The move to return to remote learning in country Victoria was not unexpected, given the trajectory of the state's battle with coronavirus.
But the speed of the transition from the classroom to home, in the space of just a couple of days, has again put the region's teachers, students, parents and administrators to the test.
Remote learning increases the pressure on everyone involved.
Online platforms are being rebooted, lesson plans redrafted and expectations reassessed.
Parents, again juggling work and schooling demands, find themselves cajoling their off-spring to "focus".
For the youngest school students, the disruption will slow the development of basic writing, counting and social skills.
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Friendships that are in the early stages of formation are essentially put on hold, save for the occasional video call.
At the other end of the schooling scale, the children are bigger and the problems are bigger.
Year 12 is already a stressful time for students, with plans often years in the making hinging on performance in a handful of assignments or exams.
Time in the classroom under the close guidance of teachers is crucial, and the loss of that contact will make their task all the more difficult.
Many will also be dealing with the loss, temporarily or permanently, of part-time jobs.
The willingness of Year 12 students to push on and do their best in the circumstances is admirable.
Completing such a challenging year will be the making of many of these young people, setting them up to deal with whatever the future can throw at them.
In this unsettled time is it a lesson in resilience that will put them in good stead.
All students will need love and support to see them through.
