FIRST STEPS Learning Center Fslc

ESTABLISHING GOOD COMMUNICATION CHANNELS TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING.
*Establish Communication Channels:
*Attend Parent-Teacher Meetings: Participate in parent-teacher meetings and conferences to discuss your child's progress, academic performance, and any concerns you may have. These meetings provide valuable insights into your child's educational journey.
*Understand Classroom Expectations and Rules: Familiarize yourself with the teacher's expectations regarding homework, behavior, and participation. Understanding classroom guidelines helps you support your child's learning and reinforce consistency between home and school.
*Respect Boundaries: Encourage your child to follow classroom rules and guidelines, respecting the teacher's authority and fostering a respectful learning environment and remember teachers aren't available 24/7.
*Provide Support at Home: Support your child's learning at home by creating a conducive study environment, assisting with homework when needed, and encouraging regular reading habits, especially reading to your child.
*Address Concerns Promptly: If you have any concerns or questions about your child's education or well-being in the classroom, address them promptly with the teacher. Open communication helps resolve issues effectively and ensures your child receives the support they need.
*Respect Teacher's Professional Judgment: Trust the teacher's professional expertise and judgment when it comes to your child's education. Avoid micromanaging or criticizing teaching methods and instead, offer support and constructive feedback.
*Volunteer and Participate: Offer to volunteer in the classroom or participate in school activities and events. Your involvement demonstrates your commitment to your child's education and strengthens the home-school partnership.
*Stay Informed about School Policies: Stay informed about school policies, procedures, and upcoming events. Review school newsletters, websites, and communication platforms regularly to stay updated on important information.
*Express Appreciation: Show appreciation and gratitude for the teacher's dedication and efforts in educating your child. A simple thank-you note or gesture can go a long way in building a positive relationship and fostering mutual respect

Inviting interested ECE teachers and parents to attend this 2 workshop sessions on the topics detailed below.
It is not very often that we get to have professional speakers that specializes in our field. Let's grab this opportunity to develop professionally. We are targeting 50 teachers and parents only, so confirm your attendance early to avoid disappointment.

Thank you Madam Hon. Minister.

'NO ROOM FOR RECONCILIATION' | Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Lynda Tabuya revealed that family members of the 11-year-old girl who was beaten by her relative in Nausori last Friday were seeking forgiveness.

For more on this story - grab a copy of The Fiji Times, subscribe to our e-Edition or visit www.fijitimes.com.fj

Have a great 2 weeks break our treasures.

Checking in and out of reality.....DEEP! AND REAL!

Court fines mum for beating daughter She said this when a case of a mother who had beaten her daughter while under the influence of alcohol was called before her in the Suva Magistrate’s Court.

Years 1 and 4 painting using real flowers [more like blob painting] and bottles. Came out pretty good I guess.

Students at the school were visited by their kindly neighbour, Mr. Kishore Raniga who lives at 66 Sekoula Road. They were given snacks and candies as the Raniga family remembers with fondness their dearly departed brother, Mr. Ishwar Lal Raniga.
Thank you Mr. Raniga for today and for the many times you had visited our school with your wife, Mum and sister bringing gifts and food. May you and your family receive a hundredfolds of blessings from our good Lord.

Fruit - sharing Friday. Thank you parents and guardians. Your children get to remain healthier and they also learn the value of sharing.

Did you know that a 3-year old (top left image) and a 6-year old (top right image) have significantly different skeletal structure in their hands?! Notice the bones in the wrist of the 3-year old -- many of them are still mostly cartilage! Look at all the spaces in between the bones where muscles and tendons will change through the years. Even the difference between a 6-year old and a 14-year old (lower right) is huge!

Preschoolers have SO much development to do before they can write the way school-aged children or adults can!

Please do NOT stress if your preschooler does not want to write or draw. Some love it and some don't.

