The Farmers family's three youngest members are doing their best to give each other the space to learn while in lockdown.
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But it's not always easy, especially when each of them needs to use video conferencing and only one room in their house has decent reception.
Mikayla, 17, is one of Nhill College's captains for 2020, and studying physics, methods, food technology, Indonesian and English for her final year of VCE.
Her younger sister Lexi is in middle school, and brother Sam is in year one. While he hones his skills by reading aloud, the sisters put in their headphones to concentrate on their school work.
"You just learn to be a bit more considerate of everyone else in the room," she said. "It's more just figuring out a routine, doing what you need to do in that room with everyone else, then disappearing when you can."
"Internet is always an issue, and sometimes you don't know whether you're disadvantaged by that. There have been days for me where I literally haven't been able toget on at all and have had to learn out of textbooks all day," she said.
MORE IN THE GRADUATION PROJECT SERIES
"Those are the days when you freak out: You wonder if everyone else's internet is working and if they're watching videos. You just have to trust (the Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority) will sort that out with their scaling and marking."
Like all students, Mikayla will miss out on milestones and experiences available to graduating students of previous years. She was set to head to Indonesia with the school before the pandemic changed everything.
What she hopes not to miss is one last chance to learn in the classroom.
"There are some things that work OK in remote learning, but it's certainly not ideal being away from home all the way up to exams, just not having anyone to push you," she said.
"Sometimes you fear you are missing things as well. Not having face-to-face contact is definitely challenging, so it would be lovely to get back for at least a few weeks before exams."
Mikayla also studied visual communication and design in year 11. She said the transition from year 10 to year 11 was the one she found the most difficult.
"Year 12 is difficult because there is so much pressure on, but we know what we're doing because we did it last year," she said.
"I really feel for the year 11s, because this is their first year doing it, and it's not like the lower year levels in school. When they get stressed, they can just tell their teachers and the teachers can back off their workload. It's not like that in VCE: there are things you have to get through. There is not much lee-way in that aspect.
"My advice for year 11s would be to try your best, but it's a practice run for year 12, so don't stress out too much. You've still got a whole year next year."
After school, Mikayla hopes to study urban planning in Melbourne.
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Alexander Darling
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
Alexander has been a member of the Wimmera Mail-Times' editorial team since December 2018, covering politics, business and property among other rounds. He is a passionate St.Kilda and rock and roll fan, and has previously worked as a radio reporter in Port Macquarie and Gosford, NSW.
