PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Mr Nicholas Adamou

Principal

Key Dates

It has been an extraordinary year so far. However, everyone should be proud of what we have achieved by working together.

I want to express my sincere gratitude for the hard work and dedication by students, staff, parents and carers shown throughout Term 3.

Today is the last day of Term 3, a very interesting and challenging time in the history of education in Victoria. We continue to live and experience an incredibly different world from the beginning of the year. It has changed the way we work, talk, study, think and live. Things have changed so dramatically in what seems to be such a short period of time. Most of this term, our students were taught and assessed remotely, in their virtual classrooms. 

For the second time this year, the school community had to transition back to remote and flexible learning, demonstrating a great degree of resilience and commitment by students, teachers and parents. This has been achieved, in a very short period of time. The feedback I have received recently from parents, students and staff confirms the exceptional effort demonstrated by all to provide the best possible learning outcomes during this second lockdown. 

We have already learnt so much through this adversity and I know we will all continue to learn and grow. I don’t believe school will ever really be the same when we return back on-site again. These challenging times demand that all of us be patient, stay calm and follow the advice by the Chief Medical Officer and the Victorian Government. 

I take this opportunity to congratulate and thank our students, I could not be more proud of them. Once again, they have risen to the occasion, adhering to our school values, they have settled into their virtual classrooms and tried their best to continue their education as well as they could. I am aware that most of our students missed the school environment, their friends and teachers. As responsible young adults, they are fully aware of the current circumstances we all found ourselves in. They rose to the occasion and faced these pandemic challenges with the utmost respect and patience and once again, I thank them for that. Also thank you to all staff, teaching and non-teaching, for their dedication, enthusiasm and commitment they have shown in this ever-evolving environment. The NGSC staff members have developed enormously, extending their remote and flexible teaching and learning skills and successfully delivered our whole timetable/curriculum on line.

Of course we could not achieve this outstanding outcome without the great support of our parents/carers. On behalf of the school community, I sincerely thank you for your understanding, flexibility and care you have shown and provided to our students during this term. 

Longer days and more sunshine are a welcome sign of good times ahead. I have been enjoying seeing the spring change walking around our school gardens. Noticing the good and focussing on the positive really helps us feel better and move forward in a positive way, in particular, during these very challenging times.

Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing break. I am looking forward to seeing all the students back to school on Monday 12 October, in the second week of Term 4. As you are all aware by now, the first week of Term 4 (5 to 9 October) will be remote and flexible teaching as per the State Government’s announcement. I hope you all find some time in the coming weeks to take a break and indulge in some mindfulness.

Term 4 Priorities

The following priorities for students and staff guide school operations in Term 4.

Priority 1 – Wellbeing and Equity

The wellbeing, and particularly the mental health, of every student and member of staff is the highest priority.

This means encouraging and sustaining motivation for learning, re-engaging students and families where needed, and supporting the social and emotional learning of children and young people alongside curriculum-based learning.

The school will mobilise all available resources to ensure support for every student, including our most vulnerable, as well as access to support services for all school staff.

Priority 2 – Learning and Excellence

Some students have been better able to progress in their learning in the remote and flexible learning environment, others have maintained their rate of progress, and some have, despite their best efforts and those of their families and teachers, not progressed as much in their learning.

The school will aim to meet all students at their point of need – both to support those who have not progressed, as much in their learning to catch up and those who have progressed to continue to extend and stretch their learning.

Priority 3 – Transitions

Term 4 is a critical period, particularly for the children moving from Kindergarten into Prep, from Grade 6 into Year 7, from Year 11 to Year 12, and those in Year 12 moving into employment or further education and training.

Students in other year levels will also prepare for a change of teachers and new classmates.

A key focus of Term 4, for NGSC will be to make every effort to ensure each of these end-of-year and beginning-of-year transitions occurs as successfully as possible.

This includes finding contextually appropriate ways to conduct orientations and end-of-year celebrations and ensuring transition information captures additional details as necessary.

School operations guidelines for Term 4

Easing coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions and transition back to on-site face-to-face learning 

• Subject to the advice of the Chief Health Officer and as announced by the Victorian Government, Victorian Government schools will commence a phased transition back to on-site learning during Term 4.

Term 4, Week 1 (5 – 9 October)

• Remote and flexible learning will continue for all students, except for specialist schools in rural and regional Victoria.
• VCE and VCAL students will only attend on-site for essential assessments during this week, including the General Achievement Test (GAT) on Wednesday 7 October. This includes Year 10 students studying VCE or VCAL subjects.
• On-site supervision will continue to be provided in limited circumstances consistent with DET guidelines

Term 4, Week 2 (12 – 16 October) 

Schools in rural and regional Victoria

• On Monday 12 October all students from Year 7 to Year 12 will return to full time on-site face-to-face schooling.

Attendance

All students are expected to attend on-site as of Monday 12 October, the NGSC returns to on-site learning. Exceptions may exist for medically vulnerable students. It is recommended that parents/carers of students with complex medical needs, seek advice from the student’s medical practitioner to support decision-making about whether on-site education is suitable.

