Dear Parents/Guardians,
Firstly, I want to extend my gratitude for all of your support towards your son/daughter maximising the online learning provision. Although at times the process has been difficult, I do believe the Year 8 cohort will be better for it.
As you know, we take pride in providing a high quality wellbeing provision for all students at Discovery Bay International School.
Our tutors have been available for the last two weeks via email to respond to student needs. To complement this provision we will be adding the following extra layer of support to Years 7 to 11.
Week 1 Provision
Tutor Led Live Video Check ins with the whole Tutor group during a timetabled tutor time slot (15 minutes). This will take place once per week on a set day according to the schedule below:
Live video check-ins listed below:
Mr Steve McGill – Storm Tutor: Day 1 Monday 10:50am – 11:05am
Dr Evan Murphy – Lightning Tutor: Day 1 Monday 10:50am – 11:05am
Mr James Lawrence – Thunder Tutor: Day 2 Tuesday 10:50am – 11:05am
Ms Natasha Johnstone – Typhoon Tutor: Day 2 Tuesday 10:50am – 11:05am
To further support their tutors wellbeing, tutor teachers will be also sending a weekly email as a check in and to touch base with the whole tutor group.
Email days listed below:
Mr Steve McGill – Storm Tutor: Day 1 & 6 Every MondayÂ
Dr Evan Murphy – Lightning Tutor: Day 5 & 10 Every FridayÂ
Mr James Lawrence – Thunder Tutor: Day 4 & 8 Every Thursday
Ms Natasha Johnstone – Typhoon Tutor: Day 2 & 7 Every Tuesday
All tutors will make time available for 1-1 sessions on a needs only basis at the request of their tutees. Students are encouraged to reach out to their tutors if they’re finding any aspect of their online learning journey a continued struggle.
Week 2 Provision
Year Group Leader led Live Video Check in – either whole group or selected tutor groups, this will take place on:
Day 8 Wednesday from 10:50am – 11:05am.
Reminders:
- all lessons offered to Year 8 students should have a five minute introduction video from each subject teacher in order to help provide guidance and clarity concerning the lesson content and outcomes
- the majority of the communication should be via the designated subjects google classroom platform
- we encourage students to try and stick as closely to their timetable as possible as this helps provide them structure and allows them to minimise the chances of spending too long on a subject.
- that if the above are not happening all students should be contacting their subject teacher directly, followed by their tutor teacher followed by their Year Group Leader.
- all Discovery lessons from y7 – y10 will be suspended to free up more time for other curriculum areas
- all Learning for Life lessons will be suspended to free up more time for other curriculum areas. Teachers will still be posting articles, graphics, videos on wellbeing where students will have the choice of reflecting on the posts.
We believe that with these added provisions and extra support offered to our students, they will be very well provided for during the ongoing closure. If you feel your son/daughter needs more support or they are experiencing more major difficulties please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected].
Kind regards,
Aaron Harris
Head of Year 8