Year 4-6 teacher Jacob Tunks said keeping the teaching as similar to the classroom as possible had simplified the transition for students, parents and teachers alike.
“To keep the kids’ momentum going we've kept this as normal as possible,” Mr Tunks said.
“They are doing the same routine as they would be in class including our specialist subjects — art, Italian, indigenous cultural studies, PE and history and geography.”
With literacy and numeracy taught in the morning the students look forward to their afternoon sessions.
Mr Tunks said this structure was not only engaging and kept academics on track but was important for student wellbeing in these uncertain times.
“Keeping the routine gives them a sense of calm,” he said.
“With the small number of kids we have been able to regularly keep in contact and I think it's been a lot easier than being in a big school.
“I've been impressed by their eagerness to keep learning.”
The biggest difference has been the introduction of more technology, but Mr Tunks said it had encouraged students to become more independent in their learning and would set them up for the future.
“We always had Italian virtually so they got used to that pretty quickly,” he said.
“It's definitely developed their technology skills and promoted more independence for later in life.”
Mr Tunks said Ardmona looked to continue using this technology back on campus to enrich their approach to teaching the individual and further develop each student's independence.
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