VCAL News

Term 4

2020 began like any other year in VCAL. We were excitedly preparing for our Melbourne Urban Camp with the Year 11 students, along with our Year 12 camp to Bayplay Lodge in Blairgowrie. Unfortunately, on the weekend just before we were due to set-off, COVID-19 restrictions descended upon us. Our camps were cancelled, and our usual big projects were put on hold, we had to come up with an entirely new way of working… from home.

Our VCAL staff and students are an extremely flexible bunch and we all embraced the use of Microsoft Teams with enthusiasm. We found new and fun ways to entertain ourselves during online classes, including a baby photo competition, where students and staff were all encouraged to contribute a photo of themselves as a baby and we had to guess who was who. There were some absolute classics!

Students worked their way through several major units of work during lockdown, but my particular favourite was the ‘Random Acts of Kindness Project’ (developed by yours truly for the Personal Development Skills stand). As they performed daily random acts of kindness for others, our students found that some people wished to return the favour. Instead of accepting their offer, students were encouraged to invite them to pay it forward instead. The phrase “pay it forward” refers to the idea of requesting that a kindness be repaid by having it done to others instead. In this small, simple way, VCAL encouraged others to keep the kindness flowing during lockdown.

We celebrated our return to school in October by hosting the inaugural ‘Isolation Awards’ for our Year 12 students. Our rooms were set-up to resemble a Hollywood awards ceremony (well, we thought so anyway). Upon arrival, students were treated to food and drinks and each student was presented with an award, based on their individual personalities, along with their attitude and participation during this most unique of years.

All-in-all, our year in VCAL was definitely different, but a roaring success, nonetheless. Let’s hope we never have to go through anything like this again, but if we do, in VCAL, we know we are well-prepared to face any challenge thrown our way.

Merry Christmas to all,

Sarah WALKER

VCAL Teacher

Following is an article written by Stephanie Frank when students were asked to write a 'newspaper article" regarding their experience during lockdown:

A Teenager’s Take on Lockdown 2020.

"I live in such a fascinating generation, we all have such different souls, minds and perceptions on life and what it means to live in this world. When COVID-19’s second lockdown began most of us were very tired both physically and mentally. Some of us wanted to give up, some saw it as a time to take for themselves, to learn something new, or to get to know more about who they really were, and this was perhaps a really positive aspect of the lockdown. 

I am a people person, so during my lockdown experience I have liked having the time to observe the beauty of other people’s emotions and have given them genuine support when they needed it. I have seen remarkable people reaching out and bringing awareness to mental health during this horrid time, people have been offering to listen and help their friends and family when they saw that people were struggling and in a bad place mentally. I have witnessed amazing creativity in the ways we use technology to socialise. Things like Skype calls and playing an online game with a friend can improve anyone’s mood.  Sometimes just a chat over a meal shared on an online platform can make us feel connected and valued.  I have seen online discos, free art and music lessons, and virtual tours of different places all over the world. Local groups like the Peninsula YMCA have offered live feeds on Instagram that you could join to do yoga, cooking and even gardening! Whilst being locked away has been hard and tiring and at times depressing, it has also given me hope in humanity as the simplest acts of kindness are often the ones that can distