20 Aug 2021
School Remote Learning Update
Good afternoon Parents and Caregivers,
To start, I again would like to acknowledge and say thank you for your support during remote learning. I understand that there is a lot of pressure on households and many of our parents are managing home schooling, employment and general support of family and community. The premier has announced that the state will be in lock down again for a further week, and therefore I wanted to contact all of you now. Please keep safe, look after yourselves first and foremost, and don’t hesitate to contact the school if you have any concerns. Considering the situation around the pandemic is unfolding day by day, I want to give our students and community some certainty, and therefore, I have made a number of decisions to support everyone’s planning leading up to the end of term. Please see below several clarified points of concern. Beyond the below, if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call at the school.
Year 12 Trial Examination Paper Feedback and return
We were very fortunate to have our year 12 cohort complete the trial examinations as normal. To have the complete physical and psychological experience of the HSC examinations cannot be understated. I understand that some subjects have already given some feedback and results back to students. If you would like your results, and you haven’t been given them already, please contact the appropriate staff. I do not feel comfortable posting results on CANVAS, or emailing them out cold, I believe this must be done in conversation/discussion at this stage. However, the actual return of the papers cannot happen until week 10 of this term, and this is simply because we have utilized independent papers in some subjects and there is an embargo on their return until this time, because some schools are now completing trial examinations quite late. Once we can hand all the papers back, we will contact students and organize for them to be picked up as a bundle, personalized to each student. If we are back at school in week 10, they will be handed back by classroom teachers.
Year 12 Practical Workshops and Check in Sessions to continue
I have decided to keep our wellbeing support timetable for year 12 that we implemented this week as well as some practical subject support time. I will send out a separate letter to just year 12 students and parents outlining the timetable for the coming week shortly.
Year 11 Preliminary Examinations, Reporting and NESA Grades
I have decided today to cancel the year 11 Preliminary Examinations. This is due to the uncertainty of whether students will be back at school by the start of week 9. I did consider doing a remote digital task, but I believe the integrity of such tasks is always compromised and I didn’t want to do a task for the sake of it. The reporting and NESA grades will not be compromised as two tasks in each course have already been completed and principals have been given discretionary rights over assessment number and weighting by NESA, due to our circumstances. Students, however, need to ensure that they are completing all course work whilst at home. Completion of coursework, as well as assessments, is part of the determination of the Preliminary year and the meeting of outcomes to progress on to the HSC in term 4. Please make sure that you complete all work on line to a satisfactory level and that you are engaging with interactive lessons as they appear on line. If you have any concerns about adequately completing course work as stated, can you please contact Mr Kolamajer, Mr Shephard or Ms Scarpinato immediately.
Year 10 Examination Block in Week 8
The year 10 examination block set within our assessment calendar for week 8 of this term has been cancelled. These examinations will no longer be a component of the assessment within Semester Two Reporting.
Year 7-10 Assessment Term 3 and Reporting Semester 2
In earlier correspondence I explained that assessment 7-10 has been cancelled for term 3 and I just wanted to reiterate this. The Semester Two Reporting as a result may be in a similar format as our reporting in 2020 after returning from remote learning. However, I will need to await DoE direction on this. As soon as I can give accurate information about our Semester Two Reporting 7-10 I will communicate it with the community.
Student Remote Learning Monitoring
As you would be aware our monitoring protocols for remote learning are being implemented from this week. Please refer to this process on our website. If you have any concerns about your child’s engagement online, please contact the school as soon as possible. I understand that the further the lock down continues, the more challenging it is for some students to remain engaged, so please contact the school at the first instance of you becoming concerned about your child.
Student Technology Access
If your child requires any technology support, please contact the school straight away. We do have a limited supply of laptops that we can loan, there is direct support around general IT and log in challenges and I am hoping to have internet dongles shortly to disperse to those families in need. Beyond this if you have any technology concerns please contact the school straight away.
As always, take care, stay safe and please contact the school if you have any concerns
Mark Snedden
Principal Kotara High School
Friday August 20, 2021