Settling Back Into Routine
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
It is so pleasing to see the students settling back into a routine. I have been impressed with the adaptability of students and their strength of character to step up throughout this COVID-19 crisis time. Whilst Queensland has fared well in the crisis, what is evident is that complacency when it comes to following social distancing and hygiene recommendations is key to stopping the spread.
Whilst we have welcomed back a number of activities and practices that were halted during the height of the lockdown, there are remaining restrictions that must be followed. I request that only visitors who have essential business be on-site. This means that walking students to classrooms is still not essential. We have staff on duty to assist in this regard; however, should you have to assist your child, you will need to follow the sign-in process and attach a ‘Visitor Pass’ sticker for each time you enter the school. The recent experience of the Logan school where a case of COVID-19 caused the school to close for a week, demonstrates the seriousness of contact tracing and our obligations under our COVID-19 Plan to ensure this occurs. Your assistance in this endeavour is very much appreciated.
Term 3 Activities – Some Modifications
We still have strict social distancing measures in place when we have an event that involves parents or guests to the school. When we invite parents and guests into the school, we are required to use the four square metre rule for all parents and students in that space. Whilst the social distancing rule does not apply to students in a class with their Advisor or another staff member, it is activated when parents or guests are invited into the school. As such, many activities scheduled for this term will be modified, recorded or designated as student-only events. In instances where we schedule parent events, we are required to carefully check our COVID-19 requirements.
Home Learning
Thank you to the many parents who completed the Home Learning Survey. We were thrilled with the results and the many wonderful comments that parents made about Silkwood’s approach to home learning. The results of our Home Learning Program were outstanding and indicate a 99% satisfaction with the School’s communication during the home learning period. There were over 110 individual comments made with more than 90 of these praising the efforts or being complimentary about the work of the Silkwood team. There were about 15 comments that related to the challenges of home learning for parents and families, mainly around the IT connectivity and there was a 95% satisfaction with the support by the Advisors. Once again, I thank every staff member who assisted to get this Home Learning Program up and running in such a short time and my heartfelt thanks to the parents who were so wonderful in supporting their children during the home learning lockdown period.

Our Learning Principles
Over the coming issues of our Newsletter, I will outline several aspects of our approach to delivering a transformative educational model. In this edition, I explain the Learning Principles on which our approach to learning is framed. These Learning Principles are used to guide and align our educational decisions. Our personalised learning approach is at the centre of learning and teaching.

We inform our decision making around these principles and the below explanations are used as questions or positions that we would use to check that decisions are in line with our learning principles.
- Student Centered: Each student works in partnership with their Advisor to design a personalised learning pathway around their interests, Essential and Core learning needs.
- Developmentally Aligned: We match learning to young people’s developmental needs.
- Learning How To Learn: We make the process of learning visible for students, so they can discover how to become better learners.
- Real-World Learning: We connect student learning to real-world experiences
- Exploring and Expanding Interests: We continuously engage students in learning experiences that grow their knowledge and skills and expand their interests.
- Making Moments that Matter: We create enduring memories for our students through festivals and by celebrating significant moments on their learning journey.
- Working in Partnership: Learning is a partnership that involves our School Team, Students, Families and the wider community.
- Entrepreneurial Thinking: We encourage adventuring, seeking out new possibilities, thinking outside the square and considered risk taking.

Lastly, I would like to share with you a quote by Paulo Freire (1921—1997), one of the most influential philosophers of education of the twentieth century. He worked wholeheartedly to help people both through his philosophy and his practice of critical pedagogy, contributing to transformative learning theory and knowledge. "What an educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves." Paulo Freire
"Have a wonderful term and I look forward to moving along the Silkwood journey with our community."
— Terry O'Hanlon Rose, Principal