PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Kia ora e te whanau
Today we have our first day of online learning from home or from our learning hub in the Library and it marks an important test of our students’ ability to work autonomously.
Online Learning Skills and Routines
As whanau, you will know by now, the skills that your students bring to this form of learning at home. You may have noticed that they -
Organise their full day with a clear idea of what they want to achieve
Prioritise tasks according to a set of principles (easiest to most complex, having a variety of learning experiences, meeting assessment due dates)
Take regular short breaks to free themselves from the screen - going outside for fresh air and exercise
Snack regularly to keep up their energy and focus
Take a social break to chat or message friends
Show satisfaction at the completion of a task
These are great habits and strategies which support our students in this learning environment and praising them when you see this behaviour is a way of reinforcing these routines.
For those students who struggle to learn online, there are ways we can support them from home -
Set up a dedicated learning space and try to minimise distractions (phones, television, other people)
Go through the work that has been set for the day or week and help them to prioritise (as above)
Encourage regular breaks then help them settle back to work by identifying the next step in the task or the next task to start
Give praise and encouragement for the completion of a task and also for the work ethic required to focus and complete a task
This will help your student to build both the skills and the resilience to cope with learning more independently, which is going to become more and more necessary in their learning journey.
Building Resilience
At school we are aware of the need for our students to build resilience if they are to be successful in these challenging times and we transfer the strategies we use onsite to our Google classrooms where we can. Some key aspects of resilience building identified through research into US schools’ experience of the pandemic include -
Greet students when they enter a Google meeting or a classroom - tell them you are pleased to see them and use their name. Connection is a cornerstone of resilience building.
Get students talking to each other at the beginning and end of a lesson / Google meeting - this helps students to see themselves as part of a learning community
Acknowledge the challenges that students have faced through the disruption that the pandemic has caused BUT emphasise that they have come through the challenge, too. Teachers are realistic with students but also hopeful.
Make opportunities for students to help each other; this increases their sense of their value and worth as well as contributing to the building of a community. This might be in break out rooms or through group work in a classroom.
Get students to recognise their body cues. Take time to acknowledge when they feel hungry, tired, irritable or anxious. Socio-emotional regulation starts with knowing and saying how they are feeling.
Take regular breaks and let students choose what these breaks might look like. This supports focus, productivity and agency for our learners.
The brain needs to take a break too - reset the brain with short bursts of physical activity, changing places or activities.
Keep rules and expectations current; students thrive on routine and structure and they appreciate the high standards you have for them which reassure them that you know they can reach their potential.
Let students know they can succeed in their learning but also reassure them that you will be there to help them to do so.
The whole school community can meet the challenges of the pandemic; be explicit as educators in reassuring students that we have got this and we will flourish.
Some of these strategies are transferable to life and learning at home, too.
Week 6 at Trident
Until now we have been able to run on site learning pretty much “business as usual” and obviously this is what we are aiming to maintain. Our onsite capability is entirely dependent on having the numbers of staff we need to supervise the students on site and so far we have been lucky in terms of the numbers of staff affected by Covid. We cannot know when this will change but we can assure you we will inform you as promptly as possible and aim to create as little disruption as we can.
Whilst we have the ability to run school on site it is so important for your student’s social, emotional and learning needs to be here with their peers learning together. This is the third disrupted year for our rangatahi and they have only five years at high school. We need to use all the time that we have available to equip them for their life beyond school; please support us and your students by ensuring they maintain their access to and engagement with learning at Trident.
Nga mihi nui,
Adrienne Scott-Jones
B.A. (Hons), P.G.C.E
Principal
LIVING WITH COVID-19
Coping with mixed emotions and wellbeing tips for home isolation. This is a great resource that may help some of our community.
ROWING
Trident Rowers attended the Aon Junior Girls Regatta held in the weekend at Lake Karapiro.
Congratulations to Ayla Rowe and Poppy-Mae Parks who placed 3rd in their heat then went on to win the B finals of the Girls U18 double sculls.
Congratulations also to Jasmine Hale and Rhianna Rowe after placing 1st in their heat and taking 2nd place in the A finals of the Girls U15 double sculls.
Once again we wish to thank coach Chick Hammond and manager Debbie Rowe for their commitment and time given to our rowers.
Contact Us
Email: office@trident.school.nz
Website: https://www.trident.school.nz/
Location: Arawa Road, Whakatane, New Zealand
Phone: 64-7-308-8159
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Trident-High-School-News-420967477994039/