Newsletters

GHS Connect #23 Monday 23 March

From the Head

Wow - what a week last week! Thank you all so much for your support and professionalism as I said in the meetings. Lots of people have been very lovely, asking me how I am coping with this crazy situation in my first year of headship… It has certainly been a challenge, but my answer remains the same - the staff are all being brilliant and that is what makes the difference. I’m going to keep things brief this week with a few key reminders:

> Please remember to look at the rota and come in for the days that you are currently scheduled for. Remember, this will take us up to Easter. Depending on how many students we end up having in, we will alter and adapt this as time goes on.

> Anything connected to remote learning will be placed on the VLE in the area that Will has set up called ‘Guide to Remote Working’.

> We would love to hear success stories about how remote teaching is going - please pass on what’s going well to Kelly McCarthy.

> If you become ill with coronavirus symptoms, then you must report your sickness in the usual way - to Gina and to me. As Gina won’t be in every day, please email both me and Gina. You can self-certify for 7 days. After that you need to complete a NHS Self Isolation note - see VLE announcement for more information.

> Please check the VLE and email at least twice daily to keep up to date with what’s going on.

I intend to be in every day up until Easter (unless I or someone in my family gets symptoms) so please do pop in if you are concerned about anything, or call / email me if you are currently self-isolating.

Mia

Remote Learning and Teaching Tips

Firstly, a huge thank you to Helen, Indy and Will who got us up and running in the nick of time with some great training on remote learning and working platforms.  

Many of you now have your online classrooms and assignments set up and in the course of the week you may well have some work returned to you through Google Classroom.  

Some colleagues have asked how it is possible to mark this work - below are a few screenshots showing how you give students feedback using the comment function:

You can highlight text in the body of the response (if done in Word) and add a comment for that specific part:

You can make an overall comment or give a learner response task by using the Private Comment function on the right hand side of the screen:

In the top right hand corner of the screen, hit the blue Return button so that your student can see and act on your feedback:

If you need any support with remote teaching and learning this week please see me or one of the lead practitioners and we’ll do our best to support!

Kelly McCarthy

In focus: Distance learning safeguarding 

Guidelines for the use of IPEVOs, Google Meet or equivalent at home

I know that a number of you who are far more tech-savvy than I am are planning to use whizzy interactive stuff while we change the way that we teach for the foreseeable future. If, therefore, you are going to be setting up an IPEVO or Google Meet from home, just bear in mind a few basic safeguarding tips, both for yourselves and the students:

1) Set up whatever equipment you are using in a ‘public’ part of your home, if possible, ideally not in a bedroom;

2) Make sure you are appropriately dressed;

3) Try not to give away any key details of where you live, such as road signs through  a window, key landmarks, and so on;

4) If possible, avoid showing other family members in the background, either live or in photos (see below!);

5) Have a quick scan around the area in which you are working to make sure there it’s ‘kid-friendly’;

6) Keep language and interactions as formal as you would in the real life classroom;

7) And, if there are any concerns that you have about what you see or hear, then please let me know.

Apologies if this sounds overly cautious or absolutely obvious, but better to be safe than sorry.

Happy teaching!

Lou Grimley