APC Newsletter Edition 3 2020

NEWS

Edition 3 – April 2020

Contents 2

Principal’s Say

4

From the Editors

Teaching Remotely 5

Remote Learning Data

6

Remote Tea-ching

7

Working from Home

Learning Remotely 8 Staying Home and Thinking 9 Promoting

Togetherness and Connection 10

The Switch to Home

Feedback from Parents and others Carrying on as Usual 12 Hospitality Club Update 12 Premier’s VCE Awards Recipients 13

Art Show

13

Year 7 Art

14

What the library is doing in the remote, online environment

Helpful information for everyone at home 15 Keeping children safe

from scams during COVID-19 16

Financial Assistance

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NEWS

Edition 3 – April 2020

Principal’s Say Welcome to this special Online Term edition of the APC Newsletter.

Times are unusual to say the least, but APC is determined to keep teaching, learning and our community operating as normally as possible. In fact, we want to celebrate the college’s achievement of coping so well with the situation that has been forced upon us. As you will know, during the lockdown what happens to our schools has become the subject of much extremely negative and unhelpful political debate. It’s my belief that a bit more focus on the great things our schools, students, teachers and parents are doing in this moment of adversity wouldn’t go astray.

Indeed, I think the way we are operating at APC proves that with the right attitude and preparation, students can not only keep going, they can thrive in a flexible, online environment.

Thanking our students We should first remember why this is happening. While we would all prefer to be back at school as normal, by learning from home we are doing our bit to keep the COVID-19 curve flat and keeping our entire community safe. I want our students especially to know that their efforts in learning from home are an important civic duty and they should be proud of the role they are playing. They have been magnificent in their willingness to do the right thing. It’s time, really, that we acknowledged their role in this national emergency.

Our students are working incredibly hard.

Parents sometimes forget just how techsavvy our young people are and they have shown just how capable and tough they can be. We had little doubt. Adversity has brought out the best in them––and has given them capabilities they will be using at university, TAFE and in business in the years to come. In the midst of the BACK TO CONTENTS

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lockdown, our students have even produced their own newspaper — The Anchor — and our captains are sending out regular messaging to all students and staff with their own communication called — The Huddle.

How good is that?

APC’s extraordinary achievement I can tell you that APC’s performance in providing remote and flexible learning has been exemplary.

We are setting the standard for others to emulate.

Our achievement is the result of a decade of hard work creating our portal, developing our guaranteed online curriculum, ensuring our students and staff are sophisticated technology users, and having a positive outlook about everything we do. This achievement is remarkable when you consider we had to move completely online with very little notice. We managed in just a fortnight what it takes many highly sophisticated organisations years to achieve.

I am pleased to report that the systems we have put in place are working. I have received many messages from parents acknowledging the fantastic and highly dedicated work of our staff and telling us that children are learning well from home. I want in turn to thank our parents. A school can only work in online mode if parents ensure that students are developing a strong routine, have a quiet place from which to work, and are sticking at it five days a week.

The college of course remains open for those students from families who need them to be at school.

Getting even better While our educational offerings have necessarily been pared back, we’re constantly thinking of new ways to enrich what we are doing. For example, this week we held an online year-12 school assembly, with 172 staff and senior students meeting up through Google Meets to discuss how we’re keeping our VCE, VCAL and IB teaching going. We’re cranking up our Inspire programs too––with our clubs starting to meet and carry on their business, including having chess tournaments, online. Parents are receiving weekly updates on our Parent Portal, including advice from educational expert Michael Carr-Gregg. And we will be announcing soon how events like Open Day, the Dance Show and the Music Show will be taking place in online form.

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NEWS

Edition 3 – April 2020

Business as usual

Together we can thrive

I want to thank our Library staff – Veronica, Jess and Clive – for their efforts to encourage students to keep reading via the new online books and other library resources they have put in place.

