A 'New Normal'

Year 9, 

Well, what a difference a week makes! Just seven days ago, I was stood in a classroom with (the vast majority of) my lovely 91EI English Class reading 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' and discussing the importance of metaphors and now I'm practicing social distancing whilst sat at my laptop trying to get to grips with the prospect of home schooling you all from my living room. 

For some of you, this might seem like the start of the longest school holiday ever. After all, the sun is currently shining and you're probably keen to get outside (or for some, the prospect of turning the Playstation or Xbox on has become all the more tempting). However, we are all trying to establish a new sense of 'normal' and that's probably going to take a while to sink in for some of you. In this adjustment period, it's really important that you try to create a structure to your day. Trust me, I know it's tempting to lounge around in your PJs all day, but you need to stick to your normal routine as much as possible. That means, getting up fairly early and getting showered and dressed before starting your school work for the day, just as you usually would. Otherwise, if you get too used to having unstructured days, returning to school will be even harder than it is after having the 6 weeks off in the summer holiday! 

Right now, your teachers are all working hard to produce online resources for you all and adapting lessons so that you can understand them whilst at home. So, make sure you give them a little time to get used to their 'new normal' too. Remember that we're not all as tech-savvy as you teens are! 

Whilst this blog is not all about me nagging you to do your school work, it is important that you understand how much power you have now been handed. If you were in Mr Gower's last assembly on Friday, you'll remember what he was saying about how you are all going to be in competition with other Year 9s across the country when you all return to school to start your GCSE courses. During this time of home learning, it will be very clear to see who has been rigorous with this and who has perhaps spent too much time on their gaming skills and Tik Tok posts. 

If you don't believe me, then take a look at the forgetting curve below, that shows how easily we humans forget things if we don't keep them ticking over in our brains...

So, the moral of the graph is...practice little and often, and with any luck, by the time you get back to school, you won't have forgotten everything you have learnt so far! 

NOTE: If you are having any problems with accessing things from home, or you're struggling to understand something, then you can always drop me an email and I'll be around 'virtually' to help you out. 

"OK, Miss Moore! We get it, we need to keep learning... What other interesting things do you have to say?"

I suppose it's about time that I got onto some fun stuff, because I know a lot of you will be worried about what you're going to do whilst practising your social distancing! 

Look after yourself

It's important that you take some time out to get some fresh air. If you're lucky enough to have a garden, then use it! If not, then try and get out to an open space (whilst keeping 2 meters apart from others of course!). You never know, you might even spot some wildlife on the way. Here's a deer that I met in Richmond on Saturday. Him and his mates clearly have no 'ideer' about coronavirus, as they were travelling around in packs of 2 or more...

Learn a new skill

Over the coming weeks, there is no doubt going to be plenty of time for you to learn things that you never thought you would. I for one never imagined that I would have time to learn how to slack-line (basically, a fancy name for tight-rope walk) and yet here I am attempting it for the first time yesterday and failing miserably...

Don't worry, I'll keep practicing.

As well as this, I'm planning on learning Polish as best as I can over the next few weeks. So to all of you who are Polish speakers in the year group, you can look forward to testing me on this when we're back. I'll keep you posted on how this is going over the next few weeks... Wish me luck! 

Now, if I can put my mind to learning a new skill, you most definitely can too, as your brains are younger and spongier than mine is. So, I want to hear all about all of the things that you are getting up to. Send in photos, videos and creative pieces of work that you are proud of so that I can display things on this blog for all of us to see. This might be a meal you've cooked, a dance routine you've learnt, a video of you speaking a new language, a project you've undertaken, a book you've read...the list goes on. I'll aim to showcase as many of your pieces of work as I can a week, so what are you waiting for? Start sending in your skills to kmoore@salesian.surrey.sch.uk and be the first to have your work broadcast. They'll also be prizes awarded when we return to school for the most creative and impressive work. 

Now, before I sign off, in true Salesian spirit, let's remember those in our Year 9 community and indeed our wider school community that might be struggling with the situation that we find ourselves in. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers to help guide them through this difficult time, until we all find a 'new normal'. 

Don Bosco, as always, pray for us. 

Miss M x