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LEARN BY HEART Local schools have us in tears with their lockdown stories
LEARN BY HEART Get ready to sob happy tears at these emotional and incredibly heart-warming stories of students and staff at local schools whose compassion, love and care shone during the Great Pause
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Tell us some optimistic stories that came out of the Great Pause… Our boarding house kept going throughout lockdown and some students still have not seen their families since last Christmas as, during the initial lockdown, they could not leave the boarding house, so staff and local parents started to send them packages. It started with homemade baking, pizza deliveries, food parcels, drive-by waves, games to play, and outdoor equipment to exercise with in the garden. One family identi ed the diff erent nationalities in the boarding house and started dropping off ingredients to make traditional meals from China, Vietnam, Russia and Hong Kong, and this led to students cooking national dishes every week to share with the other boarders to remind them of home.
TOP: Community values are stronger than ever at The Cathedral School ABOVE: Dr. Gerard Griffi ths, principal of Westbourne School, says there are plenty of reasons to smile
independence that was unprecedented. How did lessons change? concerns and stresses. Children could see their friends and nd out news from not merely Penarth, but from all over the world, as our international students, at home in Europe and Asia, could also share their experiences too. www.westbourneschool.com
HOWELL’S SCHOOL, LLANDAFF Sally Davis, principal
What stories came out of the lockdown period? Students have adapted so well to the new procedures at Howell’s School I was so proud of our Year 13 students, who were busy preparing for their
As well as that, students helped create virtual A-levels this summer when the rug was suddenly links to each other online, flying paper airplanes pulled from under them. Within a week of around the world, passing rugby balls around learning that their exams had been cancelled, the Vale and sending videos of support to each one student became the volunteer coordinator other. And older students used their saved for the covid-19 support group in her area, money to supply food banks. arranging shopping deliveries and the collection So silver linings emerged from this surreal community, while another, an aspiring medic, time, then? put on PPE to work as part of the housekeeping Yes, our students showed a resilience and team at University Hospital Wales. Residents at the boarding house had to help What educational positives do you think clean, cook and become reliant on each other to have emerged? complete their chores but for emotional support, A summer of guided home learning gave too. One of the pastoral successes was that students the opportunity to develop as even though we were miles apart – thousands independent learners. It has equipped them in some cases – everyone still felt a part of with skills of organisation, time management the community. and self-discipline that will stand them in of prescriptions for the vulnerable people in her good stead. Online education was implemented, including How is the new term going so far? PE where children were encouraged to actively We may be wearing masks, but we’re all smiling take part in exercise, and PSHE lessons made underneath them. The students have adapted more specic to the current climate allowed the so well to the new procedures, following the pupils to be more condent in discussing their one-way system, remembering to regularly wash their hands and using an adjusted timetable to stagger their movement around the school building. Things may be a little different, but students are still able to take part in choir and orchestra, join sports clubs and enjoy downtime with their friends in designated bubble spaces.
What mental safeguarding is in place? We are very aware that for both students and staff the return to a school full of new rules and regulations could be a source of anxiety. With that in mind, the wellbeing team – including our school counsellor, Graeme – are available at all times to assist with any worries. hoellscardiffdstnet THE CATHEDRAL SCHOOL, LLANDAFF Clare Sherwood, head
Any student stories that came from the pandemic that you’re particularly proud of? At CSL, we encourage a climate of care for one another, focusing on kindness, thoughtfulness and respect, and this didn’t stop during lockdown. Head girl, Saiba A, chair of Wales’ Youth Advisory Panel, was heavily involved in the Welsh Government’s Coronavirus and Me survey. ore than pupils, parents, staff and alumni joined the CSL Strava Club, raising money for 2 Wish Upon A Star. Year 8’s Ansh A submitted a question to the Minister of Education on BBC Wales News. Year 5’s Poppy R and her family cycled 100 miles, raising money for Ty Hafan. And Year 13’s Heath W developed a bilingual chatbot to help those with concerns. And it wasn’t just the pupils, our staff made sets of scrubs, visors and donated protective eyewear to staff, and one of our reception teachers even ‘braved the shave’, raising £2,450 for charity.
How does it feel to be back to school? We are stronger than ever. The last six months have taught us all to be thankful and to appreciate the value of school and community. We are a family and we are so glad to be back together. www.cathedral-school.co.uk
ON THE RUN When St. Mellons’ Bishop Childs Church in Wales Primary School needed thousands of pounds to make sure it was covid-19-ready to welcome back pupils, its chair of governors stepped up to the mark.
Oliver Lancaster, who has served as the chairman for over three years, decided to don his daps in a bid to raise the money.
“There was a £2,390 gap in funding,” he says. “So I decided to try and raise it by running 23.9km. Bearing in mind I hadn’t even run 1km for a while, I knew this was ambitious!”
He successfully raised most of the money, with his employer donating £300 through its match-funding scheme. www.bishopchildsprm.co.uk
On your marks! Headteacher Nicola Price made sure Oliver was fighting fit
