Message from the Principal

Kia ora Glenbrook School Community, 

Welcome to Our Distance Home Learning webpage. Learning from a distance will look different in every home. Learning happens all around us and during these times of a National or Regional Lockdown there is an opportunity to do learning differently in your house. Remember your home is not a school and it does not need to happen between 9.00-3.00.  Create your own timetable (If you want one) that suits your house. Remember to include all the things that you do such as calling grandparents, crafts, and watching TV or movies. (Hint- Put english subtitles on the movies your child is watching and they will end up reading!). 

Learning can include life skills such as jobs around the home, building and creating, cooking, baking, learning a language online, taking up an active skill at home or just focusing on a particular passion. Capture the learning experiences beyond the materials we sent home, that are occurring with your child in your home, and share it with us. Celebrate their FAILs  (First Attempts In Learning) and support what to do next. This is what we do at Glenbrook School. 

This is the opportunity to strengthen relationships in your ‘Bubble’. Playing board games, doing puzzles, home scavenger hunts, building activities – these things you do together will add to the memories and bond you have as a whanau. These are the learning opportunities that strengthen your wellbeing and that of your child. He aha te mea nui o te ao? Nga tangata, nga tangata, nga tangata. What is the most important thing in the world? Tis people, tis people, tis people.

For those parents who want their child or children to keep a regular school focused learning routine, I recommend that you balance your child’s work with both digital and hardcopy textbooks if you are able. It is equally important children take regular breaks, get some fresh air and regular physical activity. 

At Glenbrook School your child will have access to a range of online platforms to assist in a range of curriculum knowledge areas. Your child’s Home Learning pack contains the passwords and usernames for these platforms and they have been emailed to you. If you have misplaced these or your child has been locked out, then please contact your child’s teacher and let her or him know. 

In our Home Learning Packs we sent home, we included offline hard copy book work. If you do not have access to the internet or a device, then do not stress as it is ok that your child only uses the textbooks. Students who do have digital access can also complete hard materials work in a balanced approach. Remember it is absolutely fine to use textbooks and hard copy materials if there is no device or internet access. 

Each team has some guidelines on what students can complete each week. We DO NOT expect students to do everything. We have broken tasks into MUST DOs and CAN DOs, the same we do at school. The tasks and activities set are there to work around your home, your routines and your ‘Bubble’. They are consistent with what we would include as part of our classroom programme. We do encourage students to engage in online lessons. This year our online lessons focus is in mathematics. There are also marking sessions online each day that mark tasks that were set the day before. 

Any Distance Learning should not be a stress. If it is causing stress, leave it, go for a walk or do something else. Your child will not be hindered by missing out on school learning for a short period of time. We do not expect you to be teachers or in place of the school.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact your child’s teacher via email. If you do not have the teacher’s email, please check our website. Please note that our teachers will answer emails as often as they can. Please check your child’s email for the times and dates. 

The most important thing you can do as a whanau, as a family, is get through each day. Be together, be strong, be brave, be kind. We’ve got this Glenbrook School, and we have got this together. Kia Whakawhanaungatanga, Kia Mana, Kia Ako, Kia Manaakitanga, Kia Glenbrook. 

Your Principal,

Ms Lysandra Stuart