09 Aug 2021
Click here for the alternative task timetable for Weeks 9 & 10 in Term3.
Information for Year 11 Students
9 August 2021
Dear Year 11 Students, Parents & Caregivers,
The NSW Government announced 6 August that HSC students, or those completing Year 12 in the identified LGAs, including Blacktown, will not return to school at this time, but will continue to learn from home until otherwise advised. This means that residents in these LGAs can only leave their homes with a reasonable excuse.
The NSW Department of Education continues to work with NSW Health to support the continuity of education in our schools. Please visit the NSW Government website for more information on the current stay-at-home orders. Given these continued restrictions, we would like to repeat our earlier advice to strongly encourage all parents and carers to keep their children learning from home. The College remains open only for students who need it and we will continue to operate with minimum staff on-site.
Wyndham College is operating under Level 4 of the Department of Education COVID19 Framework for all our students and will continue to operate through online teaching and learning. Regular face to face classes will not run on-site at the College, however, all students are expected to continue engaging with regular timetabled classes online, through their Google Classrooms, student emails, as well as through other online platforms as directed by class teachers.
To assist our students in organising their study for this term. We have decided to replace the written end of course examinations for Year 11, planned for Weeks 9 and 10 of Term 3, with an alternative Assessment Task. This alternative Assessment Task will be fair and rigorous. Significant differences in student performance will be monitored and addressed appropriately. The submission date/s for these tasks will be during that planned assessment time of Weeks 9 and 10. We will provide more information around this alternate Assessment Task very soon. NESA allows schools to adjust their assessment program in response to the current COVID-19 situation. We are aware of the important role the written examination has, as a means of practice. Thus, other opportunities for exam practice will be provided as and when it becomes safe to do so.
The NSW Department of Education has some great resources to support students learning from home. There are also some helpful tips and toolkits for parents and carers. Make sure you tune in to the #EducationLIVE sessions at 10am daily or catch up on past videos. It’s extremely important that we all continue to support student wellbeing at this time.
We want to take this opportunity to remind all students of the counselling support and the COVID Intensive Learning & Support Program (COVID ILSP) tutorials, which are available to all our students. For information regarding the COVID ILSP, please contact the COVID ILSP Co-ordinator, Anjani Bachu, via email - anjani.bachu2@det.nsw.edu.au
If needed, students can reach out to their Year Advisers and Head Teacher Well-being and any student who requires urgent counselling support, our School Counsellor, Anna Jakymin may be contacted via email - Anna.Jakymin@det.nsw.edu.au . Also available for contact is Juanita McMillan via email – juanita.mcmillan@det.nsw.edu.au.
The Wellbeing Team will continue to check in with you regularly. The College will also continue to conduct weekly Zoom Year Meetings. The Year 11 meeting will be on Thursday afternoons at 1pm. We will use these meetings to advise the latest information we have available.
For the week beginning 9 August 2021, the College Office hours will again be Monday to Thursday 7.30am to 12pm and 7.30am - 11am on Fridays. If you do not have a computer and/or internet access, contact the College office, so arrangements can be made to supply you with the necessary technology.
Work Placement and Work Experience for all courses is on hold until further notice. Students booked for these activities should continue with normal timetabled classes online. Students unable to complete a VET Work Placement, due to the impacts of COVID-19 will still be eligible for their Preliminary and HSC credit units. Following are links regarding 'Cyber Safe Families' –
- https://education.nsw.gov.au/parents-and-carers/wellbeing/technology/cyber-safety
- https://education.nsw.gov.au/parents-and-carers/wellbeing.htm!?keywords=Technology&q=
- https://www.digitalcitizenship.nsw.edu.au/parents-articles
As information and situations are changing rapidly, we ask that you regularly check our normal communication channels for updates - email, Facebook, lnstagram, Wyndham College website.
We would like to remind families of the brief Parent Zoom Webinar on 10 August from 4.30 to 5pm. Please use to the link information included in the Wyndham College email last week.
We wish to reassure all Year 11 students and their families, that the well-being of our students is paramount. The College will ensure no student's education will be disadvantaged. If there is anything the College can do to assist our students and their families, please do not hesitate to make contact. Please take care.
Kind regards
Karen Smith - Principal & Classa Martinuzzi - Deputy Principal