Mitcham Campus
-- Reception - Year 6 --
Teaching & Learning
Our ConnectEd learning framework is driven by the need to provide our young learners with a sense of continuity, connection and wellbeing, whilst ensuring progress and growth in their learning.
Online learning is more demanding of students than the face-to-face work that occurs in a classroom. It requires a more focused approach and doesn’t allow for the natural transitions and interactions that take place during and between lessons at school. As such, we have designed a condensed learning experience each day, with a view to providing opportunities for breaks, physical activity, creativity and relaxation.
We know that our students will engage in the learning programs within a multitude of home learning environments, and with a range of support structures. Our programs are designed to allow the flexibility required for students to complete tasks across the day as needed.
On This Page
The Scotch: ConnectED remote learning framework on Mitcham Campus
Scotch: ConnectED Parent information for parents of Mitcham Campus students
Learning Principles
The principles of our remote Learning program are:
Wellbeing
Student wellbeing, by maintaining a sense of belonging to the school and connection with teachers and peers.
Routine
Online learning routines that enable students to acquire and practice skills and understandings.
Confidence
Students’ confidence, understanding of expectations and sense of responsibility in using the college’s digital learning tools.
Engagement
Engagement with relevant and related learning experiences that will support their progress.
Opportunities
Opportunities for students to respond to feedback about learning.
Agency
To encourage a sense of student agency within learning.
Structured Work Routines
Daily Structures for Each Year Level
At school, we start each day with a 10-minute Home Group meeting, to set up our the day. The teacher’s online welcome message helps familiarise students with the expectations for the day.
Reception to Year 2 students will be set around 2 hours of structured work per day.
This includes a task set by the specialist teacher/s who would normally see them on that day. For your child, this may look like 8 periods of 15 minutes of on-task time. Your child may, however, manage longer periods of focus time and / or the ability (and desire) to work beyond 2 hours.
Year 3 & 4 students will be set between 2 and 3 hours of structured work per day.
This includes some work set by the specialist teacher/s who would normally see them on that day. For your child, this may look like 8 sessions of 20 minutes of on-task time. Your child may, however, manage longer periods of focus time, such as up to an hour, and may choose to work beyond this expectation.
Year 5 & 6 students will be set between and 3 and 4 hours of structured work per day, following their regular timetable.
This includes lessons with the specialist teacher/s who would normally see them on that day. They will be required to check in for set lessons throughout the day. The expectation would be up to 25 minutes (at Year 5) and 30 minutes (at Year 6) of uninterrupted focus time for most students.
Unstructured Work
An opportunity for children to engage in inquiry, exploration, passion projects and / or open learning tasks that promote offline and individualise learning beyond the curriculum.
How We Assess
Assessment online is not just about using traditional approaches and replicating them in virtual context. In this environment less is more. It’s not about the outcome it’s the process and, therefore, greater attention to formative assessment is our focus.
The Australian Curriculum provides great flexibility to measure and understand the learning of students. We are committed to dealing with disruption and making the most of the opportunities that being online creates for our learners.
Customised Learning
Students currently working within our Learning Strategies Unit or with English as an Additional Language support, will continue to access support whilst working remotely.
Students who already have additional, highly targeted support will have their remote learning program modified through the support of their Educational Support Officers and with the recommendation of their allied health professionals (e.g. Speech Therapists).
Students receiving Challenge and Enrichment across the curriculum will continue to access their programs whilst working remotely.
Their Challenge and Enrichment teachers will either set alternate tasks, or work with Home Group teachers to adjust activities to offer an appropriate level of challenge.
Homework
We continue to expect children at all levels to read regularly as a part of their leisure time. We are mindful of the need for students to have downtime from their screens, so will encourage children to share their learning, over dinner instead.
If you feel that your child requires further practice and work beyond the school day, please note, that online learning enables them to revisit activities and build on these.
Our Learning Platforms
SeeSaw
All Junior Campus children, staff and families have a SeeSaw account. SeeSaw is a platform designed for Primary school-aged learners. SeeSaw is a digital portfolio that gives parents and teachers real-time glimpses into a child’s learning. Students use creative tools to take pictures, draw, record videos and more to capture their learning in a portfolio. Teachers create and share targeted activities to individuals, groups or the class as appropriate.
SeeSaw is the main platform for Reception to Year 4 students.
Zoom
Last Year Scotch College introduced Zoom as a face-to-face communication tool for Reception to Year 4.
This was rolled out, with very careful protocols, to ensure both privacy and security remain paramount. We took our time to trial and implement this tool, to ensure Child Protection standards could be met at all times. Teachers may use this tool to hold targeted teaching and learning sessions rather than for whole class delivery, at these levels. Please note, that as young children require flexible learning structures, zoom will only be used periodically to keep students connected. The goal is to allow them to work at a pace and at times that meet family requirements through SeeSaw as the main platform.
At the upper primary years, our students begin to use the platforms that they will need in their Secondary Years, including Outlook, Teams, Seqta and Office 365.
Microsoft Teams
Scotch College uses Microsoft Teams as the discussion platform for teachers delivering remote learning.
SEQTA
SEQTA is used for recording attendance, creating and marking assessments, reporting, accessing timetables, and planning lessons.
