Year 7

Meruna Mayooran, St Nea

So far, online school has been going pretty well. I get confused at times but I always put 100% into all my work. Some of the things I've completed so far are my RE project and a bit of my Passion Project. Some things I've discovered during online school is research about the Project I’m doing and I’ve discovered more about myself (because of the RE project). I hope everyone is having a pleasant time during online school and remember to stay home and stay safe! 😊

Maia Moncherry, St Elizabeth

For me, online learning was really challenging at the start. I had to stick to a new timetable and begin a new routine. Although we’re doing practically the same thing as we’d be doing at school if we weren’t in isolation, I still initially found it less stimulating as I was doing it by myself. Now that I’ve gotten used to it, I’m finding it a lot easier and I’m managing to do my work a lot quicker. As learning from home is really different from learning at school, it was hard at first for me to get organised. I found it helpful to stick to the timetable as much as I could because it made it as similar to school as possible. For example, I’d have 45 minutes per period and if I couldn’t get my work done in that time frame, I’d leave it and have it as homework at the end of the day. Some of my favourite things to do after I complete all of my learning tasks is read and practice the trumpet. It helps me to relax and to wind down, especially if I had a lot of things I had to do that day. I also like to spend time with my family. We usually play card games like uno and skipbo, but we also like to play board games like scrabble and chess.

Year 8

The Year 8s have adapted to the online world very well and show such positivity in everything they do. We have been staying connected via our Year Level Google Classroom and our Monday and Friday Google Meet Homeroom sessions. So many students have expressed gratitude towards the ability to stay connected through technology in these times and I could not agree more. Although we would love to see our students at school, hearing from them online is pretty amazing too.

To bring some fun for our Year 8s we have been doing a few things to engage them via our Google Classroom. Currently, we have a competition where students are guessing how many lollies in the lolly jar… the winner will be announced very soon and whoever is the lucky winner will get to keep the sweet treats! We have introduced our Pets to each other, shared our favourite Just Dance songs, played Kahoots together, and been battling in an Active April challenge between the homerooms.

We have also had a strong focus on gratitude. We have been sharing what we are most grateful for during these times, as there are always many things to be grateful for. The Year 8 Leaders are currently working on something special which we will share with the year level next week!

We cannot wait to have our Year 8s back at school- when it is safe of course. But the way they have faced this challenge has proven what amazing young women they are!

Ms Emma Neville

Year 8 Student Developmen

Year 9

Sienna Pasitchnyj, St Francis

No uniform. Free time. Independence and no waking up at 6:30am to travel to school! These are just some of the things that had me clapping in glee when I heard that schools around Victoria were closing, but after a few weeks in isolation, it’s not as exciting as imagined it would be. Like many other students, I was waiting in anticipation to get started on learning from home, especially knowing I wasn’t going to be alone, and that Killester, being such a great school, would have teachers keeping in touch and always communicating with us. While this is true, I guess you could say that I’m beginning to feel the effects of isolation. While I’m talking to people daily, whether it’s my friends or teachers in google meets and zoom sessions, this is beginning to feel like the ‘new normal’. In Year Nine, we have marvellous teachers, and every Monday and Friday we meet up with our Homeroom to speak about our week, our work and how we’re all holding up. We’ve also been given ‘passion projects’ to work on for the next four weeks, which was a big surprise, but a good one. By giving us these projects, many of us are a lot more inclined to get the project done and put hard work into it, while giving us something to focus on. Which I think is essential at a time like this, when it’s so easy to pick up a phone or get lost in conversations with friends and stay that way for hours on end. What I think is amazing, is the way that Killester has tried to make learning at home as normal as it can be. We still have Homeroom meetings, band practices and music classes (on zoom) and timetables to follow. This kind of normalcy and ‘business as usual’ attitude has helped me a lot, and I’m sure many others, to relieve any worry they might have, be healthy and stay focused.

