It was the start to term two that was unthinkable on the first day of term one, but most Ballarat students, teachers and parents coped with the teething problems of remote learning and are set for the long haul.
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Schools are planning for the possibility of the whole of second term to be delivered via online learning after Victoria's chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton warned against an early return to the classroom.
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"This is because having around a million children and their parents in closer contact with each other, teachers and other support staff has the potential to increase cases of coronavirus not just in schools but across the community," he said on Wednesday.
Several online learning platforms failed to cope with the mass logon of students, with the Compass system, used across many secondary and primary schools, going down for several hours at the start of the school day.
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But connectivity was restored and although many Ballarat schools reported a frantic morning of calls from parents and helping sort out IT issues, they reported the afternoon was calmer with students and teachers coming to grips with the new way of learning.
."Families and students adapted to the new way of learning very quickly and have been encouraged to use the three days of this week working with their teachers to ease into a routine of learning offsite, so that the college can ensure all are being supported to engage fully in their learning by next Monday," said Mount Clear College principal Lynita Taylor.
"A few minor hiccups with this new way of learning have been quickly sorted out and feedback from students and families has been extremely positive."
Many Ballarat primary schools had five to 10 per cent of students at school, the children of essential workers, those with limited internet access and vulnerable students, while most secondary schools had only a handful of students.
Mount Rowan Secondary College principal Seona Murnane said the influx of calls from parents was a good sign.
"It means families have read our information then just needed extra support - everyone just wants to do the right thing. We expected the rush and made sure we had enough office staff to take phone calls and staff giving support from home and school."
St James Parish School reassured parents that no child would be left behind and family ties were as important as their school timetable.
"As you begin distance teaching online, don't despair or worry about your child regressing over this period of time. Every child is in the same situation. When your child is back at school, staff will continue your child's learning journey from where they are at," co-principals Peter Fahey and Garth Kydd wrote to parents.
"When the complexity subsides, how your child felt during this time and the close connection with family, will stay with them after the memory of whether they followed the online schedule, precisely and to the letter, is long gone."
Delacombe Primary School principal Scott Phillips admitted it had been a challenging day, but teachers had given children hard copy work at the end of last term in the event that it took some time to fully transition to online learning.
"It's challenging in all aspects from administration down to teachers and parents ... and the complexity of students who have to come to school," he said.
