Learning at Home

Phased return to IHS

Phase 1: Return to IHS, student handbook Q and A

Setting up at home

Based on advice from David Roy – Lecturer in Education, University of Newcastle

Structure your home learning day

Remember we are in this together – this is new for most of us so we will have some teething issues. Parents are not expected to be teachers or home school experts, we will all need to work as best we can in this situation. We are unsure how long we will be operating in a learning from home mode but our teaching staff are here to support you at home.

Ideally we do not want to just see this as an extended holiday but as normal school as much as possible, from home. Creating a structure for the day is important. Consistency helps students focus, so start with a daily schedule. Skilled teachers often begin the school year with a great deal of structure, because kids learn most easily when they know what to expect.

Irrawang High School has a timetabled structure throughout the week, so rather than disrupting your child’s routine, some students may wish to follow the 9am-3pm learning routine. Alternatively, for some families it might be better to create your own new routines to fit in with your family or so you can share computer resources.

There is no specific time students should spend studying because different students will complete tasks and grasp concepts at different rates.

You will need to be flexible depending on how your child is progressing. Keep checking in with your children as to how they are progressing, offering help as they feel they need it. We all need to process new learning so allow children time to relax between learning periods.

Remember - creating a structure can help to keep the day productive

Set up a learning space

Create an area in the house for your child to be able to focus on learning. Keep in mind that every child has individual ways of learning, so what works for one may not work for another.

Find a clean, open place that works best for you and your family. Natural lighting is amazing. An open window is a plus.

Remove distractions - Turning the TV off, switching off app notifications will help or maybe even leave your phone in another room.

Home learning has an advantage in that it can cater to the individual child. As long as the student can focus and be safe, there are no limits to where the learning can take place. Feel free to allow children different places to learn, whether lying on the ground or sitting at a table – whatever works best for them.

Access to technology

Our school has been working hard to create a range of learning activities that can be accessed digitally or in paper copy. If students have access to a computer, laptop, tablet or phone they will be able to take advantage of the online learning platforms set up by classroom teachers. Students will be familiar with the platforms used by different staff – these may include: Canvas, Google Classroom, Microsoft teams and others.

For students without access to technology at home we can provide paper copies of school work available for pick up from the school or can be posted home.

If you are unsure how to access work for any subject please contact the school

Accessing our online learning platforms

Teachers work on a range of learning platforms and our students are used to switching between applications for different purposes. The easiest way to get started is for students to login to their student portal. This can be found by searching DoE student portal or going to this website: www.portal.det.nsw.edu.au

Once students have logged into their student portal they will see our learning platforms which are found in the learning tab.

Online Classroom Codes

Mental Health Services Port Stephens, Newcastle Lake Macquarie

E- Health and Phone Support

Physical Activities to do at home

Year 12 Resources and Support

Parent and Student Helpdesk - melanie.morgan9@det.nsw.edu.au or 4987 4687

ABC Education Broadcast Schedule

Teachers will be supporting students in our online learning platforms and are the first person to contact if a student has a question or needs some help with their school work.

In addition to our teaching staff we are working hard to set up a parent and student help desk to support you while students are learning from home. While we are working on this please feel free to send us an email outlining the issue or support you would like and one of our team will get back to you. If the issue is related to a specific subject it would be helpful to let us know the subject and teachers so we can get the right advice back to you.

Email address: irrawang-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

If a student is unable to login to their student portal please phone the school and we can speak to them and get them online.

Phone: 4987 4687

Advice for teaching from home..

https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-from-home/advice-to-parents-and-carers

Irrawang High School values education and to assist your child to continue working from home we recommend the following educational websites.

Teachstarter - https://www.teachstarter.com/

Cool Australia - https://www.coolaustralia.org/

ABC Education - https://education.abc.net.au/home#!/home

FUSE - https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/?SearchScope=All

Scootle - https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/home

Fairwork - https://www.fairwork.gov.au/…/online…/online-learning-centre