Eight weeks into lockdown

Reading back through these blog entries as I sit down to write this one, I notice that I often seem to start them with the word ‘wow’. Honestly, I can’t think of anything better this time around either… so, wow, eight weeks into lockdown. It feels like it’s flown by, but at the same time ‘normal life’ is a dim and distant memory. Funny how that works.

Unfortunately, but entirely understandably, anxiety and a degree of associated negativity seem to be the overriding emotions driving the national consciousness at present. As I write, sadly the pencilled-in return-to-school date of June 1^st seems to be at the epicentre of it all.

Here at Subject Leaders HQ we’re pretty glass-half-full by nature, and amongst the general malaise, we definitely see some rays of sunshine. For a start, teachers, never have your skills, value and expertise been so appreciated and understood as at this moment, as an army of untrained stand-ins attempt to run their own home schools!

And while it’s sadly true that many children will be having a tough time right now, others will be adapting to their new environments in unexpected and wonderful ways. In her class, Lian has seen some unlikely candidates come out of their shells on Purple Mash, solving the daily riddles and completing the daily tasks with what can only be described as unprecedented enthusiasm. In my home classroom too, I’ve watched my boy, who until now wouldn’t have been seen dead in the same room as a paintbrush, blossom into a confident and happy artist, away from the (unavoidable) pressure of a more formal school environment.

So while you process the negatives, and steel yourselves to provide oodles of support, nurture and care for your children as they return to school, do try to remember to see the silver linings…

We wish you, your families, children and school communities well as we welcome in the final term of our year.