Good morning to the Principals, Teachers, Parents and Students of Hazel Glen College. Seth and I are here today to give you the details about the pros and cons of home-learning and how it has been for us.
At the moment COVID-19 was a shock to the world as it continues to spread. Changes to Australia have made it easier to adapt to new lifestyles as we wait in hope to return to our “normal” lives after this pandemic.
In the past 6 weeks of this recording, our College has undergone several changes to our education as now students are diligently working from home and adapting to their new learning environments.
For us Year Twelves, many of us prefer working from home as we found ourselves more productive in our own learning space. We are able to manage and prioritise our work according to our timetable, which is making the switch to home-learning easier. Additionally, many students feel comfortable in knowing there is flexibility in their workload, and if they do have troubles, the teacher is only a Google meet or Webex call away.
With the commencement of home-learning, I was excited to manage my own time in my own way while connecting more with my family. At first, I struggled with having the motivation to complete work, but now, I’m learning languages and instruments while healthily balancing my schoolwork. As many of us will be graduating this year, our College’s Pathways Coordinator has been tirelessly helping us to make the best decisions for our future. Not only am I confident in what I want to do in life, but in how I can achieve those goals.
While I have been at home, I have discovered new sources of entertainment. Because eventually, you run out of things to watch on Netflix. I have found working at home to be easier as I can create my own timetable and am able to manage the workload according to when I need to do it by.
Yet working at home comes with many distractions, but there are more excuses to get out of doing house chores during school hours. I have had time to binge many shows on Netflix and Disney+ but have had time to think about my future. This has been a challenging switch, yet working from home has become a bit more relaxing. For now, it is just a matter of waiting for everything to dial down and we will be able to go back out.
For students who are struggling with adapting to this strange environment, here are a few tips that we found to help us:
Set up routine and structure for your workday making sure you create boundaries between ‘work time’ and ‘home time’.
Exercising for only 10 minutes a day is a sure way to increase your mood and overall health.
Ensure to spend some time with your family but also have some space: make sure to enjoy the time at home whether it be watching tv, scrolling through Tik Tok or playing a video game.
We hope everyone is staying safe during this global pandemic. Please remember to wash your hands and stay inside, and we’ll all get through this together.
Once again this has been Julie Williams and Seth Peachey with Term Two’s Newsletter, signing off!