26 June 2020

Dear Families

We got through Term 2 together, hopefully in Term 3 we will see school return to more normality for our students, families and teachers. To say that ‘Term 2 was a challenge for everyone in our school community’ is obviously an understatement. In a sense it almost fells like we are re-setting over the Winter break and starting a new year at the beginning of Term 3. Hopefully restrictions will continue to ease in the coming weeks, stay safe and well.

The way everyone in our school community has responded to a major crisis situation has been very impressive, not often things change so quickly, especially in a town like Yarrawonga. During the past 14 weeks of uncertainty, I have witnessed so many things that everyone should feel proud of, way too many to list. To condense, the following have shone through;

· college staff working around the clock to ensure students received learning opportunities and appropriate wellbeing supports for families.

· students doing their best to engage with learning at home and then back at school, some students thriving and others finding it challenging.

· parents demonstrating a commitment to their children’s education and supporting them to access learning.

· community concern for the wellbeing of all.

I can’t thank all of our families enough for the way you supported your children and the college, your efforts were very much appreciated by all of our staff. Enjoy spending time with your children over the Semester break without having to worry about keeping them on track for their daily classes/learning activities.

Reporting for Semester 1

As you are aware Yarrawonga College P-12 has transitioned to Ongoing Reporting. Through this structure students receive a task with a rubric outlining levels of success they can achieve. Students receive feedback from the teacher on tasks completed within the rubric, along with commentary. Students across the college complete varied amounts of these tasks for Ongoing Reporting per term, depending on their year level. VCE, VCAL and VET, which are not Victorian Curriculum related will be reported on in the same way.

Students also receive an end of Semester Report. This report identifies an individual student’s Victorian Curriculum level. This level is referred to as the student’s progression point and is monitored to identify how much individual students have progressed over time. Now that the school uses Ongoing Reporting throughout the year, end of Semester Reports for students will not have any comments on them, only progression points.

Term 2 has been a real challenge for educators, they haven’t had their students at school working with them for most of it. Teachers will do their best to identify student progression points for the end of Semester 1 Report with the work samples and assessments they have been able to obtain. Due to the range of home learning experiences students had whilst learning remotely and online, student progression points may not change from the end of 2019 in some cases. However, any re-adjustments to progression points will be reflected on your child’s report at the end of the year. Student reports can be accessed through your Compass App or on the Compass website. There will be an opportunity to discuss your child’s/ren’s progression with the teacher in Term 3.

Kind Regard