These grade three students from Holy Rosary Primary School in White Hills have shared their experience of remote learning.

Alex Dobie

I can remember the day I heard about a virus that was deadly and was killing hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. I was getting ready for school when I heard that the Australian government was shutting the borders so nobody could get in or out. Soon after that, they told us all to go into lockdown to stop the spread.

Then life changed. People were stocking up on toilet paper which was selfish, vulnerable people like our elders in the community couldn't buy any. This made me feel sad. The supermarket shelves were empty, all sports were cancelled, and we were all stuck at home. I was feeling worried about my family catching the virus and I was a little bit scared because it felt like the whole world had stopped.

Being at home, I love to still keep in touch with my friends, we talk on FaceTime. We talk about school work and what we have been up to and sometimes we play games together like Farm Simulator. It is fun! For school, my teachers send out videos everyday so my class knows what schoolwork to do.

We also use Google Meet so we can see the whole class together, I enjoyed seeing everyone's faces. My teacher also rang me every week to give me feedback and ask if I had any questions.

Read more: Bendigo students share what they will miss about remote learning during COVID-19

I like being at home and homeschooling, but I really do miss seeing my friends. I also really miss my Jiu-Jitsu, footy and swimming training. But we are not allowed to play sports or see our friends. There are lots of good things about working at home. I have been able to learn lots of new skills that I wouldn't have learnt at school, like building cubbies from scratch in the bush next door and cooking dampers in a camp oven.

Overall, my experience of homeschooling during lockdown has been good. I have loved working from home, it is the best. Mostly because I enjoy learning new things and being at home with my family.

Lily McKee

I was quite pleased at the start of learning from home but now I am quite unhappy and I would like to go back to school. Mainly because I miss my friends but I am also missing being in the classroom.

I have a Google Meet with my class and teachers that occurs once a week. We have a topic and we all get to have a go. So for example the topic might be, "what have you enjoyed throughout Covid 19 lockdown?"

To start my day, I open up my laptop and go to find the weekly timetable in my Google Classroom where all my class can access. Once I have done that, I start doing some school work. First up, I watch a morning welcome prayer. Then I do my smart spelling followed by my favourite subject, literacy.

I have a little break and then I get back to work. I then do my maths, which we do a warm-up and some other interesting Maths. After I do my maths I do either religion or I.C.U. Then I have lunch and a tiny break. To finish off I do specialists. On Fridays instead of specialists we do feedback or revision time. We also do sport on Monday and Wednesday. After I finish everything I get free time for the rest of the day!

The thing I am not excited about going back is that I will not get to see my family like I get to now because they are working and learning from home too. Another thing is that I will have to wear my school uniform, although it has been pretty tricky to pick my clothes every single day of the week. So there are lots of good and not so good things about learning from home.

Overall I think it is pretty good learning from home but I definitely can't wait until I can go back to school. I am very excited about going back to school so I can see my friends and be back in the classroom!

Miller Polglase

Learning from home. WOW! I never expected this.

My mornings look a bit different to a normal school day. For starters, our school day starts at 9.45am and I don't always have to get dressed, although I like to.

I begin my morning by getting my breakfast, which usually is Nutrigrain and a toasted muffin with peanut butter. Sometimes I put the kettle on for Mum and make her an iced coffee. After I eat breakfast, I am allowed to have a little bit of time on my Xbox or technology while Mum feeds my baby brother. Then my school day begins.

Read more: Bendigo students welcome planned return date for classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic

At 9.45am, I start silent reading on a program called Epic or Wushka. I enjoy Epic because I can listen to audiobooks and also read to myself. On Wushka, I read textbooks and at the end I complete a quiz. After silent reading, I complete reading activities. Sometimes this is answering a BTN quiz or sometimes Mum and Dad create a task for me. The quizzes are usually about The First Fleet and Mum and Dad have been teaching me about inferencing.

After reading, we have a fruit break and watch Story Online or Mum reads my brother and I a story, then we start Writing. For Writing, I have created a personal narrative, a narrative about Aboriginals, learnt to write a letter, and now a newspaper report. I sent my letter to my Great Aunty who has been in total isolation for 55 days. I have learnt to use more descriptive words and how to describe how people feel without saying the emotion.