While they are growing, strengthen those little bones and muscles! Here are some great pre-writing, muscle-strengthening activities:

* painting, drawing, coloring
* playdough
* tearing and cutting
* gluing
* poking holes in things (try toothpicks and paper!)
* digging in dirt
* building with LEGOS, marble runs, or other blocks
* beading (try beads, cut straws, or even bobbins!)
* puzzles
* squeezing (try stress balls, squeezing water in a sponge, or using a pipette)
* picking up and throwing balls (use different sizes!)
* playing with toys (watch what their little fingers do when they pick up and move little cars, marbles, action figures, etc!)
These all strengthen and help develop little hands, muscles, and bones. When they are physically ready to write, it will be so much easier than if they were pushed when they didn't want to and weren't ready!

A problem with children not only at K but primary levels as well.

10 Secrets To Raising Good Listeners - Janet Lansbury Listening skills are essential to learning. Children who listen well not only develop strong language abilities, they find gaining knowledge in any subject easier, less stressful and more successful. Since attentive listeners retain most of what they hear in the classroom, they don’t need to study...

This is why Finland has the best schools The Harvard education professor Howard Gardner once advised Americans, "Learn from Finland, which has the most effective schools and which does just about the opposite of what we are doing in the United States."

Self care Sunday - as the old saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy.

As someone who struggles with feeling as if everyone else is doing better, more successful, further ahead than me, believe me, the struggle is real. Even though I know it’s not helpful for me. I must run my own race.

This also goes for your child; try not compare them to others, this will only cause difficulty for everyone. Instead, celebrate their victories, encourage them in their weaker areas and focus on their goals.

📷 Charlie Mackesy

From tomorrow (25/03/22), the wearing of masks will become optional and all venues may operate at full capacity. Social distancing requirements will no longer be enforced either.

It is up to people to apply the more than two years of experience we have with COVID to do what makes them feel comfortable and safe.

Despite the curfew being lifted, adherence to basic COVID-19 protocols are mandatory, however, there are exemptions from wearing a mask. Please find the updated guidelines below:

We now have the official announcement from the education ministry for starting of school for K to Year 7.
I'm urging all parents to carefully read the Covid 19 safety procedures and protocols that are detailed in the document sent earlier to you (Information to Parents). Happy prep for start of school.

MINISTRY ANNOUNCES REOPENING OF SCHOOL FOR ECE TO YEAR 7

As announced earlier by the Acting Prime Minister, the face to face classes for Early Childhood Education (ECE) to Year 7 will resume from Monday, 7 February 2022.

Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Honourable Premila Kumar said the long-awaited announcement comes after students from years 8 to 13 have settled in well in schools.

“Parents of ECE to Year 7 students have been requesting for the opening of schools for these students. This decision was taken after a lot of consideration and taking into account evidence, and discussions, as well as clearance from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services,” said Minister Kumar.

“The Ministry has been following student attendance for Years 8 to 13 since schools resumed a week ago. As the week progressed, a relatively high rate of student attendance was seen ranging from an overall average of 63% to 75%.”

“There is also less COVID-related absenteeism among our teachers, and teacher attendance remains high, which is very reassuring.”

Minister Kumar said that these figures are giving the Ministry reassurance that all the preparation undertaken by the schools is working as anticipated, and teachers and students’ health can be well managed in school.

“In many countries, globally, where schools are operating during the pandemic, children are more likely to catch COVID-19 in the community than in schools. It is no different for Fiji.”

The recent announcement made by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services reveals that there is a reduction in COVID cases in Fiji. The medical data currently shows that Fiji has been through the worst phase of the third wave of COVID-19. There is a sustained decrease in the number of COVID-19 related admissions in our hospitals.

According to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, UNICEF and WHO, children are at a lower risk of severe illness. This is even more applicable to our young children, who are at a lower risk.

“The need for all children to get back to school and for us to navigate a safe path back to ensuring a brighter future for our children needs to start now,” said Minister Kumar.

Minister Kumar explained that while the reopening of schools is based on multiple layers of protection in the schools, with adherence to COVID-safe conditions, parents and the community leaders are urged to have stronger oversight on COVID-safe household and community-wide practices.

