PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Dear Students and Respected Parents/Guardians,

Almost 700,000 Victorian students are again learning from home. VCE students have already started their term. I know this is very challenging for many parents, but there is simply no alternative but to comply. Keeping children home from school has been a vital part of slowing the spread of coronavirus before, and it will be vital to the state government efforts now.

We are one of the number of schools in Victoria to transfer exactly the same face-to-face teaching to online learning. I am proud of providing this facility to my students with my technical team and teachers. This has been done with hours of work and dedication. As we experienced from last term, online learning started smoothly without any problems. I also promise that in case of a school closure, we can do the same thing at VCE level. Due to concerns of the virus, we also provide online option for VCE students. However, expectation will not be the same as Term 2 because teachers are focusing on face -o-face teaching rather than online.

School is currently taking serious precautions to minimise the risk of virus infection such as taking student temperature upon arrival, mask check, recording cases and tests to school system and following them. We have limited mask supply. I highly recommend you to obtain one reusable mask for your child.

During this period, we have been aware that many of the students – the warm welcome on the gate, the rhythm of the day and cultural markers- have been disrupted. It has led us to think more acutely about the cues and messages needed to support their growth, whilst helping you as a parent establish meaningful learning environment at home. We have approached these challenges with a spirit of adventure and encouraged the boys to do the same. while we do not have a ‘map’ due to this pandemic, we can focus on encouraging preparation, routines and rewards and adjusting goals.

We continue to support our students. Career and student support department are continuing their face to face support to VCE level as well as online. IPads and computers (limited number) are available to borrow. We are also providing supervision for essential workers’ children and mask to those who forgot it at home.

As a school and parents, we must know our teachers and understand them, what they are feeling and truly appreciate their professional journey and know how we support them. You can support them by supervising your children at home and motivating them. Also, effective communication plays a major role in achieving this. Please do not hesitate to contact them to solve any problems.

Finally, the teachers’ and students’ response to the online teaching and learning environment and changes to the school’s operation affirmed their steadfast engagement in the teaching and learning process. Our teachers’ commitment and dedication to finding the optimal pedagogical path through the pandemic was admirable. Thank you very much for your dedication.