From the Principal
Welcome back!
Return to the future...
Yesterday I let parents know that we would begin the staged return to school for our students on Tuesday 26 May, following advice from the Victorian Government and the Department of Health and Human Services.
This will follow a day of no classes, either online or on site, on Monday 25 May; possibly a day for some students to make a last minute effort to get up-to-date with all their set tasks, or it might be a day where diligence is rewarded and students are free to relax, reflect and reorient themselves to the suddenly novel prospect of returning to their classrooms.
The first group of students to return will be our IB Diploma Programme students in Years 11 and 12. From this time forward, the Diploma Programme will no longer be delivered online and our cohort will regroup on campus, in classrooms.
They will be followed two weeks later by the remainder of our secondary students from Years 7 to 10 on Tuesday 9 June. Online classes for these students will continue until this date and then they too will resume classes on campus.
From this point on, no classes will be delivered online.
We are aware that for some students this will be a very welcome return, to reconnect with their friends and teachers. Some students have found the online environment very difficult to connect with and have struggled with this sudden change and we look forward to helping them to catch up or reconnect. For other students, they are now comfortable in this new normal and may even prefer this model. Regardless of these differences, a return to school represents yet another change imposed on them without consultation – or indeed, reference to their wellbeing.
Our aim will be to support all students as we continue to navigate this further turbulence and unpredictability.
Our optimism and pleasure in welcoming students back on site will be underpinned by a set of agreements to ensure we are doing all we can to safeguard students and staff. These will need to be rigorously adhered to and we will be looking to parents to support us with hygiene and distancing arrangements.
Most importantly, everyone at Blackhall Kalimna is dependent on the shared responsibility to ensure that no-one comes onto the campus who has contact with infected persons, or who has cold and flu-like symptoms. Any students who do exhibit these symptoms will need to go home.
I know that our teachers have been collaborating and working incredibly hard to deliver the most effective learning experiences they can online. I know they are also delighted by many of the new strategies, skills and technologies they have been challenged to master. They have all stretched themselves and experimented to give their students their best. I salute them.
A further letter will go home with more detail about this return to school and no doubt we will need to communicate more information as it comes to light.
We know that many families and students will have individual special circumstances that are not accommodated by blanket provisions, so please talk to us. Continue to give us feedback and be confident that we will do our best to support your needs.
Marilyn Smith
Principal