DIRECTOR OF STUDENTS REPORT
Learning
Monday the 4th of May was a very special day. This calendar day is colloquially known as STAR WARS day, a very important day on many people's calendar. Monday the 4th of May also marked the 15th day of TRAC online. It is hard to believe that this is only the third week of online delivery. The engagement with and delivery of online learning has been a team effort with staff, students and families all engaged in the process of learning. And like STAR WARS it has been an epic tale of adventure, learnt lessons, battles won and lost, newfound knowledge and with the resumption of Year 12 classes, a return home as a transformed learner.
During TRAC Online students of the College have been challenged in ways that they have never been challenged before. Thrust into an environment where work is to be accessed and consumed online, following a timetable that has no bells, and a flexible learning structure that is theirs to manage outside of checking in each morning.
We can now confirm that some students excelled in this environment and others craved the social engagement of the classroom where they could discuss the learning and workshop ideas and concepts with their peers. Some students love the flexibility of sleeping in: I spoke to a student this week who added three hours to his day by not having to take a bus to and from school. Some students have learnt that motivation is a skill and an attribute they need to spend more time developing. For some, TRAC Online has been a reawakening, a time when they have reconsidered how they learn and how they can increase their capacity to learn. For others, TRAC Online has affirmed their potential as learners as they have enjoyed the freedom to stretch themselves and engage with topics for extended periods of time, not just in 50 minute blocks. But the learning has not been limited to students.
TRAC Online has been an exciting learning opportunity for all teaching staff at the College. With best practice in mind the leadership team developed a set of guidelines and a structure that was consistent and coordinated across all subjects. Teachers at the College embraced TRAC Online as an opportunity to model lifelong learning to our students and families and its success is underwritten by the effort and bravery of our staff who collectively adapted their programs and delivery at very short notice. I hope our students can appreciate how many long and nervous hours of preparation, practise and sharing goes into every happy Meet and every well-crafted online lesson.
TRAC Online has been a whole community effort and this has been pivotal to our combined success. Staff applaud the effort made by parents and guardians and understand that the success of TRAC Online is due to the support, cajoling and commitment you have shown to your child's learning. The teaching staff are very grateful for the emails, letters and phone calls of support received from parents who have watched learning and connection continue.
Connection with peers and school is a vital part of every student’s wellbeing makeup. Watching our senior students reconnect with their peers, whilst practicing social distancing, has been wonderful to witness. The smiles, the laughs, the sheer relief of seeing each other and connecting again was wonderful to see. As the College cautiously transitions back to the classroom the focus of the wellbeing team will be on connections and how we can transition our students back to the classroom for a fresh start; reconnected, reinvigorated and ready for learning.
May the fourth be with you.
Ross Kennedy | Acting Director of Students