Return to School Arrangements - Term 4

Return to School Arrangements – Term 4

The Victorian Government has released its plan for easing Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions. It includes the following decisions about school operations.

All schools will continue to provide remote and flexible learning for the remainder of Term 3, except specialist schools in rural and regional Victoria, consistent with current settings.

These changes remain subject to the advice of Victoria’s Chief Health Officer.

5 – 9 October (first week of Term 4)

Remote and flexible learning will continue for all students, except in specialist schools in rural and regional Victoria.
VCE and VCAL students can only attend on-site for essential assessments during this week, including the General Achievement Test (GAT) on Wednesday 7 October.
On-site supervision for children of permitted workers and vulnerable students will continue to be provided consistent with existing guidelines.

From 12 October - Schools in metropolitan Melbourne

Students in Prep to Grade 2 return to full-time on-site schooling. The existing remote learning program will not continue for these year levels.
Students in specialist schools return to full-time on-site schooling. Schools can offer learning materials for students who continue to learn from home.
Year 11 and 12 students will now attend on-site schooling full time, and Year 10 students enrolled in a VCE or VCAL program will attend on-site for these classes.
Remote and flexible learning will continue for all students in Grade 3 to Year 10, other than for children of permitted workers and vulnerable students.

Date subject to health advice

All students from Grade 3 to Year 10 in metropolitan Melbourne will continue with remote and flexible learning. A date for the return of these year levels to face-to-face learning will be subject to further health advice.
During the staged return, outside school hours care will be available to students attending for on-site supervision and progressively for the relevant year levels returning to on-site learning.

Our priority in Term 4 is to ensure that every student in our care is supported in their wellbeing, learning and transition needs. The Department of Education has advised all schools of three core priorities for Term 4 . These are:

1. Mental health and wellbeing

Our highest priority will be the wellbeing, particularly the mental health, of every student and member of staff. This means effectively mobilising all available resources to support our most vulnerable students and enabling staff to access the relevant support services.

2. Learning

Some of our students have thrived in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their learning progress, and some have fallen behind, despite their best efforts and those of their families and teachers. Our priority will be supporting both those who need it to catch up and those who have progressed to continue to extend their learning.

3. Transitions

We will make every effort to ensure successful transitions for children moving from kindergarten into Prep, Grade 6 students moving into Year 7, and the Year 12 students moving into employment or further education and training.

This means the priorities of every Victorian government school in Term 4 will be to:

begin the process of catch-up learning and continue to extend those who progressed well during remote and flexible learning,
support students to re-establish friendships and class groups when back on site, and provide additional support where needed,
help every student prepare for 2021 with a sense of purpose and optimism,
ensure students continue to develop their literacy and numeracy knowledge and skills, build their personal and social capability and are physically active.

In considering these priorities, Box Hill High School may need to adjust what we would normally do in Term 4 – after all, this is no ordinary year. We will continue to keep all families informed as we continue to assess what is needed and implement any changes for Term 4.

Should you have any questions or concerns please contact the school.

- Losh Pillay, Principal