1 May 2020

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

What a difference a week can make! Thank you again to our wonderful school community for your patience and support. We have received so much positive feedback this week in regards to our online learning platform. Teachers are continuing to stay connected to our students and parents. Please remember our staff are here to assist whereever possible, so don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

Each day on the home page of our student portal (on-line platform), under my message and photo, a new video message appears from different members of our staff. Please be sure to take a look, it is another way we are trying to stay connected.

We are currently working on a way to ensure students can connect with their teachers and classmates each day via a virtual classroom. Unfortunately there are very few options for online virtual classrooms available to us in state schools. There are sites such as Zoom, which allow face-to-face connection with students but these sites have been deemed high risk by the Department. Microsoft Teams is another face-to-face connection tool, and this has only just been made available to Department of Education schools. We have been working tirelessly to set up and upskill our staff in Microsoft Teams in the hope we can start trialling this with our students later next week. Teachers will keep their students and parents updated as to when this trial will begin and how to access the site.

The reduction in time allocations appears to have been a big help to parents from the feedback I have received. We are continually working hard to deliver the curriculum in a way where parents and carers only have to “supervise” students, not teach them. We certainly understand that learning will look different for each family as everyone prioritises what is right for their own family and circumstances. We are here to support as much as we can.

Some suggestions and tips on how to juggle work and supervise learning at home.

• Have clear boundaries and expectations and communicate these to the entire family.
• “While mum or dad are on the phone, if you finish your activity you can play quietly with your Lego.”
• Spend some time with older children setting up their online learning at the start of the day so that they may be able to work independently for chunks of time (however always be aware of cyber safety).
• For children needing more of your time and support (e.g. younger), have independent, quiet, engaging activities pre-planned for times when you have (scheduled) calls. This will hopefully minimise potential interruptions.
• Have realistic expectations of what you and your child can achieve, while working/supervising learning at home. Remember to be kind to yourself. If children are reading and doing some online learning that is great.
• Focus on one thing at a time. Remember the MHSS online learning doesn’t need to be completed in one block—it can be split up and scheduled throughout the day when you can spare the time.
• Don’t judge yourself on what you hear others are doing. Every child and family are different. Reality is messier than what you can see through a social media filter.
• Aim that your child completes tasks rather than spends hours on schoolwork.
• Don’t forget a good dose of humour—it’s going to be messy! But remember, when the pandemic ends we will go over the school work and reinforce the learning.

What Learning From Home Looks Like For Some of Our Families

Every home is different. Every home learning set up and experience will also be different.

Keep up the amazing work. Thank you again for your on-going support. We will get through this together.

Julie-Anne McGuinness - Principal

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC NEWS

Dear Instrumental Music Band and Strings students and parents/guardians

Welcome back to music in term 2.

Firstly, a very sincere thank you to Mrs Thorburn who replaced Mr Denning while he was on leave for the latter part of term 1. We appreciate all her hard work and have received many positive comments from students, staff and parents.

We have been working tirelessly, preparing online content for our Band and Strings groups, allowing students to continue their music education at Musgrave Hill. They are contacting all music students from this week and providing links to music resources through the school’s online platforms. Please feel free to email Mr Denning or Miss Williams if you have any questions or need help with resources.

Mr Denning adenn52@eq.edu.au
Miss Williams swill541@eq.edu.au

Here are some helpful practise hints courtesy of Mrs. Thorburn

Practise for Band and String Instruments - How to maximise your practice?

1. Warm up - play sustained long notes. Listening to your sound and keeping the pitch steady.
2. Choose a simple scale. Beginners - 5 notes. More advanced - a major or minor scale.
3. Choose 2 exercises that you can play easily. Check your tempo, rhythm and pitch.
4. Choose the next exercise that you are up to or practice a segment of a larger piece. If difficult - try clapping the rhythm, naming the notes, practising articulation, play at a slower tempo, try to improve your fluency.
5. End with playing a piece that you enjoy!

Mr Denning/Miss Williams