Sydney Distance Education High School - Parents and Supervisors

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Parents and Supervisors

General Information

Parents in Learning

Students learn best, and have improved health and wellbeing outcomes, when they have a secure, stable and positive learning environment.

At Sydney Distance Education High School we believe that success in distance education is dependent on the student, family, supervisor, teacher and school working together in partnership.

Role of Supervisor

Supervisors play a vital facilitating role; they are the link between the school teachers and the student. They are partners with the school teachers in the delivery of education. Their main role is to guide, encourage and support students in developing independent learning skills and enabling students to do set tasks in the negotiated time.

We aim to make this partnership a positive one and to encourage and facilitate communication at all levels.

School Newsletter

The school newsletter helps you keep in regular and up to date contact with the events, study days, excursions and other activities which are occurring at school. Student and supervisor input is welcome. To download current and past newsletters click here.

Contact Us

Do you have any questions, concerns, comments or suggestions for how to improve our communication and team approach?

Let us know by completing the Contact Us form on our website.

Technology Guide for Parents

Find out about all the technologies your child could be using at school, at home and on the go! Click magazine is full of information about how things work, what is good about them and things you may need to be careful of.

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/technology/index.php

Welfare

Sydney Distance Education High School aims to provide a safe, supportive learning and social environment for all students.

With this in mind, the following student and supervisor support services are available:

School Counsellor - Robyn Hromek. Any student or supervisor can make an appointment with the school counsellor. School counsellors can help students deal with their problems, help students learn new skills such as getting on better with friends or controlling their anger, and work out ways to make it easier for students to learn.
"Making Connections" is a student leadership group which provides opportunities for students to take leadership positions in Peer Support and on the Student Representative Council.
Student Friendship/Mentoring teleconference groups run at regular intervals throughout the year. These groups aim to develop skills to promote student social and emotional well-being.
Community Support Events. Our school has identified the importance of providing opportunities for students to become involved in community activities. Amnesty International is our school's focus organisation. We hold a number of events throughout the year to support this organisation including a talent quest and Harmony Day activities. Our school also supports the Amnesty International Youth Forum.
End of term movie days provide an opportunity for parents and supervisors to enjoy one another's company and celebrate the achievements of the term.

Details of upcoming events are published in the school's newsletter and are available on the school website. Students are invited to contribute to these forums. In this way the whole school community can celebrate their efforts and achievements.

Our student support team includes roll call teachers, year advisors, welfare head teacher (Helen Cladakis (02) 9383 0320 and the school counsellor (02) 9383 0202). Contact our team if you need any assistance. If we can't help you then we can refer you on to a community agency or organisation that might be able to provide support.

Roll Call

As part of our student support system each enrolling student is assigned a roll call teacher. Regular phone contact is then negotiated and put in place through your student's roll call teacher.

Why have a roll call?

To support and encourage regular participation and learning
To foster positive relationship building
To simplify and improve communication with the school
To give you a first contact point for any queries or concerns you may have.

When do you call your roll call teacher?

Use your roll call teacher for all queries or concerns. For example: study days and excursions, school visits, any questions regarding organisation of the work. In short , everything! For any problems regarding work in a particular subject call your subject teacher direct.

Cybersafety and Internet Usage

The Internet provides an opportunity to enhance students’ learning experiences by providing access to vast amounts of information across the globe. Email communication links students to provide a collaborative learning environment and is intended to assist with learning outcomes.

However, there are undesirable potentials of the Internet that parents and supervisors should be aware of, such as:

Cyberbullying
Cyberstalking
Dumping
Stranger danger/grooming
Inappropriate content
Online publishing
Psychological issues
Scams
Racial Hatred
e-crime
Identity theft
Phishing
Unreliable information.

To ensure the safety of students we ALL need to work together.

The Department of Education and Training:

Filters and monitors the Internet usage of students (within the school environment only)
Gets students to agree to an acceptable usage policy whenever using email or browsing the Internet
Tracks ALL emails sent and received by students and teachers
Blocks access to free email accounts such as Hotmail.

Sydney Distance Education High School:

Monitors forum and instant messaging posts on our online courses
Gets students to agree to an acceptable usage policy at the beginning of each online course
Gets students to complete a Cybersafety exercise at the beginning of each online course
Supervises all students when they are using computers on the school premises
Trains and informs our staff about the possible dangers of Internet usage.

Unfortunately, DET schools cannot supervise students in their own home environment. Basically, it is up to you, the parents and supervisors, to provide a safe environment for your students.

How can you do this?

Talk to your students about what sites they visit
Encourage your students to use the DET email account
Read up and familiarise yourself with possible dangers
Browse the Internet yourself
Install a filter on your Internet access at home
Set time limits to be on a computer
Explain that computer use is a privilege and not a right.

For more information please go to:

http://www.netalert.gov.au/

A federal government initiative with a lot of information and a free Internet filter.

http://www.ssovideo.net.au/video.html

Another federal government initiative to develop E-Secutiy awareness

http://www.cybersmart.gov.au

A site launched by the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) to provide advice and resources about internet use. It is targeted for parents, children, libraries and schools.

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/news/technology/index.php

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/adminsupport/schtechnologies/internet/index.php

NSW DET information about Internet and email.

http://det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/cyberbullying/

A very comprehensive site about cyberbullying and related issues.

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