Reminder: parent student teacher converations this Thursday and Friday

Conversations will be conducted via phone on Thursday 30 April and Friday 1 May. Bookings are still open on Compass and there are still some timeslots available with teachers.

Need to know:

Due to the additional workload involved in remote interviews, they will run for the full day on both days, and into the evening on the Thursday.
There will be no remote classes on those days. Students should continue with existing tasks and are encouraged to participate in the Conversations, just as they would when we run them face-to-face.
Teachers will not be available to answer emails / other communications on those days, as they will be occupied with the PTSC.
Bookings close at 4pm on Wednesday 29 April.

How will they work?

The PTSC will be conducted by phone.
Parents will book timeslots via Compass, as per usual practice
Teachers will call the first-named parent who made the booking (using the phone number we have on Compass) at the booked time.
The call will come from an unlisted (private) number: please pick up!
If there is no answer, the teacher will wait 1 minute, then try once more. They will not leave a callback number. If an appointment is missed, you may need to email the teacher at a later date to request feedback.
Students should participate - please put your phone on 'speaker' mode to enable this.

Supporting keeping to time

When we run PTSC face-to-face, it's easy to run a little over time, and we can generally adjust for it. In the remote context, this will not be possible. To help this, each conversation will last 6 minutes. Teachers will let you know that they are setting an audible alarm at the start of the conversation. When it goes off, this is the signal that the allotted time is up. The teacher will then need to finish the call so that they can move to their next appointment. Please be understanding of this and support our teachers in keeping appointments running smoothly. If a longer conversation is necessary following the appointment, please ask the teacher if you can arrange a time later on.

How to book

1. Log in to Compass. On the welcome page click the 'Book Parent Teacher Interviews' button available next to the student photo, or click the Dashboard Alert at the top of the Newsfeed.

2. You will see “Semester 1 PTSC Thursday, April 30 2020 ” and also “Semester 1 PTSC Friday May 1, 2020 ”. Click on the day that suits you. It does not matter which day you attend.

3. A panel will come up, as shown.

4. To book by timeslot, click the timeslot and then select the teacher from the right who you would like to book with for this specific time. The teachers who are available during this timeslot will be shown in white.

5. To book by teacher, click the teacher's name in the list at the far right. The schedule to the left will display only the timeslots that the teacher is still available to be booked with. All timeslots that the teacher is already booked out for will be greyed out. Just click an available timeslot on the left to make a booking.

6. You will receive a confirmation popup to confirm the details

of the booking. Click the OK button. If you don’t click the confirmation button it won’t save your bookings).

Tips

It’s a good idea to print or copy down your bookings! We do not keep a copy for you at school.
This year we will keep bookings open until the day prior to the commencement of the PTSC.

Who to see

Student-Parent-Teacher Conversations are always well supported at Northcote High School. However, if you are new to the process, here is some advice:

It is not necessary to try to make contact with all of your son or daughter’s teachers at these times. For example, you don’t need to have contact your Year Level Program Leader, Head of School or even your child’s Tutor, unless there is a specific need.
Appointments book out quickly for some staff. Please don’t delay to make your appointments.
Select teachers to see on the basis of need. For example if you are concerned about how your child is going in a particular subject, contact with that staff-member should be a priority! If you miss out on seeing a teacher but need to see them, please contact them for another appointment via Compass .
Several teachers may not be available for one or both of the Student-Parent-Teacher Conversation dates. They will be blocked out on their schedules.
Please check Compass on the day for any other absence announcements.
Some other teachers work part time and have limited availability on both days. Look for availability when you log on to Compass. If the teacher’s name does not come up as an option when you look on Compass, it means they don’t work that day! Please contact these teachers by Compass if required.

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