What have we learnt about our students, and what have our parents learnt about their children?
In The Way at the end of Week 3, I asked this question of our teachers and parents. As we near the end of the term, there are many more questions to ask, as we collect more and more information about the students in our College.
During our Wellbeing Check-ins, we are giving the students the opportunity to answer some questions themselves:
⇒ How do you feel about Blended Learning Online?
⇒ What have you enjoyed? Can you think why you enjoyed them?
⇒ What have you found hard? Why do you think you found this hard?
⇒ What would you like to get better at next term?
Rather than focusing on what students may have lost during the Blended Learning Online timeframe, we want to consider the gains that the students have made and celebrate these with their parents.
In the communication we have had during the term, we realise that some students have been learning how to structure their time during the day, ensuring they give themselves chances to stand up and move around, exactly as they would do at College.
Parents have told classroom teachers that their children are beginning to manage their distractions more efficiently by setting themselves goals of completing certain tasks before getting a snack, or running around in the backyard. Many parents are fascinated by how much their children are learning about technology, organisation and routine. They have been learning and practising new skills all through lockdown.
If you want to help your children by developing more of these behaviours, here are some ideas:
⇒ Set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, your child can get up and do some star jumps or other activities for the House Challenge. Extend the timer a few minutes every few days to extend their perseverance.
⇒ Think about the noise around your child when they are on Zooms. If possible, help them focus by sitting them in a place where they can’t see or hear their siblings or pets. Then when they finish, allow them time to spend with the family.
⇒ Encourage your child to start their day’s work with a task they will enjoy, then move to one they may find more challenging. Then change to a more enjoyable one again. They do not have to do everything in the same order as set.
During spring, let us encourage our children to learn to appreciate the small things around them – sitting in the sun with their family, looking for new flowers, listening for birds, caring for their parents and pets.
There are things to celebrate. Thank you for all you are doing to help your children learn during this time.
Ms Lisa Hansford
Director of Teaching and Learning