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SLT Aims for 2020 – Part 3

House Robotics

In this week’s edition of WimLearn, Anna, Charlotte, Millie, and Kate discuss their aims for this year as our house captains of the Student Leadership Team 2021.

 

Anna (Scott House Captain):

This year, more than ever, it is so important that everyone feels as though they are a part of a community outside academic lessons, or even co-curriculars. Houses are all about bringing a variety of people together who otherwise may not come across each other – whether that’s within one year or between the different academic years. Something that will be really important over the coming months is ensuring that out brilliant house communities continue, as well as the enthusiasm and fun that goes with it. We have been developing ideas for a new range of events and that will enable the house spirit and friendly competition to continue, whilst maintaining the zoning rules. So, although this year is and will be very different to previous years, I hope that everyone feels united and has a truly great year.

Above: WHS Sports Day 2019

Charlotte (Meredith House Captain):

Walking into school in my bright orange lanyard, I felt guilty not being able to approach and say hi to anyone in the years below. It feels impossible to feel connected to each other, to our friends, or to our school spirit, in a time when we are physically separated from one another. But I know that with the bright, fun, and caring minds of the students at Wimbledon High, we won’t let this time take away from our school experience, but rather accept it as a new challenge and format to our lives. My hopes for the houses this year is to continue nurturing that spirit. In the words of the Meredith song ‘like a spring flower, Meredith grows’, and I know that whether that is  a seed of enthusiasm in Year 7, to (let’s be honest) a probably equally small seed of enthusiasm in Year 11, or a full flower of commitment in Year 13, we continue to involve ourselves in coming events, even if they don’t occur as they would have in past years.

Millie (Arnold House Captain):

This year, I aim to make sure that everyone feels like they are a part of a house community, together even if we are apart. In these unprecedented times, the house values of kindness, respect, grit and resilience are more important than ever. I hope that we continue to support each other as we always have, taking all of the opportunities we can get. Although this year may be different, we can still feel like part of a house family and always have someone to reach out to, whether in person or virtually. My main aim is that we all enjoy ourselves, relishing the chance to be back in school. Houses are all about bringing people together and having fun, and a little competitive spirit never goes amiss. We will be working hard this year to ensure that the house spirit is still felt strongly throughout the school. Arnold’s house animal is the wolf, strong, loyal and brave, qualities which everyone has shown throughout this time. I really hope everyone has a brilliant year and that we can all feel united even when we are not together.

Above: Arnold House Poster, 2019

Kate (Hastings House Captain):

It is fantastic to be back together again even if it is slightly apart physically. Our recent challenging experiences during lockdown have certainly been unprecedented, not only in terms of this school’s history but also on a global level. Thanks to the hard work of our teachers, we were able to continue our academic studies, our social and personal interaction inevitably suffered. The house community is the perfect forum to seek to compensate for this loss. My main aim this year is to embrace life. Through the creation of smaller communities within a larger community it allows students to create resilient bonds and connections with shared values. It is critical for us to embrace the plentiful opportunities that arise from the house community. It provides advice or encouragement and motivation and – of course – some healthy competition

Above: WHS Sports Day 2019

 

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Community: the crux of the post lockdown classroom

Amidst national concerns about students’ academic progress during lockdown, Suzy Pett, Director of Studies at Wimbledon High, thinks about the far more essential point: that the return to the classroom – and the very act of learning itself – is intrinsically about human connection and communion.

As Director of Studies at Wimbledon High School, now more than ever I am thinking about what our classrooms will look and feel like in September. As a teacher of 10 years, I’m familiar with the end-of-summer surge of excitement and apprehension about school return. Despite the nerves, there is something ritualistic and reassuring about it. In the words of Philip Larkin, we can ‘begin afresh, afresh, afresh’.

But, with Covid-19 having forced us from our physical classrooms for so long, this time it feels different. There is, of course, the fact that classrooms will now look unfamiliar. In a throwback to times gone by, students will all be facing forward, with the teacher pinned to their white board or laptop at the front. However, the changes run deeper. I’ve been thinking through the implications of them on the very way we teach.

Concern about the lack of learning during lockdown is understandably high in the national consciousness. Exasperated parents took to Twitter, wryly pleading for “Alexa [to] please home school my child.” A study by the National Foundation for Educational Research reported that most students did fewer than 3 hours study per day. Educators worked harder than ever to engage and motivate students, with innovative online programs. Fortunately, there were many success stories, and at Wimbledon High our Guided Home Learning allowed students to maintain pace and progress in their education.

However, teachers across the country will be returning acutely aware of the curriculum content they need to cover. They will be detecting where students’ understanding might be shaky from home learning. They will employ their most winning combination of quizzing, questioning and testing to unearth – and then fill – any knowledge or skills gaps. They will be helping students to self-reflect and be ready to proffer feedback. In pursuit of maximum academic progress, classrooms will be aglow with teachers’ voices enthusing, encouraging, cajoling and reassuring their students. There will be – I am certain – no lack of ambition for what this generation of young people will achieve this year.

Though, what is uppermost in my mind as I prepare for school return in September, is the fundamental nature of the classroom as a community. With reports of students feeling increasingly isolated and disconnected in lockdown, it’s even clearer to me that learning is an act that unites. Whilst I am ardent about academic progress, I am far more attuned at the start of this school year to how my methods of teaching can forge those much-needed meaningful, human bonds.

It goes without saying that the soul of the classroom is far more than the acquisition of knowledge. Intrinsic to the very process of learning is human connection and communion. With the flimsy and chimeric relationships on social media, our classroom spaces – and the way we teach – can be a salve for young people needing to feel part of a more stable community. Lesson rules become shared customs. Rigorous class discussion allows every student to have a voice that is heard. Opinions and ideas are shared and probed so that conversation is far more nuanced and rich than social media sound bites. Judging the right challenge and pace of learning creates trust as students rely on each other and their teacher to problem-solve and move forward.

In lessons, we metaphorically go through the woods and come out the other side. Together. Connected. No one is left behind. And, it is teachers’ careful planning and pedagogy that enable this. Online learning went some way to recreate this, but nothing will beat the power of in-person learning to rekindle that sense of togetherness for young people.

Here at Wimbledon High we’ve always believed in the intertwining of pastoral and academic care. They are not separate. As I start this school year and think about my teaching practice for the months ahead, I am convinced of this more than ever.