Remote Learning and Covid-19

No-one wanted to be back here, but back here we are.

At KSC, we have shown time and time again that we can rise to unique and difficult challenges, and do so with a professionalism and zeal which demonstrates the passion, energy and dedication which our staff have for their students and each other.

While we may not have fully recovered from our previous ordeals, and while the fatigue and drain from our last lockdown is evident throughout our community, our dedication this time will be no different.

As always, our main priority is the wellbeing and education of all our students, and to that end we have continued to develop measures to ensure that we are able to provide a high level of education to our school community, despite this second closure of schools so soon after the last one.

Despite the very short notice, our staff will no doubt have been hard at work switching their focus from in-person teaching to the remote learning platforms we used for our classes so successfully last time.

We will continue to utilise the Microsoft Teams platform for classes, in conjunction with the existing Compass School Management platform, which will continue to be a portal for communication, submission and scheduling of tasks. Our lesson plans will continue to be provided in Compass, with Microsoft Teams, Mathspace, Edrolo and other web sites enabling our students to attend classes remotely, converse with their teachers, obtain regular information, and even undertake assessments.

There is no argument that remote learning is not ideal, especially for our VCE students, who have already been so affected by the Covid outbreak this year. You can be assured, however, that there is no option, action or idea that we will not consider in order to give our students the best opportunity to learn in an education space that is being turned upside down for the second time in a few short months.

In order to provide the best possible opportunities for our students, our senior teachers and leadership have continued to develop a wide range of teaching methods to both engage senior students and enhance learning within an online learning space. We had hoped that we wouldn’t have to employ these methods, but we wanted to be sure that our students had the best chance to succeed if the worst were to happen.

What to Expect in the Remote Learning Space

• Much like last time, our intention is for the following to take place :
• All students will have a timetable, and will be expected to be available for remote classes at the time they would normally attend.
• Normal attendance will take place and parents will be notified if their student has not logged in for a required lesson.
• Students will log into Teams for their class, and their teacher will be available to outline lessons, provide information, and answer questions via Teams chat and videoconferencing.
• Class work will be set and tracked within Compass Learning Tasks as with any normal class.
• Teachers will use a variety of teaching methods to keep students actively engaged.
• Each class will be setting aside one period per week where no new learning will take place, to give our students, teachers and parents a chance to catch up and take a breath. During this time, we expect students to be continuing on with their existing workload, but without the need to log into online classes.

What can Students Do To Enhance Their Learning?

• Be on time for lessons, be respectful of their teachers and fellow students.
• Ensure they know their passwords and are able to log into Office 365, Teams and Compass. If they don’t, then they should visit our help page HERE.
• Continually check Compass Learning Tasks and submit work on time.
• Communicate with their teachers, especially if unsure about something. There are no silly questions.
• Contact ICT on
  7960-student-support@schools.vic.edu.au
  if they have any ICT issues.