If a lockdown is nothing else, it’s a great opportunity to do some enjoyable and important reading. Remember, there is a strong correlation between reading and year-12 results!

Online and remote learning may have separated us in a physical sense, but it has provided a sense of purpose that has made us an even stronger community.

Together we can thrive.

All other elements of the school are working as usual. Positive education classes and pastoral care are still being offered through the usual channels.

Attendance is still being noted. Online activity is closely monitored and if students are not participating in Google Classroom or completing their work, parents will be receiving a call or email from teachers or college staff.

That sentiment pervades the pages of this newsletter, which has reached out to staff, students and parents to tell us how they are doing at home, providing tips and examples for us all to learn from.

I look forward to seeing you back at school as soon as it is deemed safe to do so.

One final note. In the spirit of carrying on as usual, we’re holding our annual general meeting, but online.

Members of the school community who wish to attend our virtual AGM will need to RSVP by emailing Tania Scaramozzino by 5pm Friday 8 May. Information regarding how to attend with then be provided.

Steven Cook Foundation Principal

School Reports School reports for years 7–11 will be written reports this term, but year-12 parentstudent-teacher reports will be arranged through Google Meets, reflecting the importance of year-12 studies.

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NEWS

Edition 3 – April 2020

From the Editors Like everyone else, the APC Comms team is trying to keep calm and carry on. Although there’s less on-campus activity to report on, we wanted to give you a flavour of what’s going on online and at home.

We have collected together some of the correspondence we’ve received from teachers, students and parents to give a picture of how everyone is coping with the lockdown.

At the time of writing, the State Government’s plan is to continue with the lockdown for the rest of Term 2, so please keep sending in your stories about how you are getting along in these unusual circumstances. newsletter@ albertparkcollege.vic.edu.au Enjoy the attached photos of Zoe particpating in Earth hour, last week and her make-shift home office, filled with plants.

Zoe Alexiades and Dennis Glover Communications Team

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NEWS

Edition 3 – April 2020

TEACHING REMOTELY

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NEWS

Edition 3 – April 2020

TEACHING REMOTELY Remote Tea-ching

In mathematics, students learn to substitute values into functions and calculate a new result. Over the last few weeks, mathematics teachers have been substituting online learning strategies for their previous face-to-face pedagogy.

Armed with MacBooks, iPads, Apple Pencils and (hopefully) stable internet connections, we are continuing to deliver a rich and engaging curriculum to our students.

Our iPad screens are now being shared via Google Meet instead of the Apple T.V. Students ask questions in class using the Google Meet chat and are invited to contribute using their microphones for more extended discussions. We continue to work through theory and example problems in real time using Notability.

Our live instructions can be viewed by students through the Google Meet screen.

Some additional screencasts of teacher explanations are recorded, allowing students to work through content at their own pace while taking notes in their book.

Class notes from the teacher instructions are documented on Google Classroom for future reference.

Assessments are full steam ahead to ensure every student receives teacher feedback. Students respond to multiple choice questions via Google Forms and upload images of their mathematical working to Google Classroom. We have introduced answer templates which students print or copy prior to assessments. Assessments are released on Google Classroom and students record their responses to the questions in the answer template. They can move between questions, skip ahead and check back over their working in a structured manner which simulates a traditional test. Teachers mark work using Google Classroom and their Apple Pencils. Students still receive handwritten annotations and teacher comments on their submissions.

It is too early to calculate the final result of our remote teaching substitution. We need more data. One silver lining: I finally have a hot pot of tea during every lesson.

Rachael Gore, Numeracy Leader and Tea Enthusiast

Student voice and collaboration are also prioritized in our virtual mathematics classrooms. Google Forms capture student feedback and suggestions. Multiple Google Meet links are generated for some lessons so students can break off into “table groups” to work in teams before reporting back to the class. Students enjoy connecting with their peers as they discuss the content of the lesson, just like they would on campus. As teachers we can visit their “table” by joining each smaller Meet. We continue to provide small group instruction and support at these virtual tables.

