THE WAY (Term 2 Week 1 - 27 April 2020)
Over the past 12 months the Proclaim Lismore Worship Band, Wildfire has been blazing trails around the Diocese igniting a joyful spirit in the hearts and minds of students with the Ten:Ten Experience.The first Ten:Ten Experience of 2020 was hosted by Xavier Catholic College, Skennars Head, in early March. The energy levels were high among the Year 7 and Year 9 students with the program inviting them to consider just how extraordinary a life with God is; ‘I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me’ (Phil 4:13) For some students, this may have been the first time they have considered what they know about and want to know about God. On the second day St Joseph's Alstonville, St Francis Xavier Ballina, and St Finbarr’s Primary Byron Bay, travelled to Xavier Catholic College for a program of song, dance, small groups, talks, drama, and prayer, focusing around the theme of ‘friendship with Jesus’.
Students ask many questions; “Who made God?”, “How can Jesus be God?”, “How does God have time for everyone?” In another example of the accompaniment that Pope Francis calls for, the day was a joyful ‘walking with’ youth. Ultimately, the hope for the Ten:Ten Experience is to encourage students to be good people and remind them that in times of need, there is always God who loves them. Little did we know then that in the weeks that followed we would be faced with an international pandemic and uncertainty around the remaining experiences scheduled in 2020. Nevertheless, God continues to invite us into a relationship of love and meaning and the music of Wildfire will continue to support students along the way.
The Daily Soul will continue to be published three times a week; Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the blended learning phase of schooling. Resources featured in the Student Station are for staff discretion in determining use by students. An archive of resources relating to prayer, spirituality, and general use in RE, including those featured in The Daily Soul, will be housed on the Home Learning site and also labelled Student Station.
When joining a Zoom session, it is important to display your name in order for the presenter and host to mark the roll and identify staff correctly. Some staff have been joining Zoom sessions displaying their username as “iPad 1” or “Class 5. In order to correct this, please follow these STEPS to change your username.
The Student Data site will be upgraded for the commencement of Term 2 with a new layout, navigation, colour palette and additional functionality. The site now supports the system's focus on writing. Schools involved in the Lyn Sharratt initiative now have access to all the indicators under the Writing sub-element Creating Texts.
The Numeracy Progressions have been disabled for the Diocese of Lismore. The Maths Assessment Interview (MAI) Growth Point Framework is used to monitor and track student progress in Mathematics.
For support in using the Student Data site, or for Professional Learning to engage in the Literacy Progressions, please contact the Catholic Schools Office via The Helpdesk or your Education Officer in your cluster.
There will be a suite of professional learning opportunities for schools in Term 2 to support staff in the current blended learning environment. Further communication will be forthcoming as more professional learning opportunities become available throughout the term.
Teachers
Effective Pedagogy enabled with Technology
The purpose of this course is to provide professional learning and support to build teacher capacity to use technology as an enabler within a blended learning environment. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the SAMR framework which will enable teachers to create a learning experience using the SAMR framework.
This course will be available to register on My Learning.
Office Administration / Support Staff and Teachers
- A range of FREE TAFE On-line courses are to anyone who lives in NSW, left school and is an Australian or NZ citizen. The courses are designed to upskill and/or recognise skills developed over time. All courses are credentialed with a Statement of Attainment, other than the Working from Home short courses.
Schools may recognise this professional learning with evidence of enrolment and certification on completion. The time advertised for each course is indicative. The level of each course is a guide only with 1 being introductory to 4 developed towards intermediate to advance. Enrolment is currently open and available across a range of content areas.
The attachment provided, outlines the eligibility criteria, instructions for acquiring a Unique Student Identifier (USI) number and guidance to the commitment required to complete the indicative hours for each course.
Staff enrolment, completion and a statement of attainment provided through TAFE is the responsibility of school to determine and manage. - Linkedin Learning offers a range of very good short courses in computing/software, business processes/skills, cloud computing, productivity, operating systems, spreadsheets, presentations, social media, writing, note taking etc. The courses can range from 4 hours to 15 minutes. The cost of an annual licence to Linkedin Learning is $300/year which the school could consider purchasing. This would need to be discussed with your Principal.
Staff are reminded that individuals are required to register for all professional learning courses through the My Learning site. The site has the facility to recommend courses to others. This will be potentially useful for Principals and Assistant Principals who wish to recommend staff to register for particular courses.
Staff are reminded that the closing date for courses is five working days prior to the course.
To register, please visit My Learning.
Effective Pedagogy enabled with Technology 20LS-PEDAGOGY-EPEWT
The purpose of this course is to provide professional learning and support to build teachers’ capacity to use technology as an enabler within a blended learning environment.
This course is intended to provide online eLearning at your own pace, and can be completed at any time during the first four weeks of term 2.
- Session 1: Term 2, Weeks 1 - 4. Registration opens 27 April 2020