AIA COVID-19

COMMUNICATIONS &

INFORMATION

AUGUST SUMMARY • On Sunday 2 August, the Victorian Government announced that metropolitan Melbourne

will move to Stage 4 restrictions to slow the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

• From Tuesday 4 August, all Years 11 and 12 VCE and IB students will move to remote

learning. Years Prep to 10 students will continue with remote learning.

• Further details of our remote learning provisions are detailed below.

• The criteria for students that can access on-site supervision has changed (further details

below).

• AIA requests that families who require on-site supervision for their children contact the

school office.

• Year 12 students will receive an email that outlines changes to exam preparation, SACS and

information relating to the change of the date of the General Ability Test (GAT).

Dear Parents,

I hope that you and your families have been able to stay safe and happy in spite of the circumstances

in which we find ourselves. I encourage you to continue to isolate, keep safe and remain healthy,

while spending quality time together as a family and making the most of these trying times. We

must now look to the coming weeks and prepare ourselves for what is going to be a very different

and challenging time. It is a very difficult time for all concerned. Nothing would make all of us

happier than to be returning to some form of normality, but unfortunately this can’t happen and we

must make the most of what we have.

Yesterday the Victorian Government announced that on the advice of the Victorian Chief Health

Officer, metropolitan Melbourne will move to Stage 4 restrictions to slow the spread of Covid-19.

The changes to schools’ operations will come into effect from Tuesday 4 August 2020, and are likely

to apply until the end of Term 3.

As outlined in the Chief Health officer’s advice on Friday, schools remain safe places for staff and

students – but these steps are critical measures to reduce the movement of students and families

across the state.

There are implications for our school, and for families in our school community.

A summary of what the changes mean for Australian International Academy is below.

YEAR Prep TO YEAR 10

• Year Prep to Year 10 students will continue with remote and flexible learning.

SENIOR SECONDARY YEAR 11 AND 12 (VCE AND VCAL)

• All Year 11 and 12 provisions for both VCE and IB will move to remote and flexible learning.

The outline of our program is as follows:

• Remote Classes for all year levels will start from period one on Tuesday 4 August.

• Teachers will continue to facilitate Zoom classes. Attendance will be taken each lesson,

utilising either student attendance during these lessons and / or by students engaging with

the lesson’s learning materials.

• Teachers will connect live with students for each period.

• Students will then work their way through the materials over the week, checking in with

their teachers as required for further directions or clarification.

• Teachers will make themselves available to their scheduled class time to answer emails and

provide any clarification required.

SUPERVSION TO STUDENTS AT AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY

• The criteria for students that can attend on-site has changed, and is now available as

follows:

o Children whose parents are permitted workers.

o Vulnerable children in and out of home care, children known to child protection and

other agencies and children the school identifies as vulnerable.

o Children with a disability who also fit one of the above two categories.

The Victorian Government will provide further advice about this over the coming days.

Supervision here at the school will be undertaken by the Library Staff and Leaning Support Officers. Students coming into school will access the remote learning being offered by their teachers, whilst under the supervision of our support staff. There will be no normal services provided for the students such as the Canteen, and the students are expected to wear their uniforms.

I think it is appropriate to again remind all in our community that staying home and staying safe is

the best option, as the sooner we stop the spread of this virus the sooner we can get back to

normality.

We are asking any family likely to send their children to school for supervision to inform us by

communicating by phone so that we can make appropriate supervision arrangements.

YEAR 12

Parents of our Year 12 students are likely to be quite anxious, which I totally understand, as they try

to deal with what is a very stressful year under normal circumstances, let arrangements, SACS and

information relating to the change of date of the General Ability Test (GAT). This examination has

been postponed from September 9 to October 7. The schedule for the VCE examinations and

release of results will remain as previously advised. Further information about consideration and

disadvantage and coronavirus (COVID-19) will be provided shortly.

In the meantime, I encourage you to comfort your children and remind them that they are not alone

in this, that every senior student across Victoria is going through the same thing, and that it will be

the students who are able to adjust and adapt quickly that will have the greatest success. Remind

them that in life we should worry about the things we can control and leave the other things for

others to worry about.

CONTINUITY OF LEARNING INFORMATION

We would like to take this opportunity to thanks parents and guardians for their support during this

year.