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NEWS

Edition 3 – April 2020

TEACHING REMOTELY Working from home

Term two has taken a very different shape than I am used to as a teacher. Teaching online is not the same as being at school. I feel lucky that our school had the portal and Google Classroom so we have a lot of great lessons to teach, but nothing can replace seeing your students in the classroom!

Teaching from home looks similar to a day at school, I get up at the normal time and walk the dogs, then settle in to check emails before teaching my classes. The difference is I only have to walk to the spare room to get to my office!

It is a lot quieter, which is not my type of lesson. All of my classes are working so hard to stay on track, especially my year 12s. The best bits of Chemistry are the pracs so I can’t wait until we are back at school and we get to catch up on all of them.

Luckily I have my two dogs Obi and Pippy (pictured) to keep me company during the day. Pippy causes more mischief than all of the year 11s combined!

My advice to students and parents is to find the positives in this time, it’s not often you get to spend so much time at home together. Do some things you wouldn’t normally do! I have been making polymer clay earrings and reading a book (the first one in longer than I care to admit).

Obi, Pippy and I can’t wait to be back at school and see everyone again!

Tahlia Skinner

Da Vinci Campus Update The beginning of Term 2 has certainly been different. It has been amazing how our teachers have transformed our learning environment so our wonderful cohort of students can access their learning from home. It has been great to see our students engaging in Google Meet sessions and feeling so supported by teachers and parents. Our students are engaging in our environmental program and have the opportunity to be published in an upcoming edition of Green Magazine. In the Positive Education space, we are compiling photographs and short videos to put into a Da Vinci ISO-Video to record and share the positive things people are doing at home during this period. I personally, and on behalf of our team, would like to pass on our gratitude for all of the support we have received from our vibrant learning community at Albert Park College.

Duncan Box BACK TO CONTENTS

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NEWS

LEARNING REMOTELY

Edition 3 – April 2020

Staying home and thinking At the time of writing, we have officially reached the one week mark of online school! It’s been a crazy and historic few days (and months), and as students we’ve had to learn to adjust to a whole new way of learning and studying. I think that this experience, so far, has certainly been a mixture of challenging, rewarding, confusing and even exciting. There have definitely been many moments where I’ve felt unproductive, or really missed seeing my teachers and playing soccer foursquare at lunch. There’s been moments where I’ve had to have naps after school because I’ve been so tired from looking at my screen all day. As everyone in my classes know, I’ve also had my fair share of muted “discussions” with my sister, as we try to navigate being in separate lessons whilst sharing a space in our dining room.

Interestingly though, this new way of life has definitely taught me some really valuable lessons, both in and outside of the “classroom”. I’ve learnt that my learning style really suits the independence that I now have in my online classes. (In reality I think this might be because I love to have a chat, something that is now more limited in this new setting). Whilst I had an appreciation for nature before isolation, the past month has also made me realise just how lucky we are to be able to go outside and enjoy our natural environment — and equally how important it is that we protect it. I think at its core, this time has made me value the community that we have at APC more than ever, as myself and the other captains have worked to find new ways to stay connected as a college.

This has definitely been a Term 2 start like no other, and I know that the next few weeks and months will bring a new set of obstacles and unknowns. As a school community let’s remember to look out for one another and know that it’s ok to not be ok with everything that’s going on.

I’ve been reminding myself to try and find the silver lining in something everyday, I encourage you to do the same.

Eloisa Moses McMahon College Captain

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NEWS

LEARNING REMOTELY

Edition 3 – April 2020

Promoting togetherness and connection

Finally, the Inspire club team have been rapidly transitioning to our new digital reality — we’ve got lots of clubs that are still going ahead virtually, so be sure to check them out! We are presently working on a new digital interface for the entire inspire program — so watch this space.

