Tarneit Senior College - Learning From Home

Tarneit Senior College

On-Site Attendance Form

Tips for Setting Up a Workspace at Home

Tips for Parents as Partners

Tips for Engaging in Remote Learning - Students

Staying Safe Online – Tips for Students

How-to-access-learning-from-home-Students-Parents_(1).pdf

REMOTE LEARNING BEGINS TODAY

Update from the Principal, Simon Haber - Monday 13th April

Dear Parents/Carers and Students ,

The start of Term 2 is almost upon us, with online classes commencing this Wednesday 15th April. Key documents regarding Student and Parent Guides to Remote Learning have been distributed via Compass in recent days and are also available via our website.

As online learning commences this week for all students we want to make sure that every student has the resources they need and is able to let us know if they have any concerns, so we will continue to be making phone contact with every individual family between Wednesday and Friday of this week to confirm students have access to a device and internet. Please be aware these calls may come from an unlisted or blocked number.

If for some reason you believe that the college may not have yours or a student’s mobile phone number on our records or the student mobile phone number has changed, please let us know by sending an email to Tarneit.sc@edumail.vic.gov.au You should also use this email address to let us know of any change to a parent/carer mobile number or mailing address. Please state clearly the student’s name.

Beyond this week’s initial phone calls the college will follow its normal practice of contacting parents/carers where students appear to be absent, are not engaging with their online learning or have outstanding work to complete. Parents should continue to advise the college of any student absence or illness via the usual means – the college absence line, message via Compass or contact with the Student Support Leader – so that the usual Special Provision arrangements can apply.

Parents wishing to make contact with individual teachers can do this via email within Compass. The college switchboard on 03-97490246 will be manned from Monday to Friday with modified hours (9:30am to 3pm) but as teachers are working remotely it may be best to contact them directly via email.

As per the guides sent, students should model their study week according to their normal college timetable and teachers will provide work via Google Classrooms and at least one ‘live’ session each week via Google Meets. During Remote Learning, students will not be completing Tarneit Time and our Technical programs (they will be focused on their core subjects only).

Students should get into the habit of checking their TSC Gmail and Compass My News feed at least every morning before the commencement of classes.

As per government advice, all students who can learn from home must learn from home. The only exceptions permitted are for students who are in out of home care, those deemed by Child Protection and/or Family Services to be at risk of harm and those identified by the college as being vulnerable. Students who fit these categories may attend the college to complete their online learning in a supervised environment.

The learning for these students will be the same as for those learning from home and there will be no additional instruction provided. If you believe your student meets one these categories, you are asked to complete the attached on-site attendance form – to be submitted via email, your student’s eligibility will then be confirmed by the Principal before they are able to attend.

The college is providing one location only for these students to study and that is in the Library, where sanitiser will be provided at points of entry and exit. Other areas of the college are not to be accessed by students. Social distancing rules apply to students while they are on site (no food services will be available).

The only other students who may choose to visit the college are those needing to pick up calculators, laptops or other resources they have left in lockers. These students need to phone before attending and present to the Front Office between 10.00 am and 12.00 pm.

Students needing support with their Chrome books are asked to contact the college on 03-97490246 and you will be transferred to our ICT support team.

Both teachers and students are entering new territory this week. Teachers will be trialling new approaches and we ask students to be patient when issues arise. We will endeavour to fix any teething issues in a timely manner and do our best to improve the student learning experience as the term progresses. It’s important that students let teachers or Student Support Leaders know when issues arise, but please try to confine this contact to normal school hours.

I’m aware that there are many members of our community who are going through a very difficult time at the moment. Our Wellbeing Team is available for remote support. You can email them via Compass or their direct email addresses which have been provided within Mental Health and Financial Support letter.

I will have regular updates available for students and parents over the coming weeks via Compass and newsletters. I encourage you also to keep up to date via our Compass Portal, Facebook and Website.

Yours faithfully,

Simon Haber

Principal

Learning Platform:

Google Classrooms will be utilised as the platform for Flexible and Remote Learning from Home. All students will have received at the end of term 1 ‘How to access learning from home’ handout and this is also available via Compass News Feed. Teachers will post instructions for learning on the class dashboard on Google Classrooms.

Teacher and Support Staff availability:

Teachers will carry out duties related to teaching and learning during normal school hours to support learning continuity for all students. For student this is 9:15am to 3:20pm. Your teachers will generally be available during your allocated class time using Google Meet and/or Chat. Your teacher/s will also be available via email to assist you in completing your work.

School staff availability to students and parents/carers will be limited to the usual attendance time requirements, with no expectation that staff will be available outside of the usual attendance requirements.

General Office availability:

The general office will operate, via the college phone (03-97490246) system from 9:30am to 3pm each day. The General Office will not be open for students/parents to visit the school. Should you need to collect resources from the school, this will need to be done via appointment only.

Following your Timetable:

All students should know their normal two week timetable when planning their learning and can access this from Compass. You will work within your normal 2 week timetable, so you know teachers will be available for assistance, if needed. Term 2 for student’s starts on Wednesday 15th April.

Duty of care and child safety:

The parent or carer is responsible for students’ general safety at home or elsewhere.

Principals and school staff continue to owe a duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm (physical and psychological) to students who are learning from home.

Maintaining Contact:

During this time we also need to maintain, and even increase, the amount of personal contact for students and parents with teachers. It is essential that the school has up to date contact details for both parents and students.

All students will be allocated a Student Support Leader who, in addition to their normal teachers, will contact them at least once or twice per week. The Student Support Leaders role is designed to ensure all students are well supported to access their learning material and provide additional supports as needed. Student Support Leaders will be contacting each student (via email/phone/Google meet) within the first few days of term 2.

Support:

We know that our teachers will continue to provide the best possible program to your students, despite the considerable challenges ahead in delivering that education at home.

As we embark on these new methods of teaching and learning, I am asking all students and parents to refrain from publicly scrutinizing their children’s teachers/schools for the way they are teaching or the lessons they are assigning. Please offer grace to your child’s teacher and other school personnel. I promise that educating your children is still our #1 priority and will be doing our absolute best to support each and every student.

Over the coming days I will be providing further details to support student learning during this period. It is imperative that during this time we maintain our community safety and also support each other. Should you need further supports to enable your child to access their Flexible and Remote Learning from home program, please contact the College on 03-97490246.

Report abuse