07 Apr 2020
The introduction of pupil-free days and changes to the operation of schools means that school staff are finding new ways of connecting to their students.
With many staff members and students teaching and learning from home, social connection and mental health and wellbeing while isolated have become increasingly important. Students are still able to see and connect to their classmates using virtual programs like Google Hangout, but teaching staff understand that students can also miss their school environment.
Gold Creek High School have produced a comedic video featuring their senior staff as they teach to empty classrooms on the campus. The video pans over school corridors and classroom desks which would usually be brimming with students, now home to teachers working hard to accommodate home learning.
Physical education, music, geography and woodworking teachers are among the staff that are showing their students how much they miss them, while providing light-hearted comedic relief.
Caroline Chisholm P-10 School have also produced a video for students, creating a hashtag #LetsStayConnectedatCCS. The video features photos of teaching and school staff working from home to help students learn, letting students know how they can be supported by their teachers.
Staff throughout the video acknowledge the challenging times that their school community is going through, particularly for Year 10 students, as they pose with pets, Batman masks and teddy bears. It’s a heart-warming reminder that everyone in the school community can feel better by staying connected.
Principal of Garran Primary School, Jenny Priest, explained that school collaboration and staff working together is important to help students feel more in touch when learning from home.
“As teachers and educators, we are very social, and we love our work because we’re in daily contact with children and we enjoy those interactions and connections. There’s lots happening to connect children with their friends and their schools.”
Garran Primary School staff took a reading of ‘We’re Going On a Bear Hunt’ to the next level after a request from their local P&C to support the trend of children looking for bears in their neighbourhood.
“A few aspiring actors from the teaching staff joined together to take some clips and henceforth a movie was made. The movie focuses on ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’, so we have some songs and actions from the teachers in our own school environment around that,” Jenny Priest said.
Students can also physically interact from a distance as Kingsford Smith Primary School demonstrated by holding a ‘drive by and wave’ event. Teachers and students were missing each other and their daily school lives, so school staff gathered in costumes outside the school and spent their lunch break last Friday dancing to music and waving to their students as they drove past.
Costumes featured everything from bananas and hot dogs to angry birds and pirates. Mario and Luigi even made an appearance as staff danced to the Macarena and Nutbush. Students driving by shared in the excitement, as some held out home-made signs with sweet messages to their teachers.
Southern Cross Early Childhood School is also providing musical relief with their ‘disco playlist’ which is loved by many children at the school. Parents have shared in the excitement and posted links to the playlist in their local community group, encouraging the excitement and fun of having a dance around even when you are at home.
Whether school staff get creative through photos, videos or waving from a distance, its clear teachers are working hard to not only deliver learning to students but also help foster a sense of social connection, fun and community.