Principal’s Message
Dear Parents and Students,
As we are approaching the end of Term 2, we continue to closely monitor the development of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and remain alert by taking the necessary precautions and preventative measures in order to minimise the risk factors however, currently there are no potential risk posed to the community. This came as the Victorian Government announced that schools are safe to begin on-site learning.
Our priority is to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of our students, staff and their families. We continue to take a precautionary approach based on the latest and best medical advice from the Australian Government Department of Health, the Victorian Government Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education and Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) as well as our Health and Safety Committee. As the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic, we have escalated our preventative measures to manage the outbreak. The most important preventative measures once school open is not to send your child to school if your child exhibits the following symptoms:
If any of these symptoms occur, contact your local GP immediately.
As you aware that we delivered online education this term. It comes with its pros and cons. I know that parents have felt the pressure by remote learning study. As schools across Australia are introducing a staggered return of students into the classrooms, you will be breathing a sign of relief. I would like to extend my special thanks to parents who took the time to assist us in educating their children.
I admit that it was a big challenge for me to move to online teaching and learning. My colleagues and Curriculum Department worked hard to deliver the same quality education as on-site learning. I am sure that students did not miss anything in their learning.
One of these challenges was that teachers see less body language, which can be critical factor to identifying if a student has understood something or is confused. We tried to solve this problem by telling students to keep open their camera and observe them frequently.
The school and our teachers have been very proactive in exploring ways to inject creativity in remote learning. For example, we try to retain the physical aspects of certain subjects like PE, where we’ve given every student a skipping rope and a tennis ball to participate in prescribed activities from home. Some teachers have even been very imaginative with their own teaching environments — from using green screens to teach classes, to painting life size backdrops to theme subjects. Thank you for your dedication.
Education will remain as it is once students return to their classrooms. We will continue to have preventative measures while school is open.
We are a strong community where we support each other and during this challenging time we need to work together more than ever.
Warm Regards,
Principal