Being Back at School
Monday, 18 October, saw our first group of Primary students back on site at Mt Ridley following our extended lockdown. The faces of our Prep students showed expressions of excitement and joy at seeing their friends and teachers. At the same time, there were a few expressions of trepidation and anxiety from both our students and parents.
Three weeks on, other than the safety measures implemented around the School, all is back to normal. The Primary school students have settled back in and are happy to be back in the classroom. They are enjoying playing out on the soccer pitch with their friends, being able to borrow books from the library, and just as importantly, being able to see their teacher and friends face-to-face and not through a Zoom or Teams screen.
All of this excitement was recently reflected in a series of wellbeing check-ins completed with the Years 2 - 6 Mt Ridley students. Over the course of a four-week block, students in Years 3 - 6 completed two wellbeing check-ins using Skodel, one prior to returning to school and the second upon their return to school. Our Year 2 students completed their first check-in during the week of their return.
The initial check-in for our Year 3 - 6 students asked, “What are you looking forward to about returning to school?” and while the responses varied, many highlighted friends, teachers and being off their devices as key things they were looking forward to about coming back to school. Overall, of the almost 300 students surveyed, more than 90% said they were experiencing either Positive or Neutral moods at the time. This reflected the positive learning environment created by not only the teachers, but also by parents and guardians in the home environment in which the majority were learning.
The second check-in was on the second day back at school for each cohort, and asked the question, “How have you found being back at school?”. As would be expected, many highlighted being able to see their friends as number one, but many also spoke about being able to do and learn things in ‘real life’ as being a great positive. Several did comment about the negative aspects of having to wear masks inside the classroom as well as getting up early to get to school. Similar to the previous check-in, the overall mood of the students was again more than 90% expressing either Positive or Neutral moods. While many did comment on the positive aspects of school, some of our students do see these same things as challenges, some commented on their relationships with friends they haven’t ‘seen’ for a while, questioning how it might have changed, and why it might have changed.
Our Year 2 cohort answered the same question upon their return to school, “How have you found being back at school?”, and as with the older year levels, the responses centred on being able to see their friends and teachers again. One student answered the question with “It is good be back at school because it is happy to see my friends and teachers. School work is fun to do and playtime is fun too. Friends can help you when you hurt yourself and you can also make new friends. School is good for you. You can learn new things and read new things too. We can have fun and meet new teachers and people.” A sentiment felt by many and summarised well by one of our Year 2 students.
Using Skodel Wellbeing Check-Ins allowed us to highlight some of our students who may have been expressing their concerns in other ways, either not discussing it with their teachers or showing any outwards signs reflecting these emotions. It allowed the Homeroom teachers to work with those students to support them going forward and assist them in their transition back into the classroom and wider school environment.
Now here we are, Week 6, and only have four weeks left of this year. Our students have all settled back in well, their teachers are trying to ensure they learn as much as possible, reviewing work taught to them during Remote Teaching and Learning and doing their best to prepare them for their transition to their next year of schooling in 2022. It is with your support of both your children and the school that makes our students who and what they are, a resilient group who will grow up to take on whatever comes their way.