From the Head of Junior School

I would like to welcome all our families back to CGS for Term 3. Whilst I wish we could have commenced the term welcoming students back to school for face-to-face learning, we reluctantly find ourselves back in another round of remote learning in our virtual classrooms. There was definitely a feeling of déjà vu as we commenced this term but at least this time around, we have experienced remote learning previously and are now better prepared for it. I would like to congratulate everyone for the positive start to this term. When faced with challenges, it is so rewarding that time and time again, we see our students rise to them and remote learning has not been an exception.

Although we are all very proud of how successful our Remote Learning Program was last term, our staff commenced this term by reviewing and reflecting on our last remote learning period based on feedback from parents, students and their own observations. As a result, we have fine-tuned and implemented changes to improve our current program. We are confident that our program will continue to challenge and engaged our students. There will be new challenges and struggles but if we consider this an opportunity to grow and learn, we will all be better learners when we return to school. Where possible we will continue to ‘tweak’ our program to ensure it is both accessible and manageable for all families. I am happy to report that we have commenced this term with regular Google Meets for all P-6 classes. We recognise that this connectedness and checking-in is vitally important for student wellbeing during these current times.

Our disappointment at not seeing our students back at school was replaced with joy by their impressive attendance online. The feedback that I received from staff regarding our start this term has been very positive and I believe that the vast majority of our students have settled back into their learning schedule seamlessly.

I acknowledge the additional workload and stress that remote learning adds to families and am very grateful for the support you are able to give to your children's learning including establishing a supportive learning environment at home. I sincerely hope that the stronger connectedness of our Remote Learning Program during Term 3 provides an added support for all families. There are many challenges associated with remote learning and as always, I invite your feedback over the coming weeks. Through our positive collaboration, we can work together to ensure the best outcomes for our students.

Resilience, flexibility, problem solving, independence and a positive mindset are all vital skills to learn. This year has certainly helped us all to develop these in ways we could not have imagined. Although we have all been there before, this situation can still cause stress within households. Please be kind to yourselves and do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or myself if there are issues that the school may be able to assist you with.

Thank you to our incredible students for the wonderful learning that is taking place in homes across our CGS community. Thank you to our fabulous families for your ongoing support and understanding in these challenging times. Thank you to our amazing staff for once again carefully preparing and organising, in great detail, all the elements of our program to ensure a smooth return to remote learning for our students and their families. The seamless transition back into the online world is certainly a credit to everyone involved.

Thank you to our parents who attended our first ever online Parent/Teacher Interviews on Wednesday via the Zoom platform. From all accounts, they were a great success. I’m grateful to our teachers for showing their commitment to their students and their families by conducting these interviews after a full day of teaching and doing it remotely no less. If you weren’t able to attend on Wednesday, there is still availability next Tuesday.

There is no doubt about it, 2020 has been a very different and challenging year for us all. To say that a lot has happened since the year began would be an understatement for all of us. COVID-19 has changed our lives in many ways and we’re all feeling the sting of this pandemic in one way or another. It is a testament to our school community that our students’ learning continues with some form of normality during these difficult times.

With sincere thanks to you all and above all else, stay safe and stay well everyone.

Mrs Melissa Roberton

Head of Junior School

Years 3 to 6 Specialist Matrix Tasks

The specialist teachers wait in anticipation daily as students from Years 3 to 6 share their wonderful work.

Students’ creativity and independence comes through in every task shared with us.

The following videos are a snapshot of the great work students are producing in STEM.

Mrs Sandra Torcasio

Junior School Head of Curriculum

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Performing Arts News

During this very interesting time – Performing Arts has also gone online to provide a wide variety of learning opportunities for our Junior School students. Please click on the links below to listen to a snapshot of our students’ achievements.