P-4 Campus

Campus Principal Statement – Kellie Thorp

In these unique and unchartered circumstances, please be assured that our staff remain committed to supporting your children in both their academic learning and their personal wellbeing. Although the transition to remote learning presents a number of challenges to both our school staff and to you as parents, it is important to remember that the shared responsibility we have in educating, supporting and nourishing your children is perhaps more important than ever before. Communication between school and family will be of the highest priority – however we will need your feedback on the information being shared – is it too much? Too little? Too challenging to navigate? Difficult to understand?

It is so important that you contact the school directly or your class teachers via the Compass portal to provide the feedback that will help guide our effective communications throughout the term.

As teaching professionals we are navigating the challenging questions around how we can continue to provide for and monitor ongoing student learning most effectively in this new remote manner, and it is important to remember that although all our teachers share a passion to provide the very best opportunities for learning and continued growth, we will all be at different stages of technological capacity, and the manner in which learning programs are delivered might differ across units. Please be assured however, that we will be working to provide increased effectiveness and consistency as the term progresses.

Online Learning

Whilst we continue to focus primarily on providing hard copy work packs for students during these remote learning times, we have the opportunity for students in Years 2, 3 & 4 to access an online platform called Google Classroom, as currently being used in the higher year levels.

Our teachers have been exploring the options that the Google G-Suite for Education (including Google Docs, Classroom and Meets) provides for sharing and communicating with students in their classes, and we have decided to start trialling this with students in Grades 2, 3 & 4. It is hoped that at these year levels students might manage online connectivity more independently, without putting further pressure on parents for ongoing assistance.

The stage 2 learning packs for these year levels included a letter with your child’s Yarrawonga College email address and password, and clear instructions on how to use these to log into G-Suite. Teachers are certainly able to help you with any connection issues though, and you can also access this ‘G-Suite Login for YCP-12 students’ video tutorial (also available on our College website @ https://yarrawonga.vic.edu.au/remote-flexible-learning/technical-support/)

Please note that connecting to Google Classroom is completely optional for families, and teachers are committed to ensuring those who are unable to connect will not be unfairly disadvantaged in terms of accessing teaching and learning materials. With current demand on networks and connectivity, it is reasonable to expect that there may be difficulties with connecting to online platforms but we encourage you to let us know if you need support or are experiencing any issues or frustrations.

At this point, parent feedback has indicated that the hard copy learning packs and parent-teacher communications alone are working sufficiently at a Prep and Grade 1 level so this will continue for now.

Student Learning Expectations

Establish and maintain a routine in the home environment similar to a normal school day, with support from parents
Students to work on identified learning tasks provided by the teacher for at least 4 hours per day between 9.00am and 3.00pm.
Normal break times (11-11:30 and 1:30 – 2:15) to be maintained where possible, with students taking breaks at these times to eat and to get outside in the backyard for some sunshine and physical activity, games or fun.
If your child is involved in a class video conference please read and follow the YCP-12 Video Conferencing Guidelines

Platforms For Learning

Printed learning materials supplied by the College
Websites for Online Learning (see information sheet to support learning provided to families in the initial learning packs).
Suitable use options ofGoogle G-Suite for Education for Prep to Year 4 and support materials for families are currently being developed. Parents will receive more information over coming weeks
Compass app and website for communications from school and to email your child(ren)’s teachers as required

Contacts for Student Support

Please use provided email options or call and request contact via the school office on 03 5744 1751 during normal business hours.

Kellie Thorp, Campus Principal- thorp.kellie.k@edumail.vic.gov.au
Kate McCallum, P-4 Engagement & Wellbeing- mccallum.kate.m@edumail.vic.gov.au
Michelle Klowss, Welfare & Workshop – Contact front office on 0357441751 to request a return call.
Individual class teachers – email option available through Compass (see tips below)

Compass Emailing Tips

Go to your child’s page (using Open in Browser) and click on Profile on the right hand side under your child’s name. You can then click on the specific class (either core or specialist as required) on the day calendar visible or via the Schedule tab. This will open a new page that has a picture of the class teacher and an option to email them directly.

Please note – you can also just use the Email Teachers option on their profile dashboard, but this will automatically include both the core classroom teacher and the specialist teachers too. If using this option please remove the specialist teachers using the red crosses as required.

Resource Links

click to download pdf

Remote Learning Visual – What Zone Am I In?

P-4 Online Resources to Support Learning