Learning and Teaching

Learning and Teaching update Term 4 2020

We are anticipating that by Monday October 26th, all students will be back onsite. All teachers are really looking forward to seeing all of our students and we are aware that this has been  an unusual year for everyone. We want to assure both parents and students that all staff at Killester College will be approaching learning in a way that leads to your daughters feeling positive about their learning going into 2021. We have made decisions about their learning experiences that seek to address this. Please note that the following information applies to Years 7 to 11.  Year 12 students will be completing examinations as per previous communication, with homework and revision expectations are unchanged.

Examinations

Year 11 students will have three days of exams instead of eight days of exams as previously planned. These will be held from Monday November 23rd until Wednesday November 25th. The reasons for this are:

• Both students and teachers want more time to complete their learning for Unit 2 (semester 2) subjects thus we have extended the teaching time by one week and there will be no study day on November 13th.
• Student learning in many subjects has been harder for students so consequently teachers do not want students returning this week, to be welcomed back, and then told they have to work even harder to prepare for exams in three weeks
• Some students have found remote learning extremely difficult due to extra responsibilities at home, less resources available at home and less than ideal study spaces.
• The exams are not a compulsory part of student success in VCE Unit 1-2. We normally do them to give students practice in being assessed under exam conditions. This will still be possible. Stand alone subjects will do practice assessments under exam conditions in double lessons toward the end of the term. The three day exam period will be for subjects with multiple classes.

Year 10 students will not have exams at the end of 2020. These students have experienced approximately 23 weeks in remote learning this year. The only subjects that have had continuity of learning are Mathematics and English. Every other subject has had a reduced amount of time to complete courses hence upon return to face to face teaching, the priority is to enable students and teachers time to complete courses. This will better prepare them for VCE than asking them to sit exams in subjects that they have not yet completed. English and Mathematics will more than likely use double lessons late in term 4 to sit a final assessment under timed conditions. The focus for Year 10 students will be to develop confidence in their understanding of key knowledge and key skills in all subjects before the end of the year.

Year 7,8 and 9 students do not sit end of year examinations

Transition Programs

Year 11 into Year 12 and Year 10 into Year 11

These programs will still operate in 2020 as we support students in their final weeks of Term 4 to best prepare for the VCE and VCAL. Teachers will conduct introductory classes in 2021 VCE and VCAL subjects. There are also sessions that will address requirements of the VCE and VCAL and the responsibilities of students as they enter their final years of learning at secondary school. At this stage there are no changes to the Transition Program dates. They will run from Thursday November 26th until Thursday December 3rd. Students finish school on Friday December 4th.  

It is an important part of reassuring students that they will be prepared for 2021. Teachers will be asked to be mindful of setting a reasonable expectation for preparation tasks to be completed in the holidays. As a rule of thumb, we would advise Year 10 students preparing for Year 11 to read their first term Year 11 English texts, and to complete a total of five days of preparation tasks throughout the seven week break. We would advise Year 11 students preparing for Year 12 to also read their Unit 3 English texts and to complete a total of ten days of preparation tasks throughout the seven week break. Students can choose when and how they complete their tasks to best prepare themselves for Years 11 and 12 in 2021.

Reporting and Assessment

Online continuous reporting using the SEQTA Learning Management System will continue throughout term 4 and all parents will receive an online summary report as a SEQTA Notification at the conclusion of Term 4. These reports will be a summary of your child’s subjects that have been able to continue uninterrupted learning for a period of 10 weeks or more. Therefore, the summary report will not include every subject as some subjects have not had more than one assessment task completed in Semester 2 due to remote learning. The learning  and assessment tasks completed in Term 3 and Term 4 have already, or will be, released to you and your daughter on a continual basis throughout the semester.

Homework - Years 7-11

Teachers have been asked to be very mindful of the fact that students are not to be overwhelmed with homework when they return to face to face learning. This will assure that they feel positive about learning in 2021. Any student who wants extra tasks to complete outside the regular classroom requirements can certainly ask their teacher for this, however, we do not want your daughter feeling fearful of returning to school to be met with ‘catch up’ work. If a particular unit of work in any subject has not been covered this year, then we must be realistic and acknowledge that and adjust our courses in 2021 to help students acquire the required skills for a subject. It is more important that a student feels capable of writing in an analytical style for example, than ensuring she has read a particular text. Similarly, it is important that a student feels capable of applying mathematical problem solving skills rather than how many times they have practised them. 

If you have any concerns about your child’s transition back into Killester College and her learning, please contact myself, her homeroom teacher, subject teacher or her Year level Student Development Leader.

Mr Steve McPhail

Assistant Principal

Learning and Teaching