A Bit About UsMortlake College is a Prep to Year 12 learning environment that serves the rural district surrounding Mortlake, a sheep, beef, cropping and dairy farming area about 50 kilometres north of Warrnambool. Our student enrolment is 220 and we have 26 teaching staff and 7 school support staff.
Our school has a focus on continuous improvement in every aspect of school life. We aim to maximise each student’s potential so that all will experience success. The values of our school are epitomised in our house names, 'Inspire, Endeavour, Succeed'.
Mortlake College Online AssembliesMonday 27th July: Online Assembly
https://youtu.be/bDBTxHYmO2U Good Morning
Please find the link to this week's online assembly https://youtu.be/US7PRq5Qmx8 Danny Forrest 
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The Mud Bird Messenger
IMPORTANT MESSAGESMortlake P-12 College Term 3
Remote Home Learning Parent Guide Hello Mortlake P-12 College Parents and Guardians, I do understand the frustrations of returning to remote learning and that it is tough at home but we all must do our bit for the safety of everyone. Personally I would find my job a lot easier if were all back at school however we all need to stick to the advice we have been given. It is with a team effort that we will win. It is not ideal and it is difficult. We did an amazing job last time so let’s keep the spirit of cooperation going and work hard to stay socially and emotionally connected. Please do not feel under pressure to complete all schoolwork every day, just make it fit into your family routine. I am not expecting you to be teachers but if you need me to suspend a child to the corner, I am only an email away! However, we do need students to complete a minimum amount of work each day – read on. From next week if you are completely choosing to opt out of doing some work at home you will be marked as absent from school and I will also be ringing families who are not engaging at all which will be reflected again in school reports. I do not want to add more stress but rather work with you to make sure we are getting the best outcome for everyone. It is not worth having more stress in the home, just try to relax and work with your children and your teachers. Everyone’s wellbeing is very important. Whole School Timetable Basically the first 2 hours will be devoted to Literacy and Numeracy for all P-10 Students. Students will complete an alternative activity for 30 mins – to 90 mins after that depending on their age. Our 30 mins of physical exercise is planned for after lunch time. Different rules apply for VCE/VCAL students. From next week teachers will establish regular class routines and expectations. This week some teachers have sent some school work home already and others will have work to go online for Thursday/Friday. Please take the time this week to set up a work space and set up your optimal learning time for the mornings. Just because you are not coming to school you still need a good nights sleep. *See more detailed plan below for expectations. Teacher Availability – Please be understanding & patient Please note teachers will be available to answer questions for students and parents during the day from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. However they will not be available after these times as they have correction and lesson preparation to do. Please be understanding of this and also understand you may not receive immediate instant feedback from the teacher, especially if they are supervising at school or conducting video meetings for different classrooms. All teachers work full time expect for Mrs Maher no Mondays or Wednesdays, Mr Bell no Mondays, Miss O’Neil no Fridays, Mrs Simkin no Fridays, Mrs Bates no Mondays or Fridays. These teachers cannot be contacted on these days please. We also recommend that everyone switches off for ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’. From 2 p.m. we will be encouraging everybody to switch off and spend time doing an alternative activity. You may choose to participate in one of our many challenges and competitions. These will be announced via our Mortlake P-12 Online Assembly and Whole School Google Classroom. Mortlake P-12 Online Assembly We aim to keep the assembly going. Times will be posted on the website and social media platforms. Hopefully this will be a live streamed event each week. Operational Matters at the College Either Mr Forrest or a member of the School Leadership Team will be on the school site each school day from 8.30am to 3.30pm. There will also be someone manning the school phones. If necessary, we may be contacted at the College on 55992204 or via email. *If you are having any difficulties with your children at home please call and I will be happy to let them know how they should be behaving. We also have some wellbeing staff available to assist you. The General Office will NOT be open in its normal capacity. The College phones will be manned each day from 8.30am to 3.30pm. Parents should not “pop in” to the office unless previous approval has been arranged by phone. Due to COVID the front door is locked. The General Office can also be contacted via email:mortlake.p12@education.vic.gov.au Hard copy pick up from the school will not occur but instead we will be providing a home delivery service. The Happy bus coming to a home near you very soon. More details to follow. Technical Support- Our IT Technician, Joel Barker, will be available Monday – Thursday to fix any issues with student Laptops. Where a student’s laptop is not working correctly, parents should contact the office. Joel will then be in touch with the parent to organise a drop off if required. Some issues may be able to be resolved over the phone. Machines will be dropped off at the front of the school. Please beware that the costs of a broken screen is in excess of $200. This is to be paid by families for broken chrome books. Joel is not available on Fridays sorry. Students are all connected via several different Google Classroom spaces. They should check these at the start of each day. Notifications of updates are sent via their Gmail accounts so mail should be checked frequently. Please ask your children to show you the work they are doing through Google. It’s impressive! The technology worked extremely well last time and will again this time. Child Care - On Site Supervision Some limited childcare spaces will be available again for essential worker, working parents and vulnerable children only as a last resort if you have no alternatives. There is a strict criteria for using this service and it may not be available every day of the week. Priority will be given to essential service workers i.e. health workers. The school principal has the final say on who can and can’t attend onsite supervision. This is a privilege not a right and any students who choose to be disruptive will be sent home immediately from school. Today next week’s application form will be uploaded to our school website. This form will need to be completed by 12 p.m. this Thursday for next week. A follow up phone call will be made on Thursday afternoons to each family regarding their application for childcare & supervision. We will follow this process each week. Please understand that the students will be supervised for a day at school and doing the same classwork set out by the classroom teacher for remote learning. Students onsite do not have any extra special treatment it is fact they may find it quite boring. Students attending for on-site supervision can wear casual clothes. Please send board games or extra things that students can do to fill in the day. In the afternoon the students may watch a video or complete a mini project. This supervision is targeted for primary aged children however, some spots remain open for some secondary aged students. So download and submit the application form each week before 12 p.m. every Thursday. *All students will be TEMPERATURE TESTED AND WILL FOLLOW STRICT SOCIAL ISOLATION STANDARDS WHILE AT SCHOOL. Students will gather each morning at 8:45 a.m. in the school undercover area. Students will need to be collected each night from the front of the school unless they ride a bike or travel on a school bus. All the best sanitise and stay safe and follow the rules. Danny Forrest Principal Mortlake P-12 College Expected time spent on learning each day Years Prep to 2 – Total 2.5hrs per day
Years 3 -7 – Total 3.5hrs per day
Years 8 -10 – Total 3.5hrs per day
VCE Year 11 & 12
MORE RESOURCES Support for children and young people: https://www.education.wa.edu.au/learning-at-home/support-for-children-and-young-people Literacy and Numeracy Resources and tips In addition to the resources and materials that your teachers will provide, you could use the following resources to support your child as they learn from home: Literacy and numeracy: Tips for parents and carers to build their child's literacy and numeracy skills can be downloaded from the www.education.vic.gov.au. Search: get involved in literacy and numeracy Premiers’ Reading Challenge: The challenge encourages children and students from birth to Year 10 to read a set number of books over the year and record their efforts online. Register at www.education.vic.gov.au. Search: premiers reading challenge Mathematics and numeracy at home: Parents and carers play an important role in helping develop their child’s numeracy skills. Advice and resources for families can be downloaded from www.education.vic.gov.au. Search: mathematics and numeracy at home Further Information For further information for parents and carers of children enrolled in school visit: www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/Pages/coronavirus-advice-parents.aspx For health information about Coronavirus (COVID-19), visit: www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus 
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