We thank your and value your feedback. As we embark on the next phase, we have made several

adjustments to ensure an effective and meaningful learning experience for all students.

The Academy prides itself on being responsive to student needs. Should you wish to offer further

general feedback regarding your child’s remote learning experience, please feel free to directly

contact the Academy using the following email:

aiamsc@aia.vic.edu,au or csc@aia.vic.edu.au

A reminder that subject-specific queries should be raised with the individual subject teacher, should

your feedback be related to an individual teacher’s practice, please feel free to direct your enquiry

to the Head of Campus.

I thank you for your patience and for your support.

Head of Campus

JULY SUMMARY

Summary

• The Academy continues to follow all recommended procedures in line with Government

guidelines.

• Below we detail current Commonwealth Government guidelines on testing and quarantine

guidelines.

The Academy continues to follow all procedures in line with the Victorian Government’s measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools across Metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire. We wish to take this opportunity to provide our community with the below Commonwealth Government guidelines on testing and quarantine. Should I self –isolate if I’ve had contact with a suspected case of COVID-19 or someone who’s being tested for COVID-19? If you’ve been in close contact with someone who’s confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 - including close contact in the 48 hours before they became unwell- you must quarantine in your home for 14 days After your last contact with the confirmed case. Someone from your local public health unit will contact you. If you remain well after 14 days you can leave quarantine. If you test negative for COVID-19, you must complete quarantine and stay at home for the full 14 – day quarantine period. Living with other people while in quarantine: If you’re well, people you live with don’t need to quarantine unless they have had contact with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19. You should limit your contract with them as much as possible by:

• staying in your own room

• using a separate bathroom, if you can

• staying at least 1.5 metres away from each other

• avoiding common areas and wearing a mask when moving through these areas

• wearing a mask when in the same room as each other

• not sharing a room with people, especially those at risk of severe disease. This includes older people and those with heart, lung or kidney conditions, and diabetes.

• practising good hand hygiene and covering coughs and sneezes with a clean tissue that you dispose of immediately or the inside of your elbow, then washing your hands.

• avoiding sharing household items

• frequently cleaning the house, especially things people touch often, like door handles For more information, visit health.gov.au

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students, Please be advised that all Years 11-12 students and parents MUST wear a face mask from Wednesday onwards. If not worn from Wednesday, there is a $200 fine, if stopped by the police or ADF as per the latest announcement by the Premier this morning. It is the school's recommendation that students who have masks, should wear them from tomorrow. It is very important to follow the government's guidelines to protect ourselves and the people around us. Your cooperation in this matter is much appreciated. Masks should be worn on the way to school, during school hours, and on the way home. We have also decided to allow students who have a study period in the first period to arrive for period 2, and if their study period coincides with a last period then we allow dismissal at the end of period 6.

Stay safe and stay healthy! Head of Campus JULY SUMMARY CONTINUED

• From Tuesday 20 July to Friday 17 July, Years 11 and 12 students will be required to attend

the college for face- to- face learning.

• Remote learning will resume for Years Prep to 10 students from Monday 20 July

• Years 11 and 12 and Year 10 students undertaking a VCE or IB subject will continue with

face-to-face learning from Monday 20 July.

• Students whose family require their children to be supported at the Academy may make

arrangements for their child to undertake their remote learning at the Academy.

We understand that there is a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety in the community at this time as

we enter another phase of remote learning, however, I can guarantee previous experience or

remote learning, and I can assure you staff are working diligently to deliver Remote Learning Phase 2

in the most effective and meaningful way for our students.

Based on advice from the Victorian Chief Health officer, Independent schools in metropolitan

Melbourne and Mitchell Shire will have specific arrangements in place for the start of Term 3. It is

very important to note that the Victorian Chief Health Officer has advised that schools can continue

to operate. AIA will take direction from the appropriate government areas from Independent

Schools Victoria (ISV). We will ensure that we do everything in our power to keep our community

safe.

The purpose of these changed arrangements is to reduce the number of students and families

moving across metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire in order to reduce the spread of

coronavirus (COVID-19).

It is, however important that face-to-face teaching be maintained for some students.

This includes students in Years 11 and 12 because of the importance of enabling students to

continue their senior secondary certificate, either VCE or IB.

