Greetings members of the Delany family,
I would like to thank you for your support and understanding during this challenging time and I also wanted to provide you with an update.
This week, our school has remained open although learning has been provided by putting in place flexible learning arrangements:
We have had a smaller number of students attend school each day while the remainder of our students have accessed learning resources and classwork from home.
Teachers have delivered classes online, provided feedback and organised tasks and assessments for students to complete.
Students have continued to receive additional support from our specialist teachers, as required.
Practical workshops have been provided as an option for students at school in areas such as Art, Music, Technology and PE.
Our students have been able to engage productively and participate enthusiastically online whether they have been at school or at home.
For the remainder of Term 1:
Learning will continue to be delivered using our current flexible learning arrangements.
It is important to remember that tasks and assessments will be due on their specified dates.
Additional support for students will be provided as required. Students are able to contact their teachers and their stage coordinators if they require additional assistance or support.
If students cannot access resources online it is important to let us know so we can assist by providing alternate access to learning materials.
Students do not get a second chance at this academic year. Therefore they must stay up to date with their work, complete assessments and work to the best of their ability.
How can you support your child?
As you would be aware, it is critical that students continue to be productively engaged in learning and participate in regular social and physical activities.
You can support this by:
Assisting your child to maintain a balanced schedule of study, rest and leisure activities - they need a plan for the week and a plan for each day;
Ensuring they sign into classes outlined in their timetable, participate in online activities outlined on the Google Classroom site, and complete assessments on time.
Ensure they check in with their mentor each Tuesday between 3.00 and 3.30 pm.
Also, please encourage your child to read as much as possible while they are at home. Developing their stamina for reading has such a positive impact on their learning. Just to add some perspective:
a student that reads for 5 minutes a day will read on average 282,000 words in a school year.
If they increase it to 20 minutes (just 15 minutes extra), that becomes a powerful 1.8 million words!
Online reading resources are available from our library via the library page, please see below - from the Library.
Additional Support for Essential Workers.
We appreciate the difficulties for families at this time, particularly those employed in essential services or casual roles.
We will remain open, government regulations permitting, so we can continue to provide supervision for our students.
As a further support to you, Delany College will be open during the Term 1 school holidays:
Good Friday to Easter Monday - School Closed
Tuesday 14 April to Friday 24 April - supervision provided during normal school hours.
Details about how to access this service will be shared on the skoolbag app shortly. Please note this service is available for essential workers and those that cannot make other supervision arrangements. It is important that you RSVP using the link on the Skoolbag app when it is shared to advise us that you require your child to be here during the holidays.
Thank you to our staff.
The level of care, commitment, and service shown by all members of the Delany staff: our teachers, office and IT staff, catering, maintenance and cleaning crew, has been outstanding.
We have been able to successfully transition flexible learning arrangements due to the diligence and planning of our teaching teams over the last few months. I am very grateful and appreciative of their work, as I am sure you are.
As we prepare for Easter, we will continue to face unprecedented challenges. However, I am confident that by working together, and embracing the spirit of hope embodied in our Easter story, we will endure those challenges and emerge as a stronger community.
God Bless
Paul Easton
Acting Principal