From the Director of Studies

Back to Full-time Classroom Learning

With Years 7 – 10 students poised to return to full-time classes next week and our Years 11 and 12 students moving into their third week back, it’s a good time to take stock of the Online Learning experience and what the next few weeks will hold.

What have we learned from the online experience?

For the vast majority of our students, the online experience, while challenging and at times, frustrating, has overall been a good learning experience. Students who have come back to school over the last few weeks have seen their teachers, friends and the College itself through new eyes, finding value in many of the classroom experiences that we have always taken for granted. 

Boys have commented on how good it is to have their teacher greet them, communicate instructions verbally, and stop to clarify them, instead of having to read the instructions in Google Classroom or listen to instructions delivered to thirty faces on a screen in a video conference. 

We have learned new words such as “zooming” (and “zoombombing”), “asynchronous learning”, “self-iso”, “covideopartying”, “wfh/lfh” and “exit tickets”. Students have been challenged to be self-driven, to engage actively in online classes and they have been – mostly – able to resist the urge to sleep in, wonder off to the fridge or be distracted by YouTube or Xbox. 

Google Classroom has been an effective learning platform that teachers will continue to use. Flipped classes, with students watching video demonstrations at home and then coming into class to discuss or conduct experiments, may well become a tool used more frequently by teachers. The burgeoning range of resources on the internet will continue to be a powerful force in teaching. The challenge of the future is for teachers and students to create content themselves in the process of learning.

In online class tasks, teachers have been pleasantly surprised by the learning that has taken place in the virtual landscape. Students have absorbed skills by watching the teacher’s video on solving algebraic equations, watching a Science demonstration or analysing the poetic techniques employed in a war poem.

There have also been challenges along the way. Assessments are much more difficult when completed in an online context. Practical subjects have had to restructure units and cover theoretical concepts in the absence of Timber workshops, Art rooms, sports fields and Science labs. For some students, the literacy demands of an online environment have proven challenging. 

The home dynamic has also sometimes been an obstacle to overcome with unsteady internet, social isolation, distractions of siblings and all the complications that learning (or working) from home engenders. Some students have missed the direct guidance of teachers checking that work is done. While teachers will insist that students catch up on important work items that have been missed, there will also be a greater degree of latitude and support afforded to students who have experienced general difficulties. 

By and large, our students have continued to learn during this time. Parents, teachers and, most of all, students should be commended for this achievement. Online learning has worked because of your willingness to make it work, your flexibility and your goodwill. For this, we thank you.

Where to from here? The next 5 weeks…

In the next few weeks, students will be immersed back into the life of the College. While there are a number of events that have been cancelled/postponed from the calendar and the school experience will be different because of social distancing, we will work conscientiously to re-establish our learning routines. And this is important.

Years 7 – 10 Half-Yearly In-class Assessments

While we will still have a Half-Yearly set of assessments, these will look significantly different from previous years.

These tasks have been delayed to Week 6 in order to give students a chance to acclimatise to school. These tasks will also be shorter than normal, usually 50 minutes or less in duration. Several subjects have chosen to have hand-in tasks that will be due later. Teachers have reduced the content of these tasks, however, it is still important for teachers to assess learning so that they can continue developing students’ skills and bridge any gaps in learning over the last few months. 

Assessment Task Date Changes

To cater for students during this time, a number of assessments have been delayed so that students have time to prepare. This means that the printed Academic Handbooks provided at the beginning of the year are no longer accurate. The best place for students to access their assessment due dates for the year is the Sentral Calendar found on the Student and Parent Portals. The College is also updating the digital Academic Handbooks to reflect these changes. Notification sheets for all assessment tasks are also emailed to students at least two weeks before the task is due.

HSC Examination Dates

The Trial HSC Examinations have been delayed and will now begin in Week 5, Term 3. Students have been sent an Examination Timetable. 

The HSC Examination timetable has also been released and NESA has delayed the beginning of these exams by 5 days. Students have access to their personal timetable via the NESA Students Online website. Further information about practical examination dates and major works can be accessed via the NESA Website. 

Parent-Teacher Interviews

The College is looking at providing an alternative arrangement for the interviews that were to take place last week. At present, the alternative will involve phone interviews in Week 7 for Year 12 parents. We are also looking at alternatives for Years 7 – 11 early in Term 3. 

Again, these events are heavily influenced by government restrictions but opportunities for communication between parents, teachers and students are essential. The College will provide further information in due course. 

Reports

This year, the College has changed the way reports are issued. Parents and students can now access their reports online via the Sentral Parent/Student Portal.

Last Monday, Year 12 Half-Yearly Reports were made available and parents would also have received an email from the Year 12 Coordinator, Mr Patrick Newell and the Stage 6 Academic Coordinator, Mr Stephen Bullock. 

Earlier in the year, progress reports were distributed using this platform. At the end of Week 9 this term, the Years 7 – 10 Half-Yearly reports will be distributed digitally. As will the Year 11 Half-Yearly Reports in Week 2, Term 3. .

Past reports are available for students and parents to access at any time through the Sentral platform. If you experience difficulties accessing your Sentral Parent Portal, please contact Kate Stott at the College on 0246 294 130 or email kstott@stgregs.nsw.edu.au

HSC Minimum Standards Testing

The NSW Government has decided that HSC Minimum Standards Testing will still go ahead this year. In order to gain an HSC, students must reach minimum standards in Reading, Writing and Numeracy Tests. 

The school will conduct these tests in Week 8 for students in Years 11 and 12 who have not achieved minimum standards. Tests for Year 10 students will be conducted early in Term 3 with a date to be confirmed

Follow the link for more information about HSC Minimum Standards Testing.

Stage 6 Course Selection

During Term 3, students in Year 10 will choose their courses for Years 11 and 12. As part of this process, students will receive an information guide and have access to a digital space to view Key Learning Area (KLA) Course presentations. There will be an Information Evening for Parents and Year 10 students will be involved in Course Interviews and they will select their Courses for 2021. Year 10 students and parents will be provided with further information later in the term.

Study Skills Tips

Mr Riccardo Bombardiere

Director of Studies