“All schools that were used as evacuation centres over the past few weeks have been decontaminated and cleared by the MHMS. As an additional layer of support and reassurance, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services and our staff carried out another round of decontamination in these schools. I hope this will give further assurance to parents that schools are well prepared to receive children,” said the Minister.

The Ministry reiterates that parents, guardians and the community need to unite to observe strict COVID-19 safe protocols and by doing this, we are protecting our students and helping them to attend school in person safely.

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The Fijian Government wishes to advise Fijians that the following approved services are available with selected private practitioners around the country under the 'COVID-19 Engagement of Private Medical General Practitioners Scheme'.

Approved medical services are as follows:

1. Consultation
2. Review
3. Referrals
4. Injections
5. Dressings
6. Other minor dressings

General Practitioners (GPs) have been engaged as part of this new scheme to improve free access to the listed medical services during the pandemic.

The Fijian Government has provided Patient Consultation Forms to the GPs under the scheme which will be filled and signed by both patient and doctor.

Minister Welcomes Students Back To Classes

I once again welcome years 8 to 13 students back to classes. It is a very critical time for years 12 and 13 as they will be sitting for their exams.

For years 8 to 11, this term is the final term for academic year 2021 and it is vital that students complete their work before they start the new academic year 2022 in April.

We all have been going through trying times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The different variants of the virus have exposed us all with challenges that we had never faced before. Despite that we have endured and showed resilience by closely following the frequent and timely advisories from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services and our partners WHO and UNICEF.

The Government’s well strategised plan for vaccination and Fiji achieving around 93 % full vaccination was the best option for addressing the challenges.

Prioritising education after the substantial loss of hours of face to face learning is crucial --- more than ever before. Invigorating the interest of our children on the importance of learning and resuming face to face classes can no longer be kept in abeyance or deferred. Countries all over the world have encouraged their students to return to classes amidst observance of clearly defined COVID-Safety Protocols.

We have done so as well.

I have visited a number of schools in the country over the past one month and am impressed to see the high level of preparedness by heads of schools, teachers and the school management and the eagerness of teachers to welcome students back to classes.

As schools reopen, teachers and other school staff can play a key role in protecting and supporting their students. Teachers and other ancillary staff are the first contact for children outside of their family after months of home confinement, allowing children to report if they are not feeling well.

I am delighted to see our school family back together, however, we must not lose sight of the fact that COVID-19 is still very much in our midst, numbers of cases are still detected on a daily basis and this is likely to continue. Therefore, we all need to do what we can to keep our students safe at school.

Between home and school, students will inevitably get in contact of others such as the travelling public, bus drivers, public service vehicle workers, and shop and office workers. It is incumbent upon every individual to exercise caution and adhere to all COVID-safe measures. Laxity by anyone (including students and parents) can present a risk to the students.

As citizens, let us take a collective responsibility to ensure that through our own actions we don’t endanger the health and safety of others, in particular our children.

If you, your child, or anyone in the household, develops any symptoms it is vitally important that the child stays home until the all clear is given.

For years 12 and 13 students. I wish them the very best and encourage all of them to do the examination as your future higher education goals are dependent on this.

For ECE up to year 7, I will be announcing the dates of reopening of classes in due course.

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SCHOOL REOPENING

The Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts would like to announce that schools will reopen for Years 8-13 on Monday 24 January 2022. Please note that these dates may be revised if weather patterns change.

All our schools are now ready to open except Maramarua District School which is still an evacuation centre. Once it has been cleared, we will open the school.

The Ministry has been informed that the weather is clearing and that we should expect fine weather. However, as we are still in the midst of the cyclone season, precautions must be taken as the weather could take a turn for the worse at any time.

As students return to school, the Ministry urges parents, guardians, teachers, heads of schools, and community members to play their part in keeping students safe as they resume school.

Parents of students with underlying conditions are strongly advised to obtain a medical report from their doctor and share it with the Head of School.

