Dear Parent/Carer,
We have come to the end of the second week of remote learning and the national lockdown. I trust you and your family are managing in the circumstances.
It has been a delight to see students and staff working diligently, this week, both on site and via our online learning provision. May I remind all parents and carers that we expect students to continue following their normal timetable each day if learning from home. This will see students logging on to Teams at 8:30am and attending registration with their Tutor. Students should attend every timetabled lesson and may have a short break in between each session. It is my expectation that students must engage with and complete task set in every lesson. This is essential to reduce the loss of learning during the lockdown period. Please make use of the ‘My Child At School’ app to monitor your son or daughter’s level of engagement.
Homework tasks will not be set in the Lower School in addition to lesson tasks. This is to limit the screen time for younger students. No specific homework tasks will be set in the Upper School; however, it is relevant to note that work set in lessons may take longer than the allocated lesson time, and should be completed independently before the next session. Sixth Form students should work the same as if in they were on site. We expect our Sixth Form to work independently as directed by teaching staff.
It is crucial that students have a quiet place to work and are equipped to learn. Please contact your child’s Progress Leader should they not have a suitable device or internet connection. The College has now provided laptops for Year 11, Year 10 and many students in Year 9. We do have laptops available for student who do not have their own device. Do get in touch! We want to remove all barriers to learning and help in every way we can to achieve this.
May I draw your attention to three documents now on our website for your information:
- GC Online learning policy Covid–19
- GC Guidance for Safe Learning Online
- GC Discipline policy Addendum Covid–19
In our mail distribution today, we once again publish the links to various organisation which are well placed to support students (and their families) with respect to emotional and mental wellbeing. Wellness is a focus for us this half-term, in all our assembly and tutor time sessions we are seeking to support students to develop the resilience necessary to manage their wellbeing despite lockdown. Please take the time to consider these with your son or daughter.
Teaching and support staff at Grace College are determined to do all we can to continue learning and pastoral support even though we cannot meet with students in person. Please be in touch if there is any way we can be of help.
Yours sincerely,
Mr M Hall
Principal