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I hope you are all safe and sound at home during the current lockdown procedures.

St Stephen’s School is a technologically rich school, and we pride ourselves on offering a holistic education. We understand that uncertain situations, like this new lockdown, can bring about worry in students and families, particularly as everyone is keen to start the new year.

Our Education and Business Continuity Team met remotely this morning to discuss and finalise details relating to a return to online learning this week which, given the number of new families joining St Stephen’s School this year, does provide some logistical challenges.

Having said this, we are happy to announce that from Wednesday, 3 February, there will be a return to an online environment for students to access learning materials and to communicate with teachers.

Please be aware, as we know from the previous lockdown, the situation may change throughout the week and we will continue to monitor and update the community. Our teaching staff and Homeroom teachers will be in touch with students today to reassure them of the process moving forward, which I have outlined below.

At first, our online capacity will not be in the timetabled TEAMS format that we delivered last year but more in highlighting the importance of connection and planning ahead to make students, both current and new, feel comfortable for whatever the following week brings. While working with students this week, staff will also be readying themselves to be able to provide a full online curriculum from next week in the event that lockdown is extended beyond Friday.

For now, families can expect the below from Wednesday:

  • Kindergarten: teachers will provide a table of activities for students to complete at home via the class blog. There will be more contact later in the week with specific learning opportunities.
  • Pre-Primary-Year 6: teachers will provide numeracy, literacy and reading activities via the class blogs from Wednesday to Friday. Students can also communicate with their teachers about any concerns or questions.
  • Year 7: Homeroom teachers will be contacting students and guide them towards English, HASS and Maths subject areas through SEQTA.
  • Year 8-10: Homeroom and subject teachers will be in touch with students and will provide exercises and set reading via SEQTA.
  • Year 11-12: Senior students can liaise with their teachers and access their day-to-day periods via SEQTA. They will be able to study their syllabuses, assessment outlines, highlight any areas of interest or for questions and plan for the year ahead.
  • Teaching staff will be available during school hours however, they will not be on their devices during recess and lunch.

Assessment schedules will be revised and adjusted to take this unique week into account. Programs will be modified, if required, and areas of need targeted to ensure minimal disruption to ongoing learning.

School assemblies, events and carnivals scheduled for this week will be postponed and the School areas will be in touch at a later date about updated plans. The Uniform Shop will also be closed for the week.

For anyone having issues accessing any of the online programs, please lodge a ticket with ICT via the Parent Portal in the first instance or call the Parent Helpline on 08 9243 2160, which is manned between 8am-4pm.

Again, thank you for your understanding and support as we navigate the current situation.

We will be in touch again with any updates.

Take care and God Bless,
Mrs Donella Beare