If children are unwell, please keep them home until they have recovered.

Reopening dates for the rest of the levels will be announced at a later date.

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• Cover all water supplies.
• Wear a mask when outside.
• Disconnect pipelines to empty ash and water onto the ground.
• Cover your eyes and stay indoors as much as possible.
• Protect your skin by wearing clothes that cover your whole body.
• Disconnect the water tank if you usually collect rainwater.

THERE IS A FAKE SCHOOL REOPENING DATE BEING CIRCULATED

The Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts would like to inform the public that a currently circulating post regarding the reopening of schools on 17/01/22 after is fake news.

As announced earlier, schools will be closed until we have received clearance from NDMO that the weather has improved and schools are ready to be opened.

It is disappointing to learn that people are circulating fake school reopening dates which can cause confusion, especially to families who have taken refuge in schools being used as evacuation centres, as well as other families who have been affected by Tropical Cyclone Cody.

The Ministry urges Fijians to be vigilant on what information they believe - If you do not see it on our page or the Fijian Government’s page, then please do not believe it.

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Fiji Meteorological Service

For students at FSLC school will open a week later on Tuesday 18 January 2022. Wishing everyone a prosperous and blessed 2022.💖😘

ATTENTION Parents, Guardians and Students!

The Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts has confirmed that schools will open as advised earlier.

This means students in Years 8 - 11 will start school on 4 January 2022 while Early Childhood Education (ECE) to Year 7 will start on 10 January 2022.

Years 12 to 13, who already started school earlier and are currently on Christmas break, will resume school from 4 January 2022.

There is a possibility of slightly acidic rainfall in Fiji due to increased sulfur dioxide concentrations stemming from the recent volcanic eruption in Tonga.

As a precautionary measure, the Department of Environment is advising members of the public to remain indoors during rain showers and cover rain water storage tanks.

The Department of Environment will continue to monitor the situation. The Department of Environment would also like to reiterate that Fiji’s air remains safe to breathe as the sulfur dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are at high altitude.

MINISTER BALA CLARIFIES PUBLIC HOLIDAYS FOR CHRISTMAS, BOXING AND NEW YEAR’S DAY

“Saturday the 25th of December 2021 is a normal day, hence the public holiday for Christmas Day falls on Monday, the 27th of December, 2021.”

“Sunday the 26th of December 2021 is a normal day and therefore public holiday for Boxing Day falls on Tuesday, the 28th of December, 2021.”

“Saturday the 1st of January 2022 is a normal day, thus the public holiday for New Year’s Day falls on Monday, the 3rd of January, 2022.”

This was clarified by the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, Youth and Sports Parveen Kumar Bala given the gazetted dates for the 2021 and 2022 public holidays respectively.

“Any worker who is employed on any of the gazetted public holidays will be entitled to public holiday pay,” said Minister Bala.

“The worker must be at work a day before and after the public holiday and if they are unable to do so then they must provide a valid reason or a medical certificate.”

The Minister highlighted that Section 67 of the Employment Relations Act (ERA) 2007 states that a worker must be paid in respect of each public holiday for the number of hours (exclusive of overtime) which the worker would normally have worked on that day had it not been a public holiday.

“If a worker is employed during these public holidays then the worker is entitled to double pay,” said Minister Bala.

The Minister appealed to all employers who operate during these public holidays to remunerate their workers accordingly.

The Ministry will continue to ensure that workers are paid their rightful dues this holiday season.