Extended student absence during on-site learning provision

• When on-site learning is permitted, schools are not expected to provide remote and flexible learning where parents or carers of students elect to keep their child at home, except where this is based on medical advice.
• Where a parent/carer indicates that a student will be absent for an extended period and this is not based on medical advice, schools can make the learning materials developed for and provided in the on-site program available for use at home where this does not require additional work, preparation or production by teachers.
• Students absent for an extended period will be able to submit their learning exercises and work for comment and feedback if learning materials have been provided, according to the same timelines set for those participating in on-site learning. Teachers can provide comment and feedback in the same way that they would for students participating in on-site provision.
• Teachers, and, where relevant, Education Support Staff, will not be expected and should not be requested by parents/carers or students, to provide additional advice or support, including for the learning materials provided, to students whose parents/carers make a choice for them not to attend on-site learning and where this decision is not based on medical advice. This includes by email, phone or other forms of digital communication.
• Where students are absent, but this is not based on medical advice, those students enrolled in VCE Units 3-4 must attend on-site to complete the GAT, SACs and SATs.

Camps, playgrounds and facilities 

The following apply until further notice:

• school camps and excursions cannot take place at this time
• playgrounds should not be made available for community use
• community groups are not permitted to use school facilities (indoor or outdoor).

Visitors to schools, interschool activities and school tours

• Visitors to school grounds will be limited to those delivering or supporting essential school services and operations (e.g. student health and wellbeing services, cleaning and maintenance workers).
• To support contact tracing, NGSC keeps a record of all staff, students and visitors who attend on-site for more than 15 minutes. All visitors must sign-in and be temperature checked.
• No volunteers are allowed to attend school at this time.
• Parent-teacher information sessions and interviews will continue to be replaced with online and video alternatives.
• Activities that involve on-site attendance by students from different educational institutions (e.g. interschool sport or interschool debating) will not take place or may be replaced, where possible, with virtual alternatives. The exception to this is for students undertaking essential assessment relating to VCE or VCAL subjects.
• Visitors to school grounds must comply with physical distancing, must be wearing masks/face covering, and practise good hand hygiene.

Further health and safety measures

Temperature checks

We are waiting further advice from the Department in relation to student temperature checks.

Face coverings in schools

• All school-based staff must wear face coverings at school, and when travelling to and from school.
• Teachers and Education Support Staff may not wear face coverings while teaching. Teachers and Education Support Staff must wear face coverings in other areas of the school when not teaching (for example, in the staff room, on yard duty and when providing first aid or taking temperatures), and when travelling to and from school.
• Health, wellbeing and inclusion staff are required to wear face coverings, unless an exemption applies, including the need for ‘clear enunciation or visibility of their mouth’ (for example, when undertaking a speech therapy intervention or working with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing).
• All Secondary School students must wear face coverings which they will have to supply themselves. Some students and staff may be exempt from these requirements. This includes students who are over the age of 12 and are unable to wear a face covering due to the nature of their disability. This also includes students or staff who have a medical condition, such as problems with their breathing, a serious skin condition on the face, a disability or a mental health condition.
• Parents/carers will be required to wear face coverings whenever they leave the house, including for school drop off and pick up.
• School staff will use additional PPE when required, as per DET guidelines.

Other hygiene measures

• Hand sanitiser will be made available at entry points to classrooms and education will be provided on hand hygiene.
• Other hygiene products such as: alcoholic wipes, Glen 20, gloves will also be available.
• Playground equipment can be used by students. However, students should practise hand hygiene before and after use.
• Students should bring their own water bottle for use at school as students should not drink directly from drinking fountains at this time. Taps may be used to refill water bottles.
• The Department’s Students Using Mobile Phones Policy remains in place. Remind staff and students to clean their phones regularly. Phones can be turned on with the COVID SAFE app activated immediately before and after school. Schools are managed environments that include records of student, staff and visitor attendance, which can support contact tracing.

For VCAL parents and students

Re: Support for Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) students 

As a parent/carer of a student who is completing Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) studies, I wanted to inform you of the steps we are taking at North Geelong Secondary College to support your child’s learning experience during 2020. 

We recognise that this year has been challenging for VCAL students to take an applied learning approach into remote and flexible learning due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and I thank you for your work in supporting their learning at home. 

Our VCAL teachers are working with our students to ensure that they can complete the required learning and assessments over the rest of the year, which may include changes to learning plans set at the start of the year. 

Our school is working closely with VET providers to enable students to undertake essential assessments on-site and to get them back into workplaces as soon as it is safe to do so. 

Looking ahead to Term 4, we want to ensure every student is supported to complete their VET studies in 2020. 

The Victorian Government is providing an additional $2.4 million in VET ‘Catch Up’ funding to cover extra costs for students to complete applied VET studies in Term 4 that cannot be met within the school’s current VET budget. 

This additional funding is expected to cover additional fees and materials costs associated with changed enrolments in VET Units, or transport costs associated with additional training – ensuring no student is left behind.

In addition, Local Learning and Employment Networks are supporting our school with training providers and employers, as we arrange options for additional training or work placements needed for VET completion.

If you have concerns regarding your child’s completion of VCAL or VET certificates, please contact us to help develop an appropriate individual plan for their learning. 

Last Day of the Term, September 18 

Wishing you all a very safe and restful break and look forward to re-joining you next Term. 

Term 4 begins on Monday, October 5 – Remote and Flexible Learning (Week 1) and on-site face to face teaching for all students on Monday ,12 October (Week 2).