Nhill College Newsletter

Our School Values:

• Respect
• Honesty
• Teamwork
• Confidence
• Excellence
• Endeavour
  

The School Wide Positive Behaviour Support program is designed to bring together school communities to develop positive, safe and supportive learning cultures by helping to foster an environment that assists schools to improve social, emotional, behavioural and academic outcomes for children.  As part of the SWPBS program, a rewards system has been developed to encourage students to always:

• Be Safe
• Be Respectful
• Be a Learner

Thank you to all students and parents for their continued support through this period of remote learning.  We are acutely aware of the limitations placed upon some families due to access to ICT resources and appropriate internet, but we are also encouraged by the number of positive reports from students and parents about the way they are adapting to their learning from home.  We have already distributed a large number of devices to families who need them.  Anyone who is still having difficulty in this area is encouraged to make contact with the school.  We are also looking into ways to further support families with internet provision and await more information from the DET on this matter. 

I would also like to convey my gratitude to all of the Teaching and ES staff who have been working tirelessly to ensure that our students - and their families - are receiving the best possible support and care at this time.  The progress that has been made in such a short period is amazing, and I can only imagine that the programs being delivered will be refined and improved even further as staff become more accustomed to their new remote delivery methods.

Throughout this period of remote learning, parents can contact the school by calling 53912111, or:

Mark Zimmermann

School Mobile: 0418 368 013

Email: zimmermann.mark.s@edumail.vic.gov.au

Kim Magrath

School Mobile: 0448 912 111

Email: magrath.kim.m@edumail.vic.gov.au 

Please also keep up-to-date with developments on the DET coronavirus website:

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/coronavirus.aspx

Parents are also encouraged to check the DET Learning From Home website:

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/learningfromhome.aspx

From the start of Term 2, all students who can learn from home must learn at home.  This is a very clear directive from the Victorian Government based on the advice of the Chief Health Officer.

 The only exceptions to this will be:

a. Children on days when they are not able to be supervised at home and no other arrangements can be made. This will be available for children of parents who cannot work from home, and vulnerable children, including:

• Children in out-of-home care
• Children deemed by Child Protection and/or Family Services to be at risk of harm
• Children identified by the school as vulnerable (including via referral from a family violence agency, homelessness or youth justice service or mental health or other health service and children with a disability).

b. For learning requirements that cannot be conducted via distance, small groups of VCE and VCAL students are permitted to attend school, with appropriate physical distancing and hygiene measures in place.  If there is a requirement for a VCE or VCAL student to attend school, staff will notify them in advance so they can make the necessary arrangements.  If students or parents are uncomfortable about attending on-site, please notify your teacher or contact Mark Zimmermann or Kim Magrath.  

On-site Attendance Application

A summary of current arrangements relating to on-site attendance at school is as follows:

• Schools will continue to offer on-site programs for eligible students who are not able to be supervised at home and for whom no other arrangements can be made during regular school hours.
• Parents and carers who require their child(ren) to attend on-site learning at school will need to complete and submit an on-site Attendance Application Form, including evidence that they meet the specified requirements, by 3.00pm on Thursday of the week prior to their child(ren) attending on-site.  This requires parents/carers to indicate the days or part-days they require their child(ren) to attend school on-site.
• This provision will be for supervision only; students attending on-site will be learning remotely, just like every other student.  They will not have their regular classroom teachers, but will be supervised by a number of staff on a rotating volunteer roster.
• Attendance Application Forms need to be returned to Kim Magrath via email at magrath.kim.m@edumail.vic.gov.au
•  If it is determined that your request meets the requirements of the student being on-site, Kim Magrath will contact you to confirm the attendance before the close of business on the Friday prior to the week when the on-site supervision has been requested.
• If you have any questions about these arrangements, please contact Mark Zimmermann or Kim Magrath.

