20 Volume 37
Yefei Ni performing a piano allegro at home via Microsoft Teams
Remote but connected Over the weeks of ‘if you can learn from home, you must learn from home’, the Clarendon community worked together to ensure that students continued to receive a high-quality education. Embracing the upheaval as an opportunity, students and teachers were motivated to try new ways of being, doing and interacting – new ways to prove the tenacity and resilience of the Clarendon community.
The innovation and collaboration required to make remote learning and teaching work required everyone to step up and reach beyond their skill-sets and comfort zones. With a common purpose, with trust and collaboration, with compassion and empathy, students and staff created new spaces where they could stay connected with one another and maintain a strong, supportive school environment. School Captain, Joel Walton, found the transition from on-site to remote learning to be a smooth one. “The classes, despite being online, were a very similar experience to physically being at school,” said Joel. “Everyone adapted to the virtual environment as time progressed and the school provided us with amazing support networks and programs, such as mindfulness, to assist us during that time.” School Captain and boarder, Abbey Latta, saw the time of temporary online
learning as an opportunity to stay connected with the Clarendon community, whilst spending valuable time with her family. “As a boarder, being able to virtually connect with my peers enabled me to remain connected with them while also creating memories with my family at home. I could sustain both without compromising my learning throughout Year 12,” said Abbey. Like Abbey, Joel appreciated being able to spend quality time with his family, but also learnt a few things. “I have learnt not to take the simple things in life for granted,” said Joel. “I certainly missed battling it out with friends on the downball court during recess and lunch, and I have never appreciated fresh air and the outdoors as much as I do now.” In the Junior School, staff and students were committed to maintaining their physical activity. The online program consisted of two sessions a day, aimed at keeping the
