Category Archives: News Snippet

Term 1 reports are now available from Daymap for students and Daymap Connect for parents.

Last updated Thursday 26 March 2020

A message to the Marden Senior College Community from our principal here.

Marden Senior College remains open in line with directions from the Australian government. This situation will change should a confirmed case of COVID-19 be identified in a staff member or student. In this scenario the site will be contacted by SA Health and following their advice, and under the direction of the Department of Education, the site will be closed for a minimum of 24 hours. Students and parents will be informed immediately by email, SMS and announcement at the site.

The South Australian government has announced that Week 11 (the four days before Easter from 6 to 9 April 2020) will be 4 pupil free days to support our transition to flexible teaching and learning ready for term 2. Details here. Subject teachers will be providing information to students about continuity of learning in their specific subject/course.

Key aspects of current advice (see details below):

1. Marden specific advice
2. Hygiene standards
3. Social distancing
4. Self-isolation and staying at home
5. Stay home if you’re sick

Marden specific advice – Students attending a VET or SACE program at from a different home school

Marden has a large number of students attend our classes from many different government, Catholic and Independent schools as their home school. Understandably, a number of parents and schools are seeking clarification whether classes at Marden are continuing. The answer is ‘Yes, the school remains open and hence classes will continue until the situation changes’. It is all about risk management and this position is in line with the current advice from SA Health. Similarly, if a student’s home school is closed as part of COVID-19 risk management then we ask that these students do not attend classes at Marden Senior College.

We request that parents/students/schools inform our college if a student is not attending classes at Marden Senior College.

Hygiene standards

Personal hygiene and the hygiene standards in our schools and preschools are critical to reducing the risk of infection.

All students and staff must be encouraged to:

• wash their hands regularly, particularly after using the toilet and before eating
• avoid spreading infections to others by staying home if they are unwell
• cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue.

Social distancing

As a precautionary measure, all preschools and schools will adopt practical social distancing measures, including cancelling or postponing the below until further notice:

• school assemblies (non-essential)
• concerts (with audiences)
• fetes and fairs
• school formals, socials and discos
• presentation nights and open days.

This is based on the most recent advice from SA Health that limiting occasions on which a number of people come together and are in close proximity to one another in a static environment lowers the chance of spreading the virus.

Self-isolation and staying at home

In-line with Commonwealth advice, you are required to self-isolate for a period of 14 days if:

• you have been diagnosed with COVID-19
• you have had close contact with a person with COVID-19 in the last 14 days
• you have arrived from overseas travel from any country (as of midnight Sunday 15 March 2020).

Stay home if you’re sick

It’s important that students who are unwell stay at home and recover to avoid the spread of winter illnesses (not just COVID-19). Now is not the time to soldier on.

If a student becomes unwell with flu-like symptoms while at school, their parents/carers will be contacted immediately, and infection control practices will be enacted.

Thursday 26 March 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic presents significant challenges for us all as a health crisis, and now as a financial and general wellbeing, social cohesion concern. As the Principal of Marden Senior College, my promise to you is that we will continue to work with you and your child during these very challenging times to maintain continuity of learning and a sense of connectedness.

Like all schools we are grappling with how this will look over time, but as per Government direction we remain open with students able to attend classes. Our teachers, like everyone else, are being challenged at personal and professional levels to maintain services in this ever changing environment.

Having said that, our college is well positioned to maintain continuity of learning using online resources and strategies as each course already has a blend of online materials to support face to face teaching. If you imagine this ‘blended learning’ approach as a continuum, we are moving the focus further toward online learning.

Naturally this will differ from course to course, but our teachers are, and will, increasingly be working hard to better facilitate this shift in emphasis.

The South Australian government has announced that Week 11 (the four days before Easter from 6 to 9 April 2020) will be 4 pupil free days to support our transition to flexible teaching and learning ready for term 2.  Details here. Subject teachers will be providing information to students about continuity of learning in their specific subject/course.

Maintaining continuity of learning

Key features of how learning and connectedness is to be maintained are listed below. This provides a structure for us to build upon over coming days and weeks.

• The main sources of course information, learning and assessment resources and lesson materials are available via Daymap and the subject Moodle. Teachers will use these as a repository of materials and as a base to navigate to other resources and learning tools. Teacher availability will be communicated on Daymap.
• The current timetable will remain and teachers will be available during scheduled times for each subject/course to support students in their learning. At present, students “attend” either face to face or online. Teachers are not expected to be available outside of these timetabled sessions.
• The modes of learning and communication strategies used in each lesson will vary.  
• Teachers will not expect students to be online for the entire duration of the lesson, but may negotiate a specific time during the timetabled session.
• Students are advised to have a look at materials available prior to the lesson, this way they can best use the lesson time to engage in the online learning and ask questions, participate in collaborative work and connect with others in their class.
• Access to technology and the amount of data available at home varies from student to student. This will be taken into consideration by teachers (for example, online video access throughout each lesson not required). Please contact your teacher, or the college, if an alternative to online materials is required, or if you have access concerns.
• SACE subject teachers and VET course trainers are in the process of modifying programs and assessment schedules, including modifications for practical subjects. The extent of modifications as yet is unknown. However, the SACE Board and the VET regulators are providing advice and support regarding this. 

Maintaining wellbeing

We thank parents and students for the understanding you have shown to date – greatly appreciated. Please look after yourself and be kind to one another. The mental health and wellbeing of our young people is of paramount importance to us all and staff at Marden Senior College will continue to do our best to maintain continuity of learning and a sense of connectedness for students. The college counselling service continues to be available for students and can be accessed either face to face or via phone communication. Bookings can be made by calling 8366 2800 add details about website.

Lastly, for those students who attend school we will continue to provide the duty of care and access to learning as expected. This is likely to look different in some cases in response to class sizes. Like everyone everywhere, practices around appropriate hygiene and social distancing are expected. Our college has adequate supplies of standard health and hygiene products and is soon to receive increased supplies of wipes and other sanitising materials. 

As new information comes to light we will continue to review and reassess our practices and processes and will continue to keep the Marden Senior College community informed.

Yours sincerely

Stephen Inglis
Principal

Our Term 1 issue of Marden Matters is now available to read here!