Life….not as we know it….

Where to begin?  I, probably along with nearly everyone else, can’t believe it’s June.  I can’t believe what we’ve seen and witnessed over the past three months, nor what we will continue to see play out throughout the remainder of this year.  I am not sure I can actually make any sense of a great number of things yet, but I am sure that 2020 will be a thick chapter of history, for many bad, and many good reasons.  We’ve certainly got a collection of new or now-common words and phrases to add to the dictionary—‘unmute’, ‘unprecedented’, ‘zoom, ‘social distance’, ‘self isolate’, ‘elbow bump’; I am sure there will be more.  The uncertainty of so many things in some ways leads to a heightened level of anxiety for many people, and many of our children.  It is important we notice and acknowledge this, intentionally looking for levels of normality and routine where we can, to bring a level of comfort—turning off the news is probably a good start!  In contrast, I have found a sense of peace and joy in the ‘new normal’ that has come from seeing families and friends spending more time together.  Driving past a park any afternoon or weekend you will have noticed people spending time together, enjoying the slower pace of life that has forced itself upon many people.

As I’ve said to many people, our PoP community has been amazing in its support of one another throughout this time.   Our fee support, for example, this term saw over 20% of our families return their discount to support others; we can’t tell you how much impact that has made for so many.  We’ve seen and heard of countless acts of kindness, support and grace, virtually daily.  We’ve witnessed grace and Christ in action again and again, responding to the pain our entire world is currently in.

Staffing

Term Three, as planned, will begin with two pupil-free days, seeing students back on site on Wednesday 15 July.  These two days are used by the College for essential training and Professional Development, such as mandatory First Aid training, booked well ahead of time.  We understand that this year has had significant disruption to life.  That has definitely been the case for students and families, but it has also definitely been the case for our amazing staff.  I mentioned, earlier, that getting back to normality and routine wherever possible are essential.  For our staff, these days are part of that normality and while we understand the eagerness of some to now minimise the number of days students are at home, it is just as important to minimise the impact on staff.

Continuing on with staff, there have been a couple of additions to our staff team since our last POPCORN.  We welcome the following staff:

• Lesley Collier commenced as a TA on the Senior Campus
• Paul Fox and Wayne Mahoney joined our team of casual bus drivers
• Lyndell Burden will commence on Monday 22 June as our new Defence School Mentor

Finally, not staffing as such, but over the past fortnight many of our Senior students have been sitting interviews and creating videos for our 2020/2021 College and House Captain roles.  I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the level of thought, passion and commitment shown by all the aspiring applicants.  We look forward to welcoming some new students into these positions shortly, as we also thank and farewell those currently incumbent in the roles for their service to the College over the past 12 months.

Blessings

Simon Hughes
Head of College

Dealing with Stress

They returned with a flurry, the students of PoP… their shining shoes tied on to skipping feet, bags bulging filled with books from home learning, eyes were filled with a certain twinkle—there was a buzz in the air!

Our students have been the highlight of our past two weeks. They have filled our classrooms, consumed the eerie silence and flooded our play grounds once again. From their infectious laughter to squeals of delight, their pondering questions to their firmly restated handball rules, they are back and we couldn’t be happier!

Throughout our lives we all experience periods of joy, excitement, sadness, frustration, despair and stress. As adults, we are constantly modelling to our children how we manage ourselves during these many and varied times.  This unusual time in our lives has been smooth sailing for some, difficult for others and life-changing for all.

Last Monday, I had the opportunity to participate in an online webinar with schools from around Australia as we discussed and reflected on life during COVID times, and life after the fact. We paid particular attention to the notion of vulnerability and resilience. Specifically we investigated research which highlights factors supporting the development of resilience under circumstances of great stress, which I will share with you now.

Every person experiences stress responses at different times in their lives. These patterns of stress can foster predictable outcomes which develop tolerance and resilience, or unpredictable outcomes that can lead to sensitisation or vulnerability. To assist in developing our positive stress responses, there are some fundamental things we can do, and model to our children, which are proven to help control and moderate our stress outcomes.

