Secondary attendance and parent supervision at home

While it's good to be back “at school” I can't deny that our return to Home-Based Learning format has, from what I can gather, been met with a collective sigh or even groan by students, parents and teachers alike. 

It was really great to see everyone back last Semester, even with a mask.  While there are some who clearly thrive in a totally virtual environment, I’d say that most of us hope we return to school as soon as it's safe. 

Until that time, I’d just like to remind parents we follow up continuous and regular absences by contacting parents via phone or email.  Although not widespread, we do have situations where students are not regularly attending classes. 

Even in the best of times, Secondary students (teens) and parents often clash around questions of autonomy and control of time. Especially at this time, these conflicts may be heightened if parents try to micromanage students’ academic work. This is not to say that we don’t encourage parents to take an active role in knowing what their children are doing in class/at school. We strongly encourage parents to get an idea of how things are going for their children. If things aren't going well, then parents are requested to let the School know; teachers, coordinators or Principal as appropriate.  This feedback helps us make the programme better. 

I’d like to suggest to parents that they maintain supervision of HBL with a “loose-tight” approach. That is, combining the encouragement and development of self-sufficiency as an autonomous learner, yet supporting the teachers/School by regular check-ins and discussion with their children about what is happening in class.