The Impact of Moving ECAs to Live Online Lessons

By Cindy Adair, Cross Campus Assistant Principal Extra-Curricular Activities and Sports

As we faced the re-opening of school for the 2021/22 academic year online, and the prospect of students missing out on their favourite extra-curricular activities once again, we decided to shift to a LIVE model and create a programme to get students up and active after school. Our fantastic Academy coaches were up for the challenge and so we launched a pilot programme in August. When we discussed our plans, we estimated we might get 20 – 30 students join each call… imagine our delight when over 150 students dialled in on Day 1! Our programme was offered free of charge with no sign-up required in advance – students just needed to turn up and have fun.

It was fantastic to see our students but also their parents, helpers and even pets on screen getting involved in dance, football, tennis, fitness, gymnastics, zumba, cooking and more! As one Secondary student put it, “The online ECAs helped me relax after a long day of online learning dealing with technical glitches and lots of screentime. I stayed connected to my friends and coaches and kept my fitness and well-being on track. I feel like I have a chance of getting back to where I was by participating in this programme. I also loved getting the House-points, my friends from my Tutor group and I did it together – we wanted to win Tutor Group of the Term”. It isn’t just the students who benefit – our coaches and teachers really enjoyed re-connecting with students and seeing them smile, laugh and have fun. Not to mention

their pride in mastering the world of LIVE broadcasting. It was touching to see students post messages on MS Teams saying, “So nice to see my coaches – I miss you!”.

Students were resourceful in adapting to the space and equipment they had available. No basketball? Use a balloon. Not got a kettlebell? Fill an old backpack with tinned food or heavy books. Where there is a will there is a way!

After a successful pilot programme in August, we published our September schedule, which included some of our most popular regular ECA offerings such as singing, Minecraft and more cooking. We were also able to offer a range of pre-selected ECAs that students really value including International Award,

Junior Achievement, orchestra among others. Our mantra became ‘why cancel when you can go LIVE online’? On 3rd September I got an excited Teams message from Mr Clarke our Head of Outdoor Education saying, “I got 97 students on my call yesterday, which is amazing. There is certainly an appetite for extra-curriculum based learning!” Another afternoon, I dropped into a Books and Cakes ECA call and saw students from Year 6-13 chatting away, sharing their love of literature and catching up. It’s not often students from such a range of Year groups get to socialise and share their passions.

Professor Michael Kocet PhD, of the Chicago School of Psychology writes, “Having hobbies can be essential to maintaining mental health and wellness. In a period of so much uncertainty, hobbies provide people with a sense of accomplishment that is satisfying and comforting.” Professor Kocet loves to cook and refers to this as ‘culinary therapy’, enjoying not just the act of cooking but also gifting his baked treats to friends and family.

One of the highlights of the programme was seeing the students really commit to the activities in pursuit of Virtual Medals and House points. Day in and day out they showed up online at 3.00 pm to try the various activities, even those they would not normally choose to do. Footballers danced their hearts out, gymnasts showed us their skills in the kitchen and swimmers can really Sing! Students earned virtual medals at home, in quarantine and overseas. Students received silver, gold and platinum medals based on their attendance, and were thrilled to receive gifts at home. With students back in school, they may be more willing try their hand at ECAs they never would have gone for after giving it a virtual try first.