said:
"I
hope every parent is enjoying having their children with them and
being able to help them in such a time of real challenge. I know
all parents will grow to better understand the teaching and
learning experience.
This deeper
and greater understanding is a pivotal part of Relationship based
Education and particularly Relationship Parent Education, for
parenting in the modern world where attendance at school is
compulsory is truly a joint venture, an open and we hope, a
constructive and collaborative partnership with teachers and all
beyond the family who contribute to the life education of their
offspring. A quality and constructive relational matrix is
critical for it substantiates health and well-being."
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COVID-19
updates
We have
set up a new section on the Parents Victoria website
just for updates on the COVID-19 situation. There are sections
on:
- Reliable
information
- Learning from
home
- Wellbeing
- Children with
additional needs
We are
continually updating the section as new information
becomes available.
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PV Reps - please share this information
It's
important to keep your club members and your school community
well informed about current issues in education. There's a
wealth of information in this newsletter, share it
around! We encourage you to circulate our e-newsletters to
your parent club members and to identify relevant items for
your wider school community. You might like to request
your school to put relevant items in its newsletter.
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Home
school allowance
Parents
Victoria and Gender Equity Victoria are calling for Victorian
parents to be supported with a one-off home school
allowance to offset the additional costs
associated with educating kids in isolation during Term 2.
Read the full details on our website
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Remote
learning for students with additional needs
We have
received several enquiries about how the new remote learning
arrangements will cater for students with additional needs.
Hopefully this video from the Association for Children
with a Disability (ACD) will answer at least some of
those questions.
You might also find answers on the Education Department 'Advice for parents of
children with additional needs' page.
Your
local school is the first point of contact for
any questions you might have. It's so important to maintain /
establish respectful lines of communication and relationships
between schools and families - and especially at this time.
See the 'Gratitude' article below.
If you still require further assistance, call the DET advice
phone line for parents:
1800 338
663.
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How
gratitude can help parents and carers support their children to
learn at home
In
this article, Dr Kerry Howells discusses the value of practising gratitude
in these difficult times.
Parents
around the world are not only struggling with the enormous
changes and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, but are also
being asked to step in to help with facilitating learning at
home. For many this is adding further to an already stressful
situation. Asking parents and carers to be up to the task of
guiding their child’s learning is based on huge assumptions: that
parents have the time, resources and emotional fortitude to do
what the school is asking of them; that they have the confidence
to do so; and that they themselves have had a positive experience
of schools and learning.
Parents
in this situation might think that practising more gratitude is
counterintuitive or in fact a bizarre recommendation when there
are so many hardships and complexities they have to deal with.
However, what we have learned about the power of gratitude to
enhance learning – and also more broadly to improve health and
wellbeing – shows that is highly relevant to meeting the
challenges parents and carers are currently facing.
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PM:
It's the states
"If
you are going to school in Victoria there is only one person you
need to listen to and that is the Premier
of Victoria"
PM Scott Morrison has moved to clear up any confusion about who
is responsible for school education, and the message was clear:
it's the state governments.
See a full report on EducationHQ website.
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Submissions
and feedback
Parents
Victoria receives regular requests to provide official
submissions and feedback to Government, DET and agencies. We
embrace the opportunity to provide this input through a parent
lens.
Some of our recent 2020 work includes:
- March - DET Feedback to
Safety Guidelines for Education Outdoors and the 21
Adventure Activity Guidelines
- March - Submission to
the Parliamentary Inquiry into Managing School
Infrastructure
- March - Feedback re
Australian Education Amendment (Direct Measure of Income)
Bill 2020 (via Australian Council of State School
Organisations (ACSSO) see submission on the
ACSSO website.
- March/April - Feedback
to the DET Review into vocational and applied learning
pathways in senior secondary schooling
- April- Submission to
Joint New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and ACT Review
of NAPLAN.
- April - Feedback to
DET on potential FAQ information under COVID-19
Information
at the Engage Victoria website might be
of interest to you. Note the opportunity to join the
mailing list if you are interested in registering and being
involved.
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Partners
in Parenting
Now
more than ever, parents are looking for ways to protect their
teenager’s mental wellbeing. The Partners in Parenting program,
delivered by Prevention United and Monash University, is a free,
evidence-based, online program for parents of teenagers to protect
their mental wellbeing. The program includes practical
parenting tips that are particularly relevant right now as
families cope with COVID-19.
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Home
learning: a student perspective
Recently the Victorian Student Representative
Council (VicSRC) asked students about the
impact of COVID-9 on their schooling. We wanted to share this
response with you.
Coming from a
Grade 5 student who is experienced in home learning, there is
some useful advice for those just starting out...
Hi
VicSRC
Thank
you for the email and asking me about my opinion. I am a bit
different to other primary school kids because l am already
educated at home. My education has been much better since l have
been at home so maybe I can tell you a bit about my experience.