In order to help out the student body get through these trying times, we have been looking at ways of promoting togetherness and connection in spite of our isolation. Togetherness relies on facilitating Stay safe and keep on keepin’ on. We’ll be through this an honest and inclusive conversation in no time! amongst the student body and the school community as a whole, so we’ve set out to Oscar Pearce do just that.

College Captain We’ve set up The Huddle – a weekly newsletter straight from your 4 College Captains (Lily, Liv, Eloisa and myself). It contains tips, ideas and thoughts as well as games and competitions. Really, anything that members of the school community want to see more of! It’ll also be a chance for us to broadcast all the cool things that are going on in and around the school (virtually speaking of course!) - so be sure to check it out.

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NEWS

LEARNING REMOTELY

Edition 3 – April 2020

The switch to home My name is Francesca and I’m in year 10.

Yes, school has been different, everyone has their opinion about that and we are all taking this in very different ways. How I’ve been coping with it is probably how most people are...I haven’t been out of the house in three weeks. I want other people to follow the rules too because my mum’s a nurse and she said otherwise this will never finish. I’ve been waking up at 8, I get ready eating a nice breakfast with some English tea and when the clock strikes 9 I start my school day. During ‘break time’ I either read, do a workout or fit in some homework or music practice. In the afternoons I chill with my family and play some card games because they are the best. Towards the end of the day I watch some Aussie TikTok’s and then some Netflix and that’s basically it. Also, after Easter my friends and I dressed up as fictional characters from films and we had a mini party and ate chocolate. It was a great way to get together virtually.

Maria Francesca Cascino

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NEWS

FEEDBACK FROM PARENTS AND OTHERS

Edition 3 – April 2020

Feedback to the Principal

Dear Steve

We’re conscious that remote and flexible learning has meant big changes for parents as well as teachers and students. Without them playing their part – by making sure students are up and ready to start school, staying focused for the whole day and generally keeping things as normal as possible – our online teaching and learning couldn’t work. We want to thank all the parents and carers of APC students for playing their part so well.

We wish to express our thanks to the teaching and support staff as we work through the effects of the COVID19 pandemic. Every morning [our son in Year 11] shuts his door and goes to school and he seems to be adapting well to this temporary change. Yesterday, he placed a phone on the end of his piano and music teacher Harry Cook listened, watched, demonstrated and advised him. Although it is not an experience as complete or as enjoyable as being with the teacher and the student cohort, the key elements of learning do take place, provided [our son] comes to the party with his own motivation which, thankfully, he does.

We’re glad to report that we have been receiving lots of thumbs-up message from parents about how well the virtual version of APC has been working. We wanted to share just a few of them with you, as well as a note I received from Alice Garner, who as many of you will know is an APC staff member who is taking a year’s leave from the school and working as a researcher and journalist. Alice’s research into how schools are coping with online teaching has found that APC is a leader in the field.

Dear Steven and staff [As parents of a year-11 student] we would like to thank you, the APC teachers and support staff for all the work that went into making the transition to online learning so smooth. We feel extremely lucky and grateful to have such talented, hardworking and selfless people supporting your students. We are also glad that you are looking into ways to continue sport classes, despite the obvious challenges. Many students had structured sport organised outside school hours and this has been taken away from them at a time when being outside and doing sport is more important than ever for their wellbeing.

Tania [at Reception] I just want to say [my daughter] and her friends love online schooling. [She] says she’s never learnt more, especially in maths… Your teachers are doing a great job.

Hi guys Hope you all are going good and safe during this unprecedented time. Must say this whole new way of learning from home is not all that bad as it sounded in the beginning. I could see my son putting in his whole hearted effort towards it and he seems to be enjoying it.