Staff will be working to prepare for the next phase of flexible and remote learning.

What this means for your child, and what we are asking you to do:

Monday 20 July-

Years 11 and 12 and Year 10 students undertaking VCE OR IB studies

• Return for face-to-face learning.

Year Prep -10

Student Supervision

• Students whose families require their children to be supported at the Academy where

parents or carers cannot work from home mat attend the Academy for supervision.

Please note that as formal classes will not be running during this week, the program will not

provide any teaching and learning.

• Please phone the Academy if your child requires an onsite supervision program during this

week.

COVID-19 Update – July 2020

Summary

• The Victorian Government is introducing new measures for schools across Metropolitan and

Mitchell Shire to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

These new measures apply to the Australian International Academy

• Onsite classes will resume for students enrolled in Years 11 and 12, and Year 10students

enrolled in a VCE subject on Monday 20 July 2020.

• Students in Years 7 to 10 will have their holiday break extended by one week.

• Classes are expected to resume for Years Prep-10 on Monday 20 July 2020.

• The Academy will communicate further information with families as soon as this is available

to us.

I hope that you and your family have been able make the most of the opportunities the school

holidays provide. It’s hard to believe we find ourselves back in a lock down situation, needing to talk

about alternative arrangements for delivering an education.

Unfortunately, given this is our reality, we once again need to work together in the best interests of

our students.

MAY-JUNE SUMMARY

ROADMAP TO RETURN TO SCHOOL

Assalamu Alaykum Wr. Wb.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Thank you for all your support during these past few weeks of Remote and Flexible Learning.

Following advice from the Chief Health Officer, the Victorian Government has advised that schools

can begin a phased return to on-site learning.

In stage 2 of AIA’s Return to School Plan, students in Years Prep, Year 1, Year 2, Year 10, Year 11

and Year 12 will be able to return to school on Wednesday, 27 May 2020.

At AIA campuses our teachers will be back at work on Tuesday, 26 May 2020 to prepare for this

transition. AIA campuses will reopen for face to face learning after the Eid holiday break. Children of

essential workers and vulnerable children will continue to be able to attend school for

supervision. If you have other circumstances that mean you would like your child to attend school,

please contact us to discuss this.

For students in Years 3 to Year 9, the current home-based learning arrangements will remain in

place. If low COVID-19 transmission rates continue, students in Years 3 to Year 9 will be able to

return to school from 9 June 2020.

It is recognised that some parents may choose to keep their children at home due to concerns about

COVID-19 and this is respected. If parents choose to do this, we ask that you notify the school to

discuss how we can support you and your child.

I ask parents and guardians to pay particular attention to the requirement for adults to maintain

physical distancing of 1.5 metres at all times if you need to be on school grounds. Parents and

guardians should not enter the school grounds, carparks and /or congregate outside the school

gates. Please make use of our drop- off and pick-up and go areas wherever possible.

During deliberations with Governance, risks about the proposed return to school were discussed.

There will be no excursions, assemblies, interschool sporting events, festivals and other large

gatherings in Term 2. We are adopting the protective measures outlined by the Australian Health

Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students,

teachers, staff and families.

It is essential that you keep your child home from school if they are unwell. In accordance

with Victorian Health Advice parents or guardians of any child showing signs of illness will be asked

to collect them immediately from the school.

In these cases, parents and guardians remain responsible for their children. This includes ensuring

their children stay at home and continue their learning.

The decision to return Prep - Year 2 and Years 10 – Year 12 back to school is an important next step

towards returning to our regular school routines and we will continue to update you as soon as any

new information becomes available.

Our staff have greatly appreciated all the positive and constructive feedback that has been provided

to them over the last few weeks. We thank the parents for completing our Remote Learning Survey.

My sincere thanks go to all parents, guardians and staff for your support and understanding during

these challenging times.

Regards,

Head of Campus

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We are in the second week of return to Face to Face teaching for our senior school , and so far,

students have settled back into school routines.

Assessments, catch up and consolidation of learning is now a regular part of our teaching repertoire

since we returned to Face to Face teaching.

All students return to school on June 9th.

We welcome our students from Year 6 to Year 9 back to school on Tuesday 9th June.

Students, teachers and community Safety

Our main priority to keep everyone safe, and for this to happen, we need parents, students, teachers

and community participation in our COVID19 safety plan.

