St James’ is in full swing with online learning and the feedback across the board has been so positive. The teaching staff are working tirelessly to ensure a smooth transition during this time of uncertainty, School Counsellor Mrs Teresa Gastevich has been researching to provide our parents and the wider community with material that will ensure we continue maximising our students potential and learning. Below you will find information on staying safe online, some extra tips for remote learning and the importance of staying creative.

Staying Safe Online

Whilst we are embracing the use of technology for our children as they navigate a new form of instruction and learning, we need to be also aware of keeping our children safe online. Unfortunately, this is a time where predators could be lurking with the volume of children and adolescents involved in on-line learning.

Mrs Gastevich has found a website which includes an excellent overview of working online and ways to ensure cyber safety.

E- Safety Information

Remote Learning Tips

Working remotely can be challenging for anyone. Children need our support and encouragement during times of uncertainty and parents need to feel they have the resources to support their childrens learning. Mrs Gastevich has found two websites which help with just that! Find below links to articles which might be of interest.

Insight into Schooling at Home – New York Times

Remote Learning Tips

Creativity

Whilst we are busy ensuring that we cover the MESH subjects, don’t ignore your creativity. Creativity has such an important role to play in maintaining a healthy well-being. Take time away from the routine lesson and tap into the imaginative self. An article which you might find interesting that all the family can be involved in can be viewed here.

Vogue Article on Creativity

A final note from Mrs Gastevich

Please remember that as we learn to be more positive and calm, so do our children. Now, more than ever we need to keep our positivity and find the productive and fulfilling moments every day. Some practical tips are:

1. Savour the moments – a child singing, a quiet moment in the garden.
2. Strengthen your connections – send a text message to friends, family, neighbours to check-in.
3. Look for the good in others – all can rise to the challenge, you will also find the good in you as you have a lot in common.
4. Take charge of own mental health – avoid playing the blame game, think of problems as life lessons, problems don’t last because situations change and believe, it will change.
5. Foster positive emotions and your resilience will increase.
6. Understand that you are not alone – find out how others are coping, you will find comfort and/or solutions.
7. Share success and good news stories, leave the horror and failures in a book to be looked at when this is over, you may wonder at what the fuss was all about.
8. Practice gratitude – with every dark cloud there is a silver lining, the lining is filled with what we are grateful for.

We can all be proactive in finding and creating small and large doses of happiness in our daily life.