As outlined in the Remote Learning Program document previously posted to all families via Compass, staff have been establishing clear expectations of students for when they are participating in an online learning environment.  In line with the School Wide Positive Behaviour Support Program, these expectations focus on students Being Respectful, Being A Learner and Being Safe.  They are also consistent with the College’s Student Engagement & Wellbeing Policy, Digital Technologies Policy, Digital Learning Agreement and Child Safe Standards.  The Nhill College Remote Learning Expected Behaviours Matrix and Virtual Classroom Expectations have been presented in poster form that is easy to read and can be displayed prominently next to your child’s workstation at home.  Both resources have been attached and I would encourage parents to discuss and reinforce these expectations with your children during this period of remote learning. 

The DET now require that schools keep attendance records of all students engaged in remote learning.  This means that staff must contact all students each day so that rolls can be marked.  To assist with this, I have asked F-6 Classroom Teachers and 7-12 Form Teachers to send a message to students via Seesaw (Years F-2) or Compass email (Years 3-12) first thing each morning.  It is very important that all students reply to that message by 9.30am to acknowledge that they have received it.  Staff can use this acknowledgement to mark students as ‘present’ on the roll.  Please assist us to meet our attendance requirements by ensuring that your child replies promptly to this message each morning. 

During this period of remote learning it has been drawn to our attention that a number of students are missing their scheduled classes because they are spending their day in part time or casual employment.  Students, parents and employers need to be aware that there is an expectation that students enrolled at school are completing their school work remotely, not engaging in part time employment.  Parents are asked to support the school in enforcing this expectation, while employers are asked not to offer shifts to students during school hours.

The fantastic team at Elevate Education have provided Nhill College, as a client school, with a terrific opportunity for our parent community to attend a free webinar.

Elevate’s Head of Parent Engagement, Kane, will deliver the 60-minute webinar, which will delve into practical strategies for parents on how to boost their child’s motivation, and keep them organised and engaged with their education.  Elevate will also be offering online 1:1 support for students, should the parents feel their child needs some extra support staying on top of their workload and building effective study habits over this time.

Please note that there are limited spots to this event (200 across their client schools) and whilst Elevate Education are offering this for client schools as a priority, they have already had a lot of initial interest and are expecting spots to book up fast.Information on how to register for the webinar:

Event Title: How to help your child study effectively during the COVID-19 pandemic

Date: Tuesday 28th April

Time: 6.00 pm

Sign-Up Link: https://www.elevatecoaching.info/parent-webinar-vic/

Cost: Free

As always, the Nhill College Senior School team is available to offer support and guidance with any areas of concern students and parents may be experiencing during this time of remote learning. Please reach out to your relevant Form Teacher or Year Level Co-ordinator if you need help.

It is with great sadness that we must add the 2020 Nhill College Production to the latest list of school events that must be cancelled due to the coronavirus.  Thank you to all those students and staff who had already committed so much time and energy to this project.

The health, safety and wellbeing of our communities and our people remains our highest priority. Due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding coronavirus, the School Banking program will remain on hold. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed with any updates including how we will be managing Dollarmite tokens for students. 

In the meantime, here are some handy online resources for parents who wish to maintain momentum with their child’s financial education: 

• Start Smart: these resources have been created to improve children’s money management skills, and is aligned to the Australian Curriculum and the National Consumer Financial Literacy Framework. 
• The Beanstalk: offers videos and fun activities for children to learn about money.

The College is looking for donations of any old smartphones, tablets or iPads which are still in working condition, as we need these devices to help run our new robotics gadgets. We do not require SIM cards as the devices use Bluetooth to communicate. Please send any smartphones or tablets to the front office if you are able to donate, including chargers if you have them.

Regular attendance at school is extremely important to the social and academic development of all children.  It is a Department requirement that parents contact the school each day their child is absent.  Any unauthorised absences currently trigger an SMS via Compass at 9.45am each morning to notify parents that their child is not at school.  If a parent receives such an SMS, it is requested that they contact the school as soon as possible to provide a reason for their child’s absence.  This can be done by entering an explanation directly onto Compass via the app installed on your phone, or by calling the College on 53912111.  (Please note that the Skoolbag app is no longer being used by the school to communicate messages.)  In an effort to further reduce the rate of unauthorised absences being recorded at Nhill College, office staff will follow up with a phone call if a response to the SMS has not been received by 10.45am on the day of each absence.