Social distancing is the new normal, regular handwashing, and hand sanitiser must be practised

frequently.

As part of our preventive measures and safety routines, we are checking our staff and students'

temperatures every morning to ensure they fall within the normal range.

Your support in keeping our students, teachers, parents and the community safe is greatly

appreciated.

Yours sincerely

Head of Campus

Dear Parents /Guardians

Assalamu Alaykum Wr. Wb.

I would like to thank you for all the continued support and understanding you have shown our

teachers in the recent weeks, we are grateful for your patience and flexibility.

On Wednesday 27th May, all staff and students from years 10, 11 and 12 commenced school

following advice from the Chief Health Officer, the Victorian Government to begin a phased return

to on-site schooling. We had over ninety five percent of our students attend this week from our

senior school. School has been very different, as we adjust to social distancing and enhanced

hygiene measures, but so far everyone has adapted admirably.

To support the health and wellbeing of all our students and staff, our school will continue an

enhanced cleaning routine and will encourage frequent hand washing and social distancing.

We understand that some families may feel anxious about this move back to classroom teaching and

learning. I can assure you that this decision has been taken on the basis of the best health advice

available to our state.

More information about the return to school and coronavirus (COVID-19) can be found on the

Department’s website, which will continue to be updated:

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

Thank you for your continued support and patience during this time. We look forward to welcoming

our year 6 -9 students back to the classroom on 9th June.

If you have any questions or concerns please email or contact the school.

Yours sincerely Head of Campus

Dear Parents, Assalamu Alaykum Wr. Wb.,

On behalf of the school administration and staff, we wish you a very happy and rewarding Eid Mubarak. Eid Holiday will be on Sunday 24th May and will continue on Monday 25th May. Tuesday 26th May will be a pupil free day as staff prepare for a return to on-site learning. We look forward to the return of all years 10, year 11, and year 12 student on Wednesday 27th May, followed by the years Prep-9 students on Tuesday 9th June. Please refer to the attachment for more information on our return to on-site learning. Head of Campus

APRIL SUMMARY Assalamu Alaykum Wr. Wb. Dear Parents and Guardians, As you are aware, the situation regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support during this time. The Victorian Government has now advised that all schools will move to remote and flexible learning. This means that all students who can learn at home must learn from home. This is a very clear directive by the Victorian Government based on the advice of the Chief Health Officer. All students will be learning from home, except for children on days when they are not able to be supervised at home and no other arrangements can be made. Approval has also been given for schools to have small groups of VCE and IB students on-site to complete their learning requirements if this is necessary and cannot be undertaken at home. Further information about this will be provided by your school if these arrangements are necessary. All appropriate physical distancing and hygiene measures will be put in place. This is not an action being taken lightly, and I understand it may cause you and your family concern and stress. Please know this step is being taken to slow the spread of the virus and ensure the health and safety of all Victorians. Most of our teachers will also be working from home. All of them have been working hard to put curriculum plans in place to ensure continuity of learning and to support the wellbeing of all our students. This is clearly going to be a challenging time for all of us. It’s going to be critically important that we work very closely together to ensure that we provide the very best possible support for the ongoing wellbeing and learning of our students and your children. The Department of Education and Training’s Learning from Home website also provides information and resources for parents and carers: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/learning/Pages/home-learning.aspxhttps://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/coronavirus.aspx Thank you for your support during this time. Yours sincerely, Head of Campus - Dear Parents and Guardians, As we move into our second week of school holidays, we know that many of you are anxious to know what the plans are for the resumption of school for Term 2. At AIA all campuses will return to a Remote Learning school routine on Tuesday, 14th April, however, we wanted to make it clear we are not closing the campuses. Our education programme is continuing. It is just going to be different. Our staff will continue working diligently to provide online learning options for all students. We want to make sure that our students continue to receive a quality education through a Remote Online

