Lockdown Days

Dylan Thomas, STEM Lead Teacher

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up each weekday?

Try to go back to sleep! When that fails I get up and make a cup of tea.                     

Where do you do your work at home each day?

Mostly I am downstairs in the living room, set-up on our large dining table. I often go upstairs to the bedroom when I do a WebEx.

What exercise do you do during lockdown?

A lot of walking and a bit of light weight training.

You must miss doing yard duty at lunch time – what do you do instead at home during lunch time?

I put on a fluro vest and go wandering through my local park asking strangers to pick up rubbish 😂

Do you have a pet? If so, does your pet/s love having you at home?

Yes, a little dog named Laika. She absolutely loves having everyone at home during the day.

What do you miss most about being at school?

Being in my Science Lab with all my materials and equipment at hand.

Maggie Wolstenholme, 3DC

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up each weekday?

Read on my kindle, then get up and say hello to my family and have breakfast. Sometimes I go on a walk and get croissants from Lune.

Where do you do your schoolwork each day?

This lockdown I like working in my room and on a desk under the stairs

What exercise do you do during lockdown?

Just Dance and Ring Fit on the Nintendo. And my parents force me to go on walks.  

What do you eat for lunch at home?

Pumpkin soup, mushroom soup, cheese toasties, chips and salsa.

Do you have a pet? If so, does your pet/s love having you at home?

No I don't have a pet, but I love playing with the adorable dogs (adogables) at the dog parks. And I play with my soft toy Lion called Simba all the time.

What do you miss most about being at school?

Seeing my friends and teacher. 

Do you have a piece of schoolwork/activity you have done during lockdown that are particularly proud of or that you loved?

I love doing art. The Scarab beetle was my favourite.

I also liked doing an advertisement for Lion Furniture.

Sarah Hance, Grade 6 Teacher

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up each weekday?

When I get up on a weekday the first thing I usually do is get my youngest child Greta and bring her into my bed for a cuddle to start the day.

Where do you do your work at home each day?

Well that’s a good question! With my two primary school aged kids usually occupying the best working from home spots, I often find myself at the dining table, the kitchen bench or sometimes my bedroom floor!

What exercise do you do during lockdown?

If I was to have a favourite thing about lockdown (?!) it would be having more time to exercise. I love going for runs, taking my dog for long walks and kicking the football and soccer ball with my kids. And the other Grade Six teachers like to laugh about my love of a Joe Wicks home workout. You can never do enough squats in lockdown.

You must miss doing yard duty at lunch time – what do you do instead at home during lunch time?

Of course I miss yard duty! But in its absence there is plenty to do at my house. Usually my kids want help taking photos of hundreds of pages of their school books and uploading them to Google Classroom, so that takes a while. Then there is usually a pile of washing to fold, the dishwasher to empty, starving children to feed and some kind of remote learning mess to clean up. If all that gets done with time to spare then I shut myself in a room by myself and hang out with Joe Wicks.

Do you have a pet? If so, does your pet/s love having you at home?

I have a one year old kelpie called Romy. She is very sweet, if a little crazy, and she thinks having us home all day is the best. My family recently had to isolate and whilst the humans thought it was torture, Romy thought it was the best thing that had ever happened. She couldn’t believe her luck being inside all day with the heater on and endless pats.

What do you miss most about being at school?

I miss my awesome Grade 6 students who I simply love spending my days with. They really are the best. I really miss my bike rides to and from school, and of course having a laugh with all the other lovely teachers.

Clementine Watson, Prep RH

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up each weekday? 

Make my bed. 

Where do you do your schoolwork each day? 

At the kitchen table.

What exercise do you do during lockdown? 

Hand stands, cartwheels and forward rolls and I take my dog for a walk and play in the park.

What do you eat for lunch at home? 

Soup, toasties, avocado on toast, pide.

Do you have a pet? If so, does your pet/s love having you at home? 

Yes, Lenny - he is a dog. Yes, he loves me and when I go to school he cries and howls.

What do you miss most about being at school? 

I miss the playground, I miss seeing Bec (my teacher) in person and I miss my friends. 

Do you have a piece of schoolwork/activity you have done during lockdown that are particularly proud of or that you loved? 

I like reading Pig the Pog with Jenny.

Grant Peters, Grade 2 Teacher

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up each weekday?

I roll around in bed for an extra ten minutes before walking to my local café with my family for our morning coffees.                                         

Where do you do your work at home each day?

Right next to my beautiful fiancé, just out of each other’s webcam view.

What exercise do you do during lockdown?

Because gyms closed during last year’s lockdown, I took up running and am now clocking over 50 kilometres a week. Yoga has also been a big part of my success with running, and keeping my legs from falling off.

You must miss doing yard duty at lunch time – what do you do instead at home during lunch time?

Yes, I do! I’m grateful for any time I get to spend outdoors, yard duty included. My lunch time at home consists of a run, some yoga and a very delicious assortment of snacks.

Do you have a pet? If so, does your pet/s love having you at home so much?

Yes, I have an animated and comical French Bulldog named Alfie who keeps me entertained each day. He has a large collection of sounds that he can produce, some more pleasant than others. I actually think he is sick of having to share the house when I am teaching from home!

What do you miss most about being at school?

Although they’re all doing the best they can via WebEx and Seesaw at the moment, I miss seeing my students engaging and sharing ideas with each other in the classroom.

Jett Phillips, 6WJ

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up each weekday?                                                                                                   

I make myself some breakfast and take my dog for a walk.

Where do you do your schoolwork each day?

Usually at my desk in my bedroom, and sometimes at my dad's computer.

What exercise do you do during lockdown?

I've been playing a lot of basketball and soccer.  I've also been going on a lot of bike rides and scooter rides.

What do you eat for lunch at home?

Usually toasted sandwiches and sometimes sushi.

Do you have a pet? If so, does your pet/s love having you at home so much?

Yes, I have a dog.  Her name is Jessie and she has been getting lots of attention.  We take her on a lot of walks, and she comes to lot of my Webex sessions.

What do you miss most about being at school?

My friends.

Do you have a piece of schoolwork/activity you have done during lockdown that are particularly proud of or that you loved?

I just got to Facetime my great-grandfather (Yeye) for a unit we are doing on immigration, and it was nice to see his face.