LESSONS VIA ZOOM
Bula Vinaka parents and guardians. It has been a while and we do hope that in spite of all that we're going through, our families are fine and coping.
We realised that while sending out lessons via Viber worked out fine for some, others yet were not a part of that due to circumstances beyond our control. And the teachers also thought that other forms and modes of reaching our students, your children with a more interactive approach would benefit the children. Besides, we really want to see them and talk to them.
For that reason we have decided that we will begin our ZOOM lessons next week, beginning Monday 31st May. It is a new approach and we had been practicing trying to learn the ins and outs of this learning mode and perfecting the finer details.
Our plans for next week are as follows:
1. There will be 3 groups of children learning per day which means 3 sessions per day - 1 group per session/slot. There will be 4 days of learning per week with Wednesday a free day for children as teachers have allocated the Wednesday for prep.
2. The groups are divided into Grade 1, KS1 and KS2.
3. Time schedule per group:
- Grade 1 - 9.00 am - 9.45 am per day [Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri.]
- KS1 - 10.00 am - 10.45 am [same days as for Grade 1]
- KS2 - 11.15 - 12 Noon [same days as for Grade 1 and KS1]
4. The Groups are:
- Grade 1 - Imeri, David, Watisoni and Akuila
- KS1 - Keona, Alumita, Grace, Talliyah, Trinity, Ilisapeci, Jabez and Kieran
-KS2 - Mereoni, Tomasi, Benjamin, Noa, Savenaca, Vere, Keleni and Jenny
5. Data Plan - please refer to your Viber or email where we'll send data plans where every parent will contribute to sending data or recharge for the staff and teachers who will be participating every week. Data will be used for the ZOOM sessions as well as getting activities and worksheets ready for the students and for preparation and weekly practice by the teachers. We hope that you will understand and help us assist your children and their learning.
6. The ZOOM password and ID will be sent to your either through Viber or email and this will be posted to you 10 to 15 minutes prior to the starting time.
7. Photos below show the 2 teachers getting ZOOM ready for next week.
You are all in our prayers and we wish you a blessed weekend. Till Monday. Vinaka and God bless our families, all the families, especially the children and teachers in Fiji and our beloved nation.

Ministry of Health COVID Statement 23 May 2021

Transmission Update
We have recorded 18 new cases since our last update yesterday evening.

10 cases are from 2 related families in Waila
4 cases are from a household in Tacirua
2 cases from a household in Muanikoso

We are early in the investigations into these new cases and currently no link has been established with other cases.

Of the remaining 2 cases, 1 is a contact of the Samabula cluster, and the 2nd is an Extra Supermarket worker who tested positive on their final swab in quarantine.


In addition to an expanded Muanikoso screening zone, we have established screening zones in Samabula, Waila and Tacirua, where we are now conducting intensive screening and testing. These latest cases involve a number of people who visited well-known shops, grocery stores and other commercial facilities inthe area, which will make contact tracing and data we can gain from the careFIJI app very important. Please be sure to have the app installed and running on your phone, with Bluetooth turned on.

A number of recent cases acknowledged that they did not observe proper physical distancing as they moved about the community, and attended social events such as grog parties. Therefore, we repeat the advice that we have given repeatedly--and that health authorities worldwide have given repeatedly for more than the past year--to wear masks, wash hands frequently, observe physical distancing always, and avoid crowds. And please do not attend social events, and do not invite people in from outside your household. It is also very important to maintain discipline at work by staying within your bubbles if your workplace has them and by keeping your masks firmly in place. Don’t let your guard down, set an example in your community, and encourage family, neighbors and people you meet to observe these common-sense practices. This is very serious.

We will now be making it mandatory to wear a mask or face covering if you live in a containment area and are outside your home.

There has been 1 recovery, which means we now have 86 active cases in Fiji, with 224 cases recorded in total since our first case in March 2020. All active cases are stable. Transmission is concentrated in the Central Division at this time, in the Suva-Nausori Containment Area, and that is where we are focusing our attention, personnel and resources.

Vaccination Update
We will conduct vaccinations all next week beginning Monday throughout the Central Division for all persons 18 and older who have not yet received their first dose. We have arranged for vaccination centers at well-known fixed locations and will also deploy mobile vaccination teams in some areas. Vaccination sites and times and any special information will be published every day on the Fijian Government page.

Lautoka hospital has completed 18 days of isolation so far and is undertaking the 4th round of testing for staff and patients. They also plan to complete the 2nd dose of vaccination for all staff sequestered in the hospital by next week.