As we learn and grow together in neighbourhood 1, our wellbeing learning takes many different shapes and forms. It is not only a vital part of our personal and social capabilities curriculum but also is the framework we learn within. During provocations, workshops, targets and discussions, the way we feel and communicate shapes who we are and the students have come to understand our emotions and how to communicate what we need to be the best learners and neighbourhood members we can be.

As the semester has progressed, the neighbourhood teachers have used what is happening to frame workshops around social emotional learning. Recently we have covered naming our emotions, body scanning, tuning into our emotions and creating personal emotions temperature checks. Each of these has provided students with the language they need to be aware, resilient and collaborative learners.

The No Go or Tell workshops were a response to a number of student social interactions requiring simple but effective strategies, to help them negotiate the range of issues that can be encountered at play. This effectively tied into both establishing boundaries – This is my body- and Safe Play awareness.

Beyond our focus wellbeing workshops, we continue to model and name strategies throughout the day. We frequently highlight when the learning is able to be applied.

Upon the returning of remote learning 4.0 we recognised as a team that this was a fabulous opportunity to take our inquiry digital. It was decided that we would encourage the children to explore the process of interviewing and presenting. The children were gifted time to unpack the idea of interviewing and the process required to capture the essence of the story.

“We need to learn to understand what learning is” Arlo

Due to the nature of report learning, the process of creating a news report was able to be split up. It supported students to dive deeper, expand their thinking and respond to feedback at every stage of planning and publishing. The other provocations that were on offer, supported the students through a range of languages such as art and digital design.

“I really liked your interview about your rabbit! Do you think you could add more detail to it?” Manny

“Hi there Charlie, that was a really good report.” Claudia

“I liked how you used a reporter’s voice for your interview!” Emma

Another benefit of digital learning was the reintroduction of our seesaw blog. This allowed for the students to stay connected with their neighbourhood but also to live and respond to critical feedback. The students asked questions, made connections and expanded on the ideas of their friends. Students also were inspired by others and used learning shared on the blog as a protagonist for their own learning. 

“The one thing I like about remote learning is that the learning didn’t change, we could keep going!” Elsie

Towards the end of remote learning, we the teachers asked the students to reflect on their learning. While it of course presented a challenge, it also allowed for a unique view of learning. Particularly the connection between home and school and the ongoing learning process. We are all one community and periods of remote learning highlight this more than ever. We are looking forward to being together again but also building on the connection, reflection, feedback and presentations that were sparked.