Parent Update From Jack & Olivia Head Boy/Head Girl for 2020/21
About us:
My name is Jack Clark and I’m the new Head Boy of WCSA. I lead Climate Justice Revolution, the school’s environmental group which works to create a greener Worle. Recently, we won a social media commendation award in the Global Goals competition and our work has pushed for The Priory Learning Trust’s new environmental strategic plan for the next 3 years. I’m also a co-founder of No Labels, WCSA’s LGBT+ support group which provides a safe space for students to talk about any issues they have. Olivia and I first worked together at the start of this year for the E4U business competition. During the lockdown, I joined the Jill Dando News Centre after writing guest pieces in the past and launched The Priory Learning Trust’s new eco-newsletter ‘The Green Gazette’. I am so excited to be working with Olivia and the leadership team and I’m really excited to make some great changes this year.
My name is Olivia Finch and I’m the new Head Girl of WCSA. I’m really honoured to have been selected for this role and I’m looking forward to representing the school and working with Jack, the leadership team, staff and my peers to make some positive changes. Since Year 7, the school has opened up many opportunities for me, one of which was being chosen to be the Head Editor of the Jill Dando News Centre. Through this experience, I've given speeches, interviewed inspirational people, filmed my own broadcast which was aired on BBC Points West and so much more. I’ve also had the chance to be a part of school sports teams, the green council, the peer-listeners group, the school council and I’ve been my tutor group representative every year. The school pushes me to be my best and I hope that through the experiences I have gained since being a pupil at Worle, I will be able to inspire other pupils to be their best and get involved in as many opportunities as they can.
Our goals for the year ahead as Head Boy and Head Girl:
We thought we would share three areas that we would like to tackle over the next year. These are:
● Protecting our environment and making WCSA an environmentally friendly school.
● Extracurricular activities for all students.
● Student welfare and wellness.
We are both so honoured to be given these roles and we are so excited to make some great changes at WCSA. Over the next year, we’re certain you’ll hear a lot more from us and we hope to hear from you as well. Both of us would love to hear any questions you have for us about WCSA or any ideas you have on how we can make changes! You can contact us by emailing:
Jack - Going back to school was a major milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic. It signalled a return to something close to normal. Although it seemed weird at first returning to school nearly four months after it closed, I’ve found it extremely easy to adjust back to being in a learning environment. The amazing teachers and staff at WCSA have made the return to school easy for us all. On my first day back, I found that teachers got straight on with their lessons as they knew that these would be crucial to us and to succeeding in our GCSEs next year. The smaller class sizes have also made getting up to date with learning easier. Teachers can understand and test everyone’s knowledge now that they have the time in an hour to discuss the topic with everyone. This has allowed for teachers to identify gaps in knowledge which will save crucial time next year.
Olivia - Going back to school for the first time following the pandemic was quite a strange experience, especially with all the new measures in place. However, after a short period of time we were back in the ‘new normal’ swing of things. The measures which have been put in place, including hand sanitizer around the school, desks being distanced, and the teachers moving to each classroom instead of the students, created a safe environment which was easy and comfortable to work in. The lessons have been prepared really well and the use of pre-prepared worksheets for each subject helps to make them flow. The Mathematics Department made a worksheet which we could take home with us and recap everything which we had learnt in the lesson, which I personally found really helpful to reinforce the learning.
Returning to school reaffirmed how much easier it is to learn when you are in a school environment and the teachers are in front of you instead of being online. I’m really looking forward to hopefully going back to school full time in September.
Distance Learning:
Distance learning has been hard for all of us. It’s something that we’ve never experienced before and all students have had to learn to adapt to it. We thought we’d give you a few tips on how you can improve your learning from home experience. It’s important to note that what may work for one person may not work for another so try to experiment and find what best suits you.
Distractions:
Now that we’re all at home together, it’s almost impossible to not get distracted by everything and everyone around us. One good way is to plug your headphones in and listen to some music. Studies have shown that certain types of music can help your productivity and apps like Spotify are full of these. Classical music is a great example, some of us may not enjoy that so an alternative is something called Lo-Fi music. You could also listen to a podcast which is a great way to learn new things as you’re working. There’s pretty much a podcast for any subject so there will definitely be something you’ll enjoy. A podcast I’ve found enjoyable and helpful is The Wooden Spoon, all about productivity and the number of things that affect it.
Useful apps and websites:
There are so many useful apps and websites that can help with distance learning. Some of the apps which have become more widely used within WCSA include Google Classrooms, Hegarty Maths, GCSE Pod, Tassomai and BBC Bitesize. Google Classrooms is an app which teachers can use to communicate with pupils to inform them about the work they are expected to complete, as well as giving feedback. Another useful website for Year 9 and Year 10 students is Eton College’s ‘EtonX programme’. EtonX is a skills institute and at WCSA we have the opportunity to share two courses with them: Resilience (for Year 10s) and CV writing (for Year 9s). For more information on how to sign up for these courses take a look at the school’s website under the distance learning link.
Youtube:
When we think about Youtube, we often view it as a major distraction to our productivity. However, it can actually be a very useful tool. Youtube has a whole dedicated community called Studytube, where students film videos on a variety of subjects from productivity tips to note-taking. Many also film what are called “study with me”. I find these help to keep my attention on what I am doing. Notable channels include The Studytube Project, Ruby Granger, Jack Edwards, Eve Cornwell and Unjaded Jade.
My day-to-day routine carrying out distance learning:
Olivia - I start my day at 8:30, like a typical school day, and I first read for half an hour. This helps to wake my brain up and get ready for the full day of learning ahead. At 9:00 I begin my lessons. I have kept my timetable the same as it would be in school, this ensures that I allocate the correct amount of learning hours for each subject and give myself breaks too. For each lesson, I open Google Classroom where I can access the work that my teachers have set me for the week. For each subject a teacher in the department has made a video which talks through the tasks, explains the PowerPoint slides and highlights any areas that may need to be expanded on. This helps to give a clear view of what is expected for the week. Throughout the day I will send multiple emails to my teachers in order to let them know how I’m getting on with the tasks and to ask for help if I need it.
Jack - I usually start my learning day at between 8 and 9am. I do this as I have found I am more productive in the mornings. I have kept my timetable very similar to my usual school day but I have allowed for longer and more frequent breaks in the day. I use these breaks to go for walks, update my to-do list and have something to eat. On a Sunday, I create my timetable for the week ahead by inserting the exact lessons that I’ll do each day. I also use this time to organise lesson materials in Google Drive so I can find them easily and I scan my work from the previous week and upload them onto my Drive. I share these files with my teachers so that they can frequently check my work. I also take the time every so often to email my teachers on what I have done and what I have not managed to complete this week. It is perfectly okay to not have done everything you want to in the week. These are strange times and finding motivation can be hard. Teachers understand this and some have been dealing with that themselves. It is better to inform your teachers and keep them up-to-date on progress than not talking to them at all.