Dr Bruce Perry, in his work for the Neurosequential Network, has documented how our patterns of stress impact our responses to situations, and what we can do to minimise any negative effects on ourselves and those around us.

The following two images help to outline those habits and traits that we can identify in ourselves when we are experiencing negative or positive patterns of stress. The chaotic or unpredictable patterns of stress include things such as minimal exercise, comfort eating and sleep disruption, amongst other things. While no one factor alone is cause for concern, a combination of several of these negative factors, over an extended period of time, will lead to a sense of vulnerability and loss of control.

Alternatively, those who face stressful situations with the following habits firmly in place, tend to display resilience, control and positivity through difficult times. Finding times to gather as a family for a meal, exercise regularly, help others and sleep well will develop positive feelings, a sense of control and improve our resilience to difficult circumstances.

For more information, take a look at the following articles:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/pulling-through/202004/the-pandemic-toolkit-parents-need

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orwIn02h6V4

https://www.neurosequential.com/covid-19-resources

Student Reports

While the circumstances of 2020 caught us all by surprise, I am delighted to say that the rhythm of our school day has continued. Our classrooms are pulsing along, with a combination of revision and new learning. The students have truly done themselves proud during this difficult time.

Our teachers are currently working on your child’s report. Much consideration has been given to our reports this semester, and to gathering authentic data and evidence of learning. After speaking with our teachers, the decision has been made for our reports to proceed in full, with only a minor adjustment. For this semester, the staff have been asked to provide a grade and effort mark for all subjects which they believe they can authentically provide evidence and data on. Each year level will have one or two subjects where they may provide the grade N/A. This means the subject was either not assessed this semester or not able to be assessed.

We have also made the decision to provide you with one singular comment for your child. This comment will reference their areas of strength and development in English and Maths as well as a Pastoral Care comment. To assist staff in this process, we have also provided them with the option to bullet point their comments to provide you with clear strengths and next steps in learning. I trust these minor changes allow our staff to provide you with authentic and relevant Student Reports in what has been an unusual time for all.

Katrina Valencia
Head of Junior Campus

Senior Campus Open Morning

Due to COVID-19 restrictions the Senior Campus Open Morning that was scheduled for 17 June has been cancelled.  Personal Tours are still available.

Welcome Back—Gratitude

There were great celebrations on 25 May when we were able to welcome 98% of our students back to the campus. It has been a strange few weeks; while our COVID-Cohort numbers did increase over the weeks, there was a sense of excitement to be able to welcome everyone back on site.  I am sure it says something about our community, that the second 1000 word puzzle that the COVID-Cohort had been working on was only completed on the arrival of the rest of the students. Someone has suggested that we need to set up a time lapse camera, as students walk past and just add a puzzle piece—so many have contributed to the puzzle!

We are so proud of the students, they demonstrated a great deal of flexibility and persistence.  As I have chatted to students on their return, overwhelmingly they are pleased to be back.  Yes—they miss the sleep in, and some of the freedoms, but were grateful to be back with their peers and continuing their learning with their teachers in the classroom.

We thank the parents for supporting our efforts to keep students engaged and on track; we thank them for their encouraging words, gentle reminders, and their attempts to explain.

We thank our teachers—without their dedication and their willingness to be adaptive and become overnight experts in Teams, Zoom and Loom, FLEX@POP would not have been possible.  These last nine weeks have been very challenging—engaging with students in the digital world is just not the same as the classroom.  We thank them for their willingness to stretch themselves and support our students in their learning. We are blessed at Prince of Peace to have such dedicated staff. To mark the end of FLEX@POP, staff let off a party-popper, as a way of celebrating the return of students.

The Pavilion

There was great excitement during Week 6 when we were able to throw the first basket in The Pavilion.  It is a fabulous new asset to the Senior Campus and will be utilised as both a covered sporting facility as well as a place for us to gather.  This new facility will be a blessing for years to come.

