Message from the Principal
Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,
Thank you to those of you who completed our Online Learning Survey. The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) are currently analysing the feedback and we will then work with teachers to adjust and further refine our online learning practices. Teachers are working incredibly hard and we very much appreciate your survey feedback which recognises this. What we all really miss are our daily interactions with students. The opportunity to provide personalised encouragement and support is more challenging in this kind of environment. Students are also finding the online environment difficult. We will continue to work as a staff to ensure a variety of tasks where possible. From the survey feedback we recognise that some parents want more work and structure and teacher interaction, while other parents want less of all these things. I have attached below some very initial impressions from the survey data which may be of interest.
Going forward please note the following:
1) As you are aware we have been having very small groups of Years 11 & 13 students in school to enable them to complete Internal Assessment. Our IBDP Art students are progressing well and our IBDP French orals are now complete. Part of our commitment to ensuring a safe learning environment however is strict compliance with our Health & Safety guidelines. Years 11 & 13 students, parents and staff should NOT come onto campus and will be asked to leave if your temperature is above 37.5. Alternative arrangements will be made for students who need to reschedule orals or other assessments.
2) Our Middle School students and parents have had some questions for our Guidance team in recent weeks. Thank you to our Head of Middle School Ms. Dionne Lashley and her team for these student and parent FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) to provide all our Middle School families with further support.
3) We have had some queries about our Health & Safety protocols and quarantine requirements once schools resume. At the moment we expect that to be March 16th. As with the return of small numbers of Years 11 & 13 students we have been very cautious and have worked closely with EDB and ESF to craft Health & Safety protocols that are stringent. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to assure parents that every precaution will be taken to ensure students remain safe and healthy while on campus.
4) EDB and ESF have extended the deadline for receipt of applications for the Government Student Grant to March 20th. Applications can be dropped off at Sha Tin College Reception.
As always we are very appreciative of your ongoing support and feedback. We have been discussing student well-being at our SLT meeting this week and we are aware that many students have been cut-off from friends and activities and have been house-bound since the CNY holiday. With online school as the only distraction this will inevitably affect mood and energy levels. In light of this it may be helpful for families to take the opportunity to talk about their wellbeing and the impact of sustained online learning. One thing we can all look forward to is being together again and hopefully that day is not too far off. Until then our students are very much in our thoughts, in our actions and in our hearts!
Have a wonderful weekend of cool temperatures and blue skies.
Kind regards,
Carol Larkin
Principal
Attachment
Online Learning Survey – Parent Feedback
