April 2020

In attempting to describe the enormity of the challenges that our community and our nation have faced in recent times, including drought, floods and bush fires, we have probably all used words such as unparalleled or extraordinary. With the promise of a new year, a new challenge has emerged. Like me, I’m sure you feel we are living in a period of world history that will be poured over by generations to come.

At the beginning of the year who would have imagined that schools would be delivering learning and teaching in a virtual environment?

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted how we are currently able to live our lives in ways that are unprecedented in modern times. As has been the case with all the challenges we have faced, it is our adaptability, our resilience and our sense of community that will overcome this latest threat.

As we finish the fourth week of our ‘Learning from Home’ mode of operation, I am pleased to report that our school has maintained an effective approach to learning and teaching during our state’s response to COVID-19. As of Tuesday 21st of April, the College began delivering some scheduled live lessons for students using Microsoft Teams while continuing to use Compass as its main platform for lesson delivery. This Microsoft platform has been familiar to all students and staff over the past few years. In this mode of operation we have been utilising Team’s audio and video meeting facilities for our live lessons, when deemed appropriate by teachers, and using strict protocols and regulations.

The changes of operation for schools have not been without challenges for a number of students who have limited access to devices and the internet. We continue to work with the families of these students to ensure all students have continuity of learning. At this stage, we are very confident that by the middle of next week, all students from Year 7 to 12 who have asked for assistance with devices and/or internet will have received it. I thank you all for your patience in these challenging times.

Please be aware that students accessing classes and class resources from home may also impact on your internet connection’s download limit. If you are concerned about limits on your connection and the impact that online classes may have on your account, I encourage you to contact your broadband provider to enquire whether there is additional capacity available for education purposes during the current situation. Many of them are providing this free of charge.

You should also be aware that whilst students may be using College or Department of Education equipment to study from home, any filtering or monitoring that the Department has in place to protect students at school is not available at home. School internet connections include an automatic filtering system, preventing students from accessing sites categorised as unsuitable or inappropriate for education. This includes social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube. As the filtering system is attached to the school’s internet connection, and not to the individual devices in use at the school, students using a College device to access the internet from home or other internet connections will not be bound by these filters.

If you have not yet visited ‘Covid19- Learning from Home’ page on our website, I urge you to do so. Here you will find links to videos and support documents to help students stay connected.

I want to also especially thank the parents and carers who found the time to complete our recent survey. We are currently collating this information and will be using it to improve the delivery of teaching and learning to our students. It is greatly appreciated.

The length of time that the COVID-19 pandemic will impact school operations or our lives in general, no one really knows. At this stage, the expectation is that schools will continue the ‘Learning from Home’ mode until further notice, therefore the College will continue to hold all scheduled lessons using the Compass portal. To keep up to date with school operations, I urge you to visit the College’s webpage regularly for updates.

As I have said on a few occasions previously, this is clearly going to be a challenging time for all of us. It is going to be critically important that we continue to work closely together to ensure that we provide the very best possible support for the ongoing wellbeing and learning of our students and your children.

The Department of Education and Training’s ‘Learning from Home’ website also provides information and resources for parents and carers: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/learning/Pages/home-learning.aspx

Further information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) and schools can be found on the Department’s website, which will continue to be updated as the situation evolves:

Important Dates 2020

May

June