1. How do you feel about this virus impacting your
school?
It
doesn’t impact my school too much because l am with the Virtual
School and things there have just continued like normal.
2. How do you feel about doing school
online?
This
is how l have done schooling full time for over a year now...
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Beware
of online predators
We
noticed an article in the Age recently
warning parents about online predators, as children spend more
time online (see below). We asked Susan McLean, Director of
CyberSafety Solutions, for some advice about this issue. Susan
said:
"The
risks for young people surrounding the internet are becoming more
well known and in particular the issue of grooming by online
predators. This is at epidemic levels. Never before have so many
predators had such easy access to so many potential victims via
the internet..."
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Rural
and regional education
In June
last year the Minister for Education established an Expert
Advisory Panel for Rural and Regional Students to examine the
critical challenges and barriers that contribute to the current
gap in educational attainment between rural and regional students
and metropolitan students in both primary and secondary
government schools.
The Panel has released an Executive Summary of its findings. They
made a range of recommendations across 8 areas including planning
and strategy, school resourcing, inclusive communities and
professional development.
The Executive Summary is clear and concise at only 8 pages, and
well worth a read.
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But
wait, there's more...
Why
can’t rural schools work together to provide senior schooling so
that we gain access to a wide selection of subjects and programs?
Why, in the
future, can’t rural schools combine VCE, VET and VCAL into one
senior school program and certificate?
Why can’t
education organisations celebrate all awards provided to students
studying senior schooling?
All good questions! These were some of the
key questions explored at the Rural Youth Ambassador facilitated
Forum late in 2019. The twenty rural young people who were
involved in the 2019 Rural Youth Ambassador program facilitated a
state-wide forum for rural educators, education sector personnel
and key stakeholder groups to explore the future of senior
education provision within Victoria.
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Family
engagement at Newborough East
This
article by Julie Skee, Principal at Newborough East Primary
School, describes how the school engages with its community.
Encouraging
parent input
At
Newborough East Primary School we strongly promote and encourage
the input and support of our parent body. This includes formal
representation on our school council as well as more informal
participation in our “Friends of NEPS” group.
We
also strongly encourage parent feedback via the provision of the
school Principal email address in the school newsletter and
online portals such as the school Facebook page, the use of class
dojo by classroom teachers, the introduction of COMPASS as well
as the school Facebook page...
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Skills
for Victoria’s Growing Economy
The
Victorian Government has commissioned an independent review into
Victoria’s post-secondary education and training system.
Every
Victorian has a stake in the future of post-secondary education
and training, and the Government wants every Victorian -
including parents - to have the opportunity to have a say in
designing that system.
There
are two ways for you to have your say:
- Complete an
online survey
- Upload a
submission.
The
Review will deliver its final report and recommendations to the
Minister for Training and Skills and the Minister for Higher
Education by October 2020.
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Not
Out and About - In and Active
A first
for Parents Victoria; we held our monthly Executive meeting via
Zoom.
We were so pleased - the technology worked well and we certainly
covered all of the business in record time! (There might
have been a cheeky pet who tried to steal the show at several
points.) The PV Executive Team members are spread across
the State and while a face to face meeting is also valuable,
meeting remotely was definitely a success.
Photo: (L-R
from top) Sharron Healy, Leanne McCurdy, Jenny Ballard, Paul Fry,
Karen Rook. Gail McHardy, Wendy Oh, Sasha Briseno, Nicole
Sweeney.
Natalie
Clemmet and Donna Evans were apologies for the meeting,
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No
NAPLAN this year
The
National Assessment Program (NAP) has announced that NAPLAN has
been cancelled for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can
read all the details on NAP's FAQ sheet for parents.
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Supporting
community in the time of COVID-19
Our
friend Mandy the Fundraising Whisperer has a great idea, and this
time it's nothing to do with fundraising. Mandy says that now is
the time for volunteer leaders (such as Parent Club committees)
to connect with their communities. Mandy says:
"You have a real opportunity to reach out and
connect with your communities, to make sure everyone knows that
they are not alone. You don’t need to have information or
updates, you just need to let everyone know that you are there
for them."
Mandy
has written a template letter to communities, that you might find
useful. You can copy and use the letter for your own community,
and there's no need to attribute it to Mandy.
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Free
learn-to-read books
Two
highly successful learn-to-read book series, Suzie the Scientist and Millie the
Mathematician are now available free for
parents. The books are published by Griffith University, and have
previously been available only to schools. As Australians
move to online learning modes, the university is helping parents
of pre-K to Year 3 students by:
- removing the
costs to purchase their interactive e-books on the Apple
i-bookstore. This applies to 48 titles across both the Suzie the
Scientist and Millie the
Mathematician learn-to-read book series
(i.e. 24 titles in each)
- providing free
access to the on-line, interactive versions of all 48 titles
- providing free
access to the video book version of all 48 titles
Read and download the books free on
Griffith University website
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