Now it's time for a break. I start by getting food and head outside, unless it's raining. I go in the tent, which we've tied to the trampoline. Sometimes I play cricket with Dad or Mum.

We wait for the music to come on and line up at the door. Even my baby brother lines up. This has been a funny joke that my younger brother likes to do each day.

When we go inside, we start Maths. Dad usually teaches us Maths. I finish my tasks on Essential Assessment and do problem solving and then Dad gives me extra work that he uses at his school. I've really enjoyed being home to do Maths.

Three days a week after Maths finishes, school is over for the day. We have lunch and head outside. The other two days we do Art, Music or LOTE. We do PE everyday because I like to be active and play sport.

After school I play on technology, go outside, play in the backyard, go for walks, go to our block and play games with the family. We have also been doing more colouring in than normal. I have enjoyed home schooling, but I still love school and look forward to being back, even though I'll miss my baby brother and not having to rush in the mornings.

Paige Kristiansen

Home learning has been great but I feel sad because I miss my friends. The only person I get to play with is my sister Evie. She is fun but I miss playing tag with more people my own age.

My learning space is in my room. I have a desk with my computer and my pens and pencils. Sometimes my cat Jester likes to come in and visit me for a quick pat, then she leaves to sit in the sun while I do more work.

I talk to my teachers by phone call or Google Meet. Every week I do a Google Meet with my teachers and my friends. I can't wait to see them again face-to-face. I miss my teachers and my friends a lot but I have really enjoyed 'at home learning' because I get to play outside with my dogs and horses and I also get to ride my motorbike more.

Xander Baerken

The second term back to school was such an exciting time for me. It was because homeschooling was a new thing to me.

The good thing about it was I got my dad's chair, a hot cooked lunch from mum and dad, and I was able to spend lots of time with my little brother. This time was new for me, mum, and dad as well because they had never been school teachers, and I can tell you one thing- mum can't be a school teacher. She is very strict and gets grumpy sometimes.

I can tell it's getting harder for mum and dad to entertain Will and find quiet time for me to study, and I'm starting to miss my friends. I'm going to be very glad when it's over.

I found this poem from the Dogman book called For Whom The Ball Rolls. "Two men looked through prison bars. One saw mud. The other stars." I choose stars this time because I am able to spend time with my family.

Kayla Bell

I know this year was different because of COVID-19. Here is a list of things I do each morning:

Firstly, I see the temperature for the day then I get dressed. Next, I eat breakfast. I'm usually hungry. After, I get my hair done which does not normally take long. I turn my computer on and while I wait, I think about my friends. l miss my friends just thinking about them. Finally, I'm ready to start the day at 9am.

In the afternoon, I'm up to my maths work. I get my book and pencil out to complete my Maths tasks. I do Essential Assessment which is a maths app that you write the answer in. If you're not sure of the answer, you can press a button that says I don't know. Also you have a sketch pad to help you work out a problem.

After maths, I have PE/Sport. This doesn't take too long and then my school day is done!

Being at home is ok, but I miss Mrs Thurley and my classmates. I also miss Mr Wilkinson, our principal. I hope you enjoyed reading about my day during COVID-19.

Charles Matthews

I feel happy at home doing homeschool. My desk is next to the window and I can hear the birds chirping outside. It's a sunny day today and the autumn leaves are gliding to the ground. Homeschooling is looking pretty good at the moment.

The best thing about remote learning is that I'm spending lots of time with my family. Nearly every day we go for a bike ride around the block. Because Dad is working from home, we get to have lots of kicks of the footy in our front yard during play time.

I love reading at home with my own books. The book I am reading at the moment is a perfect combination of scary and funny. It's about a group of kids who are the last kids on earth and they try to kill zombies and monsters.

Learning from home is harder than learning at school because I like to play at home. There are lots of games and toys that distract me in my room. The hardest thing about remote learning is concentrating and not having other kids around who are doing the same activities. I like doing team work with my friends around me.

I am excited to go back to school and see all of my friends. I am looking forward to playing footy and cricket with my mates.