Microsoft Outlook
Teachers will tend to emails during working hours and be available for email correspondence with students, parents and colleagues.
Microsoft Office 365
Scotch College uses Office 365 as its main suite of productivity apps. This includes programs like OneNote, Outlook, Powerpoint, Word, Forms and many others.
ConnectED Parents
Our partnership is vital if your child is to thrive in our online learning environments.
Supporting Remote Learning
The technology that supports teaching and learning also provides a valuable tool for keeping children connected with each other, and keeping you connected with their learning, their teachers and the wider Scotch community.
Our teachers will remain responsible for the teaching and learning and your role is to assist us by creating an ideal learning environment at home.
Your level of involvement will depend on the year level of your child and the level of independence and autonomy they have as a learner.
The information below explain how parents can provide support for both the education of students and the connection of families with the College.
The following general actions will help us to help all Scotch learners;
✓ Create a designated space for learning.
✓ Limit distractions.
✓ Allow time for supervised social interactions online (using age-appropriate non-school learning software).
✓ Keep in touch with other parents – swapping great ideas.
✓ Avoid creating a holiday atmosphere during learning time.
✓ A schedule is important but remember to include breaks from learning and screens.
✓ Learners need think time and to be able to make mistakes – as hard as it let them stumble as they learn to walk.
ConnectED Parents on Mitcham Campus
Expectations and behaviours around the learning environment
At Scotch we recognise that parents and caregivers who are supporting primary school-aged children learning from home, are often doing so with competing demands.
We know that you are no more prepared to become ‘teachers’ than we are to become the ‘parents’ of your children. Therefore, first and foremost, remember this is a partnership and that we are there to support and back each other!
It can be very difficult for, particularly, our younger learners to recognise that their home environment may be a place of school expectations – especially if there are younger siblings playing nearby. Indeed, your child may even have difficulty recognising which days are ‘school days’ and which are weekends!
The following guidance aims to provide families with strategies to help support students learning from home.
Learning Spaces
Depending on the age of your child, display either a monthly calendar or weekly timetable in a visible location, so they have a sense of which days are schooling days.
Have a dedicated ‘learning area’ set up where your child has their resources to hand – a charger, paper, stationery, reading materials, headphones etc. Never have children online in bedrooms or private areas.
Print out any tip sheets e.g. ‘What to do when I am stuck’ and ‘My computer isn’t working’
Getting Into a Sustainable Routine
Try to keep to your morning routine with getting up and ready, with breakfast etc. so that they are ready to engage with school in the morning.
Have your child / each child check into the SeeSaw Welcome Message first thing in the morning, so they can get a sense of their day (this is what we do at 8:40am during Home Group time at school). Children then can see and hear from their teacher which encourages connection for the day.
Have your snacks, lunch and drink bottle set for the day. Older children can make their lunches!
Ensure that your child has physical (and where possible) outdoor breaks between activities. Creative, construction, physical and hobby leisure time activities are best!
Think about what motivates your child – if they aren’t a self-starter a reward chart may be a good tool. Check for the teacher’s audio responses to tasks too!
Focusing on Learning
Having children wear their Scotch Sports top on school days will help them move into a learning mindset in the mornings.
There is an expectation that our at-home learners will attend to the assigned tasks set for the day. Year 5 & 6 children will work in ‘real-time’ and Reception to Year 4 children have some flexibility in when they start and complete tasks within the day. Completion of tasks will indicate ‘attendance’ within an education program.
You can find some downloadable and editable timetable templates on the Student Life page.
If your child is unable to complete the set tasks (ill, confused, exhausted) – they (or you) should record a voice message on the task to their teacher so we can support them.
If you have an egg timer, sand timer, clock, stop watch, iPad timer nearby, this can help children keep track of time and focus for short bursts of time. We recommend:
- 15 minutes for most Prep to Year 2 students
- 20 minutes for most Year 3 and 4 students
- 25 minutes for most Year 5 students
- 30 minutes for most Year 6 students
Headphones are a game changer if you have two or more children learning together – or if you are also working from home!
Collect mobile phones and other devices which may prove a distraction (Home Group teachers do this at the beginning of each day at school).
Connection, Belonging and Safety
Each day, complete the Wellbeing survey (link provided in the SeeSaw Welcome Message). This will help us know how your child is travelling.
Our platforms of Microsoft TEAMS (Year 5 and above) and Zoom (Reception to Year 4) provide our children with important interaction with others. Class teachers will reinforce the protocols for being respectful and keeping safe in these forums.
As we use face-to-face tools such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom, it is important that we adhere to our child protection protocols and also ensure that we respect our work and home environments:
- Please advise teachers if you are present in a room and a live class meeting is in progress.
- Consider any observation you make in the broader context of that class, and the wider learning program.
- Email (rather than using SeeSaw messages) to your Home Group teacher if you have concerns or questions.
Learning platforms are for school / learning purposes only. They are not to use these platforms for socialising beyond the school program.
We strongly encourage parents to adhere to age-restrictions of Apps beyond school and monitor social interactions.
The Office of eSafety has released an Online Safety Kit for parents and carers that can help families manage a rapidly increasing use of technology. Now is the time to build lifelong habits!