Vivien Owens, St Rita

Learning from home has been an adventure. While it is still school, it is certainly very different to what I am used to. Instead of having a Homeroom every morning, it is now only for 30 minutes twice a week, via video chat. While it doesn’t compare to a physical Homeroom, these sessions are still quite fun. They give us a chance to actually talk to our classmates and teachers, rather than texting or not communicating at all. We can also play games such as Kahoot in these sessions, which adds a bit of fun and competition into our monotonous days. The classwork is also different. As I am in Year 9, at the start of every week we are given work for Maths, English and Science, as well as 30 minutes of exercise a day and a personal project. While these tasks are similar to usual classwork, it is still different due to the fact that we can’t discuss the tasks with our classmates or teachers. We are able to email our teachers when assistance is needed, but it is harder to discuss confusions over email, or not even worth it if the question is small. This lack of communication with other people can sometimes make me feel a bit flat, although I do try to communicate with my friends when possible. On the bright side, I am getting more work done due to having less friend-shaped distractions. Overall, completing online school is definitely a new experience, and has taught me better problem-solving skills and helped me complete more work. However, I still can’t wait to go back to school and learn normally with my peers.

Year 10

Nandira Xavier, St Catherine

With the luxury of time on our hands, online remote learning has thus far been a smooth experience for me. Not operating under a rigid time schedule has enabled me to begin and finish my daily learning at a time more suitable to me. Although I found the first week fairly difficult, receiving numerous emails and adjusting to my temporary way of life, I would like to thank all the teachers who consistently check up on the wellbeing of each of their students and remain positive and supportive exemplars.

Mia Kearns, St Mark

During these trying times with each moment of this outbreak being unexpected, remote learning has given me the productivity that some of us yearn for while in quarantine. It has given us a new way of learning, improving our independence and productivity. It is a unique way of preparing us for the future along with showing us we are more reliable than we think. As the news of Covid19 leaves us with vague ideas for our future, remote learning has given us routine along with new lessons.

Year 11

The Year 11 students just keep amazing me. Every time I think - wow, that’s impressive they just find a new way to take my breath away. At the beginning of the year they made a really good transition to Senior school and embraced their VCE/VCAL programs with organization and maturity. On top of this over 78 students, nearly half the year level, chose to complete a 3 & 4 Year 12 subject as a Year 11 - again proving that as a year level they love a challenge.

In March we went to Canberra for four days. This is usually the highlight of our year and we see our students shine as they manage themselves for almost a week away from home and demonstrate their energy and resilience. And then there was the Covid-19 pandemic and incredible and unforeseen challenges dominated both the personal and school lives of our students. And once again the Year 11 students have demonstrated that they are a year level to be proud of!

They have taken everything in their stride, the Kool website, online Tutorials, managing their own timetables, submitting tasks online and completing their VET, TAFE, VCE, VCAL and external language requirements all from their own homes. It takes a great deal of inner strength to respond to the demands to learn on your own - and Year 11 have shown us, and themselves that they are capable of so much more than they might have once believed.

I don’t know what it is like for each student at home but my space is at a single desk and the room is very quiet. I miss the staff room at lunch time and the ability to see my colleagues and hear about their days and lives. I miss the students in my classes as well as the students I pass everywhere else. I miss the laughter at recess and lunch that echoes all around the school. I even miss opening a million lockers a day! Schools without students are so strange- they are just empty buildings waiting for their families to return! And we will be back once it is safe and our community is ready.

We have all learned a great deal from our time in lockdown. For me it’s that I really love and value seeing other people and hearing about their lives. That I have more technological skill than I thought. Mostly I am amazed at the flexibility and capacity of our students to rise to the incredible challenges they are facing in their lives and their learning at the moment: for the rest of your lives you can tell yourself, if I could survive Covid-19 lockdown and remote learning - I can do anything!

We miss you all. The students. The teachers. The front office, IT and finance staff. The maintenance men. The cleaners. And EJ. We all hope you are well and warm and safe. I look forward to the day some time in the near future when we will all be together again. Remember that we are still here for you- it’s just at a distance. Here is a picture of my latest co-worker. He is not as helpful as he thinks he is!

