A return to Remote and Flexible learning from Friday July 16th to Tuesday July 20th inclusive

Dear Students, Parents and Carers and Staff Members,

As you are aware, the situation regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve. We know that this will cause many challenges for all and your support during this period of uncertainty is appreciated.

As you would be aware, the Victorian Government has now advised that all schools will move to remote and flexible learning for all students from Friday July 16th to Tuesday July 20th inclusive.

All students who can learn at home must learn from home. This is a very clear directive by the Victorian Government based on the advice of the Chief Health Officer.

This action is not being taken lightly, and I understand it may cause you and your family concern and stress. Please know this step is being taken to slow the spread of the virus and ensure the health and safety of all Victorians.

All staff have been working hard to put curriculum plans in place to ensure continuity of learning and to support the wellbeing of all our students. We have reflected on the previous Remote Learning period and made some changes to try and address some of the previous challenges. Our main focus is on providing consistent and predictable routines for the students.

Some of the changes are:
–        All students access timetabled class lessons using the Compass Portal.
–        Daily check-in calls with students by Staff Advocates to track attendance, student wellbeing and academic progress. These will commence on Monday.
–        Daily uploading of class activities and instructions for learning in the ‘Lesson Plan’ box in each class in compass.
–        All work to be submitted through ‘Learning Tasks’ on compass
–        Each subject will have at least one Webex lesson with students next week. All students are expected to log into this call. The webex lesson will be identified on the Compass lesson plan.

Resources are key in ensuring the success of students during this time. During the previous period of remote learning all students had access to IT. If there has been a change in circumstances and a student does not have access to digital technologies at home- laptop or the internet – please let the school know ASAP.

Students were notified today to take home all items from their lockers.

Parent Teacher Interviews and Information Night – Tuesday July 20th
The Parent Teacher Interviews and Information Night scheduled for Tuesday July 20th have been cancelled. These important events will be rescheduled once the lockdown has ended. The July meeting of College Council scheduled for Monday evening has been deferred. Members of Council will be contacted by Lori Benis to provide further details about the rescheduled Council meeting.

This is clearly going to be a challenging time for all of us. It is critically important that we work very closely together to ensure that we provide the very best possible support for the ongoing wellbeing and learning of our students and your children. If there are issues with students working remotely from home, please contact the Year Level Coordinator or Principal Class at the College.

Thank you for your support during this time.

Yours sincerely,

Greg McMahon
Executive Principal