Dear Steve I have just interviewed three APC staff members for the AEU News on how teachers are dealing with the transition to remote teaching. I just wanted to let you know that they all felt that APC staff and students were particularly well equipped to weather the storm for a whole range of reasons––IT support and innovation (working on the back-end of Google Classroom to assess student engagement, Slack etc etc!), leadership being aware of the crucial things that need to be done and what can be let go to survive the changes. Also, students being well prepared for using online tools in effective ways… I just thought you might like to hear this. I’m sure this period is throwing all sorts of crazy challenges your way and it’s a giant social and educational experiment…

Best wishes Alice

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NEWS

CARRYING ON AS USUAL

Edition 3 – April 2020

Hospitality Club Update

Premier’s VCE Awards Recipients

Hospitality Club at this time of year is usually busily planning and organising events that are held in Term 2, such as Open Day and Lit Festival. With these events placed on hold they have had the opportunity to redirect their focus and attention to home cooking and baking.

A total of 307 awards are to be presented to Victorian students across 95 subjects for their outstanding academic achievements in 2019 and we are proud to have two APC students amongst them.

They have been actively contributing to the Inspire Programme Hospitality Club Blog page.

And also have been creating some great videos with recipes attached that they have been posted in the Hospitality Club Google Classroom.

Click the video below to see Hannah Lawrence’s ANZAC cookies or click here to see another delicious recipe for Honey & Cardamom Cut-Out Cookies.

We congratulate Oliver Kalicin and Oscar Pearce on their outstanding results in their VCE subjects in 2019 (Physics and History Revolutions respectively). They have both been recognised as Study Award Recipients for achieving a study score of 46 or above.

The list of award recipients has now gone live on the Department of Education and Training’s website, please follow this link to see Oliver and Oscar’s names listed.

Adua Cipolato Yr 9 Cafe Experience Teacher

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NEWS

CARRYING ON AS USUAL

Edition 3 – April 2020

Art Show Get creative whilst in isolation! The Albert Park College Art Show is in October. For more details visit The Art Show website.

Trudy Rice

Year 7 Art The Year 7 Art classes have completed two art challenges at home so far this term. They have had to reflect on the topic “Out Your Window” and the hashtag #betweenquarantineandart that has been circulating on social media. Here are a few of their fantastic visual responses.

Michelle Luckman

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NEWS

CARRYING ON AS USUAL

Edition 3 – April 2020

What the library is doing in the remote, online environment Thankfully, the diminished access to the APC library shelves has not resulted in a lack of reading throughout the school — if anything, we are now reading more than ever!

Students and staff have continued to borrow eBooks and audiobooks through signing into ePlatform (and downloading the free app). This is a great place to read books as users have the luxury of manipulating the book’s font, text size and colours so that they suit individual reading preferences. The library staff are happy to purchase books not currently available on ePlatform, so please email library@ albertparkcollege.vic.edu.au with any requests.

Meanwhile Audible have made their extensive range of children’s audiobooks free for the duration that schools worldwide are closed. We hope that the APC community capitalises on this very generous, limited offer and head to https://stories.audible.com/start-listen to start streaming (no account required).

Audiobooks are also available in Spanish, Italian, French, German, Japanese and Portugese.

our Library Space Google Classroom page. Students can join using this code: p5qtyvk. So far we have circulated book reviews, had virtual versions of the ‘Guest Library Curator’ feature, continued the Word of the Day tradition, held an ePlatform quiz, and have had Clive’s Library Corner. We also held our first online Short Story Club meeting on Google Meet which was lots of fun. Our next meeting will be Wednesday 6 May at 12.30pm, we will be posting details about the story on our Google Classroom page soon. We welcome any students to join us!

Finally, we are happy to announce that APC will once again be taking part in the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, where students read a minimum of 15 books by September 4. This year we have some very exciting in-house incentives added to the challenge.

The Rotary Club of Albert Park will very kindly donate $1 to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal for every book that APC students read as part of the challenge. Students, this means that every time you read and record a book on the Premiers’ Reading Challenge website, you are effectively helping other communities rebuild from the recent bushfire tragedy. Additionally, we will be awarding house points to every participant in the challenge, and a large sum of points to the top three students who read the most books. We will be opening the challenge soon, so watch this space and continue to read widely and often.

