Image credit: ukdip-distance-learning.com
Week 12 of distance took place between Monday 8th June 2020 and Friday 12th June 2020.
It’s been a few weeks since I have shared updates and reflections in relation to my school’s distance learning.
This is due to a number of reasons, mainly:
- Increased freelance work commitments alongside my part time school role
- Many aspects for distance learning remain the same
- Its become more challenging to remain motivated.
I also recognised during week 12 that I miss my school community.
I miss this stage of the academic year after the hard slog of exams, where we can draw a collective breath and operate slightly differently with enrichment programmes linked to school trips, reward trips and sports days.
My school’s Friday morning briefing is where we come together as a team. It gives us a chance to connect in a more relaxed way before the weekend starts. Prior to the half term break, we used the time to connect via general knowledge quizzes that I created. It encouraged staff to laugh and learn.
Today’s briefing was led by our Art teacher Vince (he’s also a fantastic musician, with his own YouTube channel that can be accessed here). Our task was to bring a piece of art in our homes to this morning’s Zoom meeting and explain what it meant to us.
What a simple yet powerful way to connect and learn about each other.
Below are some aspects I learnt about my colleagues:
- Two are artists in their own right
- One collects ships
- Two love elephants and one brought an elephant created from seed beads
- One creates hand embroidered designs
- One has a sibling that’s an artist
The photo below shows the piece of art that I brought to our meeting. A few years ago, I bought it from Andy Knill, an artist that draws in fine liners and Promarkers.
Bonding as a group helped me to remain focussed and motivated for the whole day, even during a curriculum planning meeting!
It serves as a stark reminder for the constant need to take care of our mental health, more so as a school community, as this can directly impact the young people we teach.
It was exactly what I needed while we continue to navigate the uncertainties we collectively experience as the pandemic persists.