program. While this time of uncertainty is a challenge, it offers an opportunity to embrace future-ready learning in the spirit of open-mindedness and adaptability. Our campuses have been using online learning for some time as we embrace technology, therefore, students and teachers are well prepared for this challenge. We are undertaking these measures in respect of our care and concern for our AIA community, but also to maintain a continuous education programme for our students. At AIA our staff will deliver a sound curriculum with set learning tasks to promote knowledge and skill development. Staff members will also provide online interactions through a number of platforms to maintain contact with students and the community. Remote learning will require teachers and parents to think differently about how to support their children. This includes how to create structures and routines that allow their children to be successful, and how to monitor and support their child’s learning. We expect that all students will actively engage in online learning activities, tasks and forums as planned by their teachers. With all of the online tools that AIA has made available, each student should be fully enabled to continue their learning journey. Throughout our Remote Online learning journey teachers will continue to facilitate learning by making activities and tasks available so that each student can continue to learn. While variations to program delivery will inevitably occur, the remote learning program will allow students to continue to learn key concepts and further develop skills. Teachers will provide feedback related to completed learning tasks, as and when required. ESSENTIAL WORKERS and AIA’S SERVICE TO THESE MEMBERS IN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY We are also very conscious and extremely grateful to all those essential workers who are in the frontline fighting this COVIC-19 pandemic. As a school community, we want to be able to support those members of our community to be able to do their jobs, knowing that their child is being cared for. During this period the AIA campuses will be available for those families unable to facilitate continuous learning at home. We are aware that some parents are essential workers and this makes it difficult to accommodate home-based learning. For these families, we are still offering an alternative of undertaking on-line learning at the campus under supervision. However, students will not be supervised by their regular teacher who will be busy leading the continuous on-line learning for their classes. For this reason, we will be offering a limited service of supervision on campus for those families where BOTH parents are required to be physically present at their essential places of work. Parents who are working and who are in this situation need to email our office staff on ej@aia.vic.edu.au to register. Please include your child/ren’s name, year, the days (Monday to Friday) they will be attending and a brief explanation of why you need to access on campus supervision. Due to the staffing logistics, it is vital that we have this information by Friday 10th April 2020. We will only be planning for supervision of families who have pre-registered with the campus office. Learning at school for those few students that will attend school will be identical to the remote learning work that will be delivered to the students at home. Some supervision of students on campus may be undertaken by non-teaching staff members who have (WWCC) Working with Children’s Checks. Places will be very limited to access learning supervision at school. Kind Regards, Head of Campus

Assalamu Alaykum Wr. Wb. Dear Parents, Guardians and Students, A reminder that Term 2 starts on Tuesday, 14th April. All students must be ready to engage in Remote Online Learning with their teachers and follow their Compass timetable. Learning will look different and it will also feel very different this term. For our online learning journey there will be several guidelines that we are using to assist you. Please visit the link below as a useful reference point for online learning. https://msc.aiahome.net/parents/remote-learning.html - Parents are asked to help with the management of their child’s timetable. Parents have access to students timetables through Compass. - Please ensure that your child is participating in scheduled classes at the appropriate times. - Wherever possible students should submit work via the online submission facility on Compass, or via email directly to their teacher/. Thank you for your ongoing support. Head of Campus

MARCH SUMMARY Assalamu Alaykum Wr. Wb. Dear Parents and Guardians, COVID-19 Update and Term 1 Holidays In light of the announcements made by the Victorian Premier -Daniel Andrews, the Term 1 school holidays was brought forward by 3 days for students whilst schools remain open and the teachers continued to arrange work for Remote Learning. At a news conference, the Premier announced that schools were planning to re-open on Tuesday 14 April unless informed of further changes from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Department of Education and Training (DET). At AIA, we endeavour to start Term 2 on 14 April 2020, unless health or government authorities recommended that we remain closed for students. We will endeavour to keep you updated as we receive new information from the relevant authorities. Have a happy and safe holiday break!

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO:

• The Leadership Team for their constant commitment to providing the best outcomes for the

students.

• The teaching staff for their ability to adapt in a very short time to deliver the Remote

Learning Program in such an effective and efficient way.

• The support staff for the back-up they provided in a multitude of ways to enable our

students to learn and be supported.

• The families of our students for their support of their children and of the Academy.

• The student leaders for endeavouring to maintain a sense of connection.

• Lastly to the amazing students of AIA who have embraced the new way of learning, and to

the majority of students who have continued to show the characteristics of AIA.

• We thank parents for supporting the Academy during this challenging

year and encourage our community to take pride in what we have

achieved together, as we look towards our return to school.