Information for Parents

Our Home Learning Programme - Term 2

There are lots of activities on this site for students to complete from home. We know that your whānau will already have established routines so we are suggesting a flexible timetable, where students select the times that they will be online and order of work that they want to complete. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact your child's classroom teacher - their contact details are at the end of this document.

What if your child does not have a device?

TV Education: We are excited to see two TV Education Channels that are broadcasting from 9am - 3pm on weekdays. The programmes are aimed at children and students who, for whatever reason, find it tricky to learn online, or who don’t have a device or hard pack learning materials. All programming is linked to the curriculum for the relevant age group. Details for both channels are below:

Papa Kāinga TV Education broadcasting for early learners and students from Years 1 - 10 will begin on Wednesday 15th April from 9am. Papa Kāinga TV will be free to air on TVNZ channel 2 + 1 and on TVNZ on Demand, as well as on Sky Channel 502. It will run from 9am to 3pm on school days with programming for children and young people 0 to 15, as well as for parents. It will be grouped for early learners, primary, and secondary schools and all programmes will feature highly experienced teachers and presenters, along with a range of wellbeing and movement experts. Content includes play, literacy, mathematics, science, te reo Māori, PE and wellbeing and Pacific language content.

Māori TV is also launching a series of te reo Māori educational programmes on the same day. It is free to air on channel 5 and on Sky Channel 19. This content will focus on learning at home for tamariki, rangatahi and whānau aged 0 to 18. It will also be tailored to specific age groups during the day, with learning content tamariki can do on their own, with siblings or as a whānau.

AIS Work Packs You should have received an AIS work pack in the mail if you do NOT have a device. If you haven't, please call the school office and we will organise for one to be delivered to you.

Our Methods of Communication for Distance Learning.

Email

Our students all have AIS email addresses that they can log into using a computer, laptop or iPad. Teachers will email work instructions to students so it is important that each student checks their email at the start of each day. Students and parents can send questions directly to their teacher by email. Our teachers will be checking and responding to emails at least twice each day.


Facebook

Community information, reminders and updates are sent out through our Facebook Page. This page is for parents as we do not encourage the use of Facebook for our students because of their young age.


Google Drive

Teachers have assigned work tasks to students and this can be found in their Google Drive. When they go into their Drive they have the following folders; Reading, Writing, Topic and PE/Health. Teachers have put Google Docs into each of these folders that explains work tasks and links to online videos, websites and other resources.


Google Classroom

Technology lessons are being delivered through Google Classroom. Technology teachers will be sending emails to students in their classes to invite them to join their Google Technology class. Students will be able to access their lessons and submit work using Google Classroom. Students will be shown how to do this during their class meetings.


Google Meet

At AIS we are using Google Meet for video calling. Our staff are meeting most days between 10am - 11am and over the next few weeks our teachers will be practising having class meetings and/or group meetings. Teachers will send an invite to student email addresses and the student clicks on the link to join the meeting at the set time. These meetings are an opportunity for students to reconnect with their teacher and their peers but they are not compulsory.

*There is more information in the Behaving Safely Online about our expectations for staff and students in Google Meets.


School Newsletter

We will continue to send our school newsletter out on Tuesdays.

It is emailed out to families (if you are not receiving the school email by email and would like this, please contact admin@ais.school.nz

A link will be put on our school Facebook page 'Avalon Intermediate School'

It can also be found on our school website www.avalonintermediate.school.nz

Guidelines for Parents

We know parents are not teachers and we do not expect you to be! We also know that our students are all different and the transition to learning from home will be challenging for families. Some of our students will really enjoy this style of learning and some will struggle with this. This Learning Programme is here to guide your child but you are the best judge of how it can work for your child and your family. All we ask is that you do what you think is best for your child - and that you let us know how things are going.

Begin and end each day by checking in with your child

  • What learning activities are they going to do today?

  • What will their timetable look like?

  • What resources or support do they need?


Monitor communication from your child’s teacher(s)

Teachers will communicate through email. Our teachers have families too and they need to take care of their own health and wellbeing, but they will respond and support you where possible. Feedback will be in a timely fashion but not immediately.


Encourage physical exercise and regular breaks

We have put some great PE/Health and wellbeing activities in the Learning Programme. We want students to spend time doing these tasks each day - we don’t want them looking at a screen for 6 hours.


Monitor how much time your child is spending online and ensure they are following our expectations for behaving safely online

Your child should not be on their device all day, encourage them to take regular breaks and also do other things around the house to keep busy. Although the internet allows us to connect online with each other at the moment, it can also be a very dangerous space for people and it is important that we teach and guide students how to behave, when they are working online. It is really important that you know what your child is doing online. Please take the time to read through our behaving safety online expectations with your child and that you regularly refer to this.


Information and resources to support wellbeing and learning at home

  • I AM HOPE is the youth and community focused support group run by The Key to Life Charitable Trust, started by Mike King - https://www.iamhope.org.nz/


Staff emails

Rm 1: victoriah@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Rm 2: lizm@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Rm 3: kimberleys@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Rm 4: luket@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Rm 5: stuartc@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Rm 6: sarahh@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Rm 7: lizg@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Rm 8: juliap@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Rm 9: stefanp@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Wood Technology: andrewc@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Multicraft Technology: stephanier@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Fabric Technology: rosemaryw@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Food Technology: joanm@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Art: kirstenh@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Science: rosec@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Deputy Principal (Alissa Murdoch): alissam@avalonintermediate.school.nz

Principal (Ariana Te Whetu): principal@avalonintermediate.school.nz