Senior Leadership

We have started the Senior Leadership process for 2020/2021. As has become the norm during 2020, we have needed to approach things a little differently.  Due to the fact that we can’t gather together the candidates each recorded their speeches, students and staff  have watched these and voting took place this week.  The candidates are currently being interviewed and decisions will be made before the end of term.  The opportunity to meet with the candidates is always a highlight.

10000 Reasons

Over 100 of our students (and staff) have been recording 10 000 Reasons to be part of the LEQ  school students “couch choir”.  We thank the students for their willingness to be part of this project.  We are grateful to Mrs Brady, Mrs Grimes and Miss Siddall for their leadership.  We look forward to the finished project.

Michelle Nisbet
Head of Senior Campus

These past two weeks I have sought feedback from our Year 12 cohort as to how they travelled during their time at FLEX@POP. It was clear that independent learning was difficult for some students and the time on devices became quite a chore for them. We know that device saturation is a key issue in today’s society, and not only for our youth, adults too!

Overall our Year 12 students embraced the experience of learning from home. However, there were some clear reasons for disengagement, with the highest being a lack of personal motivation without a teacher being present in person to prompt and facilitate learning. Students harnessed the new technologies, with Chat in Teams being a popular platform that students wanted teachers to keep using.

In relation to personal motivation, this is difficult as procrastination is easy to slip into, especially when there are so many distractions in today’s online world.

Below are some key steps to improving personal motivation and spending less time procrastinating:

1. Be positive.  Set goals and meet them, because when you do, you feel more confident, which in turn will make you happy. Making progress is motivating for most!
2. Reward yourself. Find something that acts as a motivator. This might be chocolate, a long walk, a chat with friends when you are done. We like to have rewards, it reminds us that we have been committed and achieved something.
3. Get peers around you. Research suggests that when people join groups where change seems possible, the potential for that change to occur becomes more real. Peers can help you become motivated and then you can share the success together.

It is now in Week 8, that the struggle is real for some of our students, there is plenty to do with assessment looming for many. Teachers are there to support students as they work their way to the end of the term.

God bless

Linda Perrett
Acting Deputy Head of Campus

Senior Campus Open Morning

Due to COVID-19 restrictions the Senior Campus Open Morning that was scheduled for 17 June has been cancelled.  Personal Tours are still available.

Worship

We regret that regular service times have been suspended as a precautionary measure due to the COVID-19 virus.

Uniform Shop News

The Junior Campus Uniform Shop is now open Tuesday and Thursday mornings only from 8am – 10am, until the end of term. We will let you know when the afternoon hours resume. Uniforms can still be purchased from The School Locker six days a week and online.

Orders: Orders can be placed by phone or email through the College website using the link on the Uniform Shop Page, or at anytime from The School Locker Website. Note: If you wish to avoid home delivery fees during term times, nominate delivery to your child’s campus and provide your child’s name and class.  Junior Campus orders will be delivered to your child’s class. Senior Campus orders will be delivered to reception for your child to collect the next day.

Junior Winter Uniform:  Formal boys – grey pants (elastic waist) and navy pullover; formal girls – navy tights and navy pullover; unisex sport – zip track jacket and track pants.

Senior Winter Uniform: Formal boys – grey pants (with belt), long sleeve shirt and navy pullover; formal girls – navy tights with skirt or navy pants, and navy pullover; unisex sport – zip track jacket and track pants.

Label it – Don’t Lose it:  Plain white iron on labels are $6.95 for pack of 40 labels. Please ensure that your child’s track jackets, pants and pullovers are named—large handwriting on the white lining is recommended, and using white name labels on dark fabrics eg pullovers are easier to read.  Winter items are often removed during the middle of the day and can easily be misplaced—clear labelling makes it possible to return items to the correct owner.

Second Hand: If you wish to buy or sell second hand uniforms, please visit our very active PoP Second Hand Uniform Buy & Sell Facebook group

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