Ms Bronwen Auty

Year 11 Student Development Leader

Year 12

Michayla Bayliss, St Gerard

When picturing my last year at Killester, it certainly did not include a global pandemic, that’s for sure. In saying that, the community that I cherish so much has not faded being online. Being able to still have online Google Meet sessions, and facetiming friends while doing homework, although not usually a part of my day to day school life, has made it much easier to learn at home. It's safe to say that even at home, my amazing teachers are well, still amazing and a main reason why I believe online school has not been so difficult, and they deserve a huge thank you! I can say that going online has not been completely stress free, and many of us can get quite overwhelmed at times, with work or even just wondering how the end of year will work out. But being a Killester girl for some time now, I have complete faith that as long as we continue to work together everything will work out. Working at home though does have its challenges: distraction, procrastination and sometimes a lack of motivation, but nothing that can’t be solved with a great plan and a cup of very strong coffee. Although we may not be back at school until possibly next term, remote learning, or online school, will definitely make transition back to school much easier. I’m sure I am not the only one who misses getting up early, going to school and walking into Homeroom and seeing your friends, making toast in the kitchen, a Year 12 delicacy and being able to sit in class and see your teacher. But, for now, we can only make the best of what we’ve got and, honestly, what we’ve got is pretty good. In no time we’ll be back at school and when we are I think we will only have more appreciation for our amazing school.

Tisha Barsenbach, St Veronica

As the first week of term approached I was nervous and excited both at once, and I wanted to know how school was going to work as well as trying to finish all the holiday homework I had left to the last minute. When the first week of tutorials began I was ecstatic. There was so much to look forward to and I was finally able to talk to my teachers and classmates, in what felt like forever. Going to every lesson was fun and the first week flew by fast, I was left with the homework that had accumulated throughout the week to finish during the weekend. The weekend flew by fast and I hadn’t finished my homework, and I realised that I needed to organise my time during the week. That night I decided to plan my week, allocating time around my tutorials for doing my work with breaks. I was excited all over again to stick to a study schedule. Monday went smoothly, Tuesday I still had my momentum, but then Wednesday arrived and this time I felt really unmotivated. My energy levels felt low and it was the same for many of my friends too. By the end of the week talking to my family, friends and teachers, I gained my motivation. My parents and I sat down together and wrote down some academic goals and my future ambitions of mine and have it by my side as my motivation. I brought this idea up with my friends, hoping to raise their energy level to help them work to their best ability. During my time learning remotely, I have learnt a lot about myself. I have learnt ways to organise my time and work more efficiently, by experimenting with different learning methods such as organising and allocating subjects to certain times or following the school timetable. In the end, I found that waking up a little early, cleaning my room and making a little checklist of the tasks I wanted, worked for me the best. A little morning routine helped me stay on track and plan my day. Also a little shout out to my Year 12’s, you’re doing so well you beauties. If you need a little motivation I really recommend writing down your goals for the end of this year and hanging it up somewhere you can see it, so when you look at it you see what all your hard work will lead up to.

VCAL

Some reflections below:

“It is hard but we will get through it” (Kartika)

“If you don’t work hard, you won’t get the best results” (Alice)

“The beautiful thing about learning is no one can take it away from you” (Emmy)

“One helping hand is more than enough” (Emmy)

“Life is tough, but we are tougher” (Julia)

“Helping others is one less problem for them” (Jessica)

“Life is full of ups and downs, but there are good times as well” (Gemma)

“Life is hard, but that's the exciting bit” (Alicia)

VCAL students also shared about their involvement in the community.

VCAL students report doing exercises including walking their dogs, calling friends to check that they are okay, playing games and spending time with their families. Katika wrote a song for her sister and sang in public. There has been a lot of baking going on with students cooking meals for their families. One student baked a cake for someone's birthday. Alicia Carbone has held a lemonade stand and bake sale to raise money for the hospital staff treating Covid 19.

Ms Nicole Scott

VCAL Teacher

Killester College Newsletter

Issue 7 · 04 May 2020

In this issue