Middle School

2022 – Another year, another challenge!

Today I smiled at the students as they came through the gates. I smiled at the barista making coffee at Maggie’s and I smiled at the staff as they hurried off to class. Every smile was met with nothing but eyes, no smile. Or perhaps it was met with a smile – I couldn’t tell behind the masks.

2022 has started with a mask mandate, and while the rest of the world has been there, done that, this was a new challenge for us in Middle School. We quickly noticed that alongside the hot, itchy, hard to breathe discomfort yet lifesaving ability of the mask, a new challenge emerged, communication!

When we communicate we use both words and facial expressions and we use our whole face to interpret what is being said. Psychologist Rebecca Brewer recently told the BBC: “When we cannot see the whole face, such holistic processing is disrupted. Now, a simple “thank you” can trip us up. Without a smile to guide us, it’s difficult to determine whether that’s a genuine show of appreciation or a sarcastic comment.”

The intent and interpretation of spoken communication can now be as confusing as text messages, a real challenge for our new students transitioning into St Margaret’s College. what we could do to help our students settle in and get to know each other. The solution was to run “Connection Days.” These saw the Year 7 and Year 9 cohorts go out of school for the day and work in groups to get to know their peers without the limitations of the masks.

The Year 7 students headed to the Groynes and competed in Orienteering activities and team building games set up by the Year 7 Dean, Nicole Lloyd. Year 9 headed off on an amazing race around the city for the morning and House games in the Botanic Gardens for the afternoon, organised by the Year 9 Dean, Dr Sarah Hickford.

Both days were full of laughter, fun, getting to know new people and a change from the classroom setting. The chance to share in a mask-free experience meant new connections could be fostered and the students could see the faces behind the masks. These days helped the transition into school greatly and many new friendships were formed.

We know that not every day can be mask-free at the moment, but we can remind ourselves to use all of our communication skills, our eyes, our tone of voice and gesture, and maybe we can hone our listening skills – perhaps a benefit to mask wearing might be we all become better communicators.