28 Apr 2020
Dear parents/carers,
Welcome back to Term 2. I do hope that everyone was able to have an enjoyable Easter despite not being able to be too far away from home. As we anticipated, there was an announcement during the holiday period about a phased return to school commencing on 11 May. I previously sent out a guide from the Department of Education that gives a general explanation of the various phases and we are now in a better position to outline what phase 1 will look like at Armidale Secondary College.
Attached/included in this letter:
Armidale Secondary College Phase 1 Plan (yr 7-10)
- Commences on Monday 11 May
- Students in 7-10 return in house groups (as per the infographic). This allows for siblings to return on the same day and allows ASC to adhere to the 25% attendance guideline.
- Students in attendance will follow the same modified timetable as those learning from home, with the addition of an hour of physical exercise from 2:30pm-3:30pm.
- The 'One Unit of Work' system will be in place. Students in attendance will not be receiving direct instruction from their regular teacher, they will be supervised to complete the same work as those students learning from home.
- Students will be in groups of no more than 10 in regular classrooms and up to 15 in larger spaces eg. double classrooms/double demountable. This will require greater staff number for the purpose of supervision and won't allow for 'teaching' via regular classroom teachers.
Armidale Secondary College Phase 1 Plan (yr 11/12)
- Commences on Monday 11 May.
- Year 12 will have a morning session (9:15am-11:00am), middle session (11:15am-1:30pm with a 45min break) and afternoon session (1:45pm-3:30pm). The morning and middle sessions will be based on their subject lines as outlined in the infographic and below. The afternoon session will be supported by the ASC HSC Hub staff or students may opt to study from home. Fridays will support students with major work projects.
- Year 11 will have access to the school on Thursdays and Fridays. Both days will follow a regular timetable.
- The Department of Education within the phased approach guidelines have asked schools to provide additional support to Year 12 where possible and we are confident that this plan achieves that.
General Information:
- Despite recent announcements that social distancing does not apply to school students, the Department of Education still require us to minimise student numbers in attendance and in confined spaces, hence the 10 students to a classroom guideline.
- We respectfully request that parents adhere to the advised day for their child/children to be in attendance. This will make planning a lot more streamlined and predictable.
- ASC understands that some families will still need to send their child 5 days a week owing to their occupational demands. We are also mindful that some students will not be returning to school on the designated day owing to individual and/or family health concerns. There will be no penalty for families in this category.
- Some of our staff at ASC fall within high-risk categories and will be supported to continue to work from home.
- Buses will run as per normal
We have included a very short survey that we would appreciate you completing, this will also assist in planning for anticipated numbers as we enter Phase 1.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the staff at ASC for their ongoing and unwavering support of our students. I cannot recall a time where teaching and non-teaching staff have been required to adapt so quickly and often with little notice. It is truly humbling to work with such professional and supportive staff. I also understand just how challenging this time has been for our families and the additional pressures you are experiencing supporting young people to learn from home. Like you, we are looking forward to the day when things can return to 'normal', we desperately miss seeing the kids and our colleagues, but we appreciate the constant emails and messages of support from our community. We are certainly all doing our best.
Until the next update,
Yours sincerely,
Carolyn Lasker
Principal