Veronica, Jess and Clive Librarians

We also recommend that students turn to their local library for more access to eBooks during this time. You can create a free account online with the Port Phillip Library Service here; memberships allow you to borrow books from their comprehensive eLibrary, which includes eBooks, movies and music. We also encourage students to sign up to the State Library of Victoria for free access to their eBookshelf collection of non-fiction titles and online academic databases.

However, as we all know, there is a lot more to a library than just the books on the shelf (or, eShelf!) We have continued to create a convivial library community through BACK TO CONTENTS

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NEWS

HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR EVERYONE AT HOME Keeping children safe from scams during COVID-19 While families are adjusting to remote learning and the spread of COVID-19, another problem has reared its ugly head: scammers who are targeting vulnerable members of the community.

Edition 3 – April 2020

Key points to make include: • unless you have met someone face-to-face, you cannot be sure who they really are • it’s important to keep passwords and personal details private, and not share them anywhere a stranger could read them.

Learn to spot the signs of a scam. Ask yourself: Authorities are warning people to look out • does it contain a strange web address?

• are there spelling mistakes? for texts, emails, phone calls and social • is it from one person but shows a different name media messages which: in the email address?

• does it tell you to click on a link or file or take up a • promise to send a COVID-19 vaccination, free offer? cure, remedy, testing kit or cleaning service • does it ask for personal details or to send money?

• invite you to click on links about COVID-19 and/or provide personal information • claim to be from someone infected with COVID-19 in need of help • tell you that you have been infected with COVID-19.

Many are designed to spread malware and phishing scams, and steal data or money.

It’s important to check in with kids to see whether they have come across any scams, and whether they know what to do about it.

If a stranger contacts you online, tell a trusted adult.

Don’t respond to the messages, especially if this person is asking you to send money or photographs, or telling you to keep something a secret.

Make sure the anti-virus and anti-spyware software on your computers is up-to-date.

To learn more about cyber safety for the whole family, the Alannah & Madeline Foundation has online learning packages that can be found at amf.org.au and esmart.org.au.

Irene Ryder​ Alannah & Madeline Foundation

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NEWS

HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR EVERYONE AT HOME

Edition 3 – April 2020

School Insurance and Liability Information Parents and carers are reminded that the Department of Education does not provide personal accident insurance or ambulance cover for students.

Parents and carers of students who do not have student accident insurance or ambulance cover are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including the cost of ambulance or transport and any other transport costs.

Parents, carers and students are reminded that any private property brought to school by students, staff or usurers is not insured and the Department does not accept any responsibility for loss or damage.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE INFORMATION FOR PARENTS Every Victorian child should have access to the world of learning opportunities that exist beyond the classroom. The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund helps ensure that no student will miss out on the opportunity to join their classmates for important, educational and fun activities. It is part of making Victoria the Education State and the Government’s commitment to breaking the link between a student’s background and their outcomes.

CAMPS, SPORTS & EXCURSIONS FUND (CSEF) School camps provide children with inspiring experiences in the great outdoors, excursions encourage a deeper understanding of how the world works and sports teach teamwork, discipline and leadership. All are part of a healthy curriculum.

HOW TO APPLY

New applicants should contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form or download from www.education.vic.gov.au/csef

The annual CSEF amount per student is:

If you applied for the CSEF at your child's school in 2019, you do not need to complete an application form in 2020 unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.

You only need to complete an application form if any of the following changes have occurred:  new student enrolments; your child has started or changed schools in 2020 or you did not apply in 2019.  changed family circumstances; such as a change of custody, change of name, concession card number, or new siblings commencing at the school in 2020.

• $125 for primary school students

Check with the school office if you are unsure.

CSEF is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

• $225 for secondary school students

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the CSEF visit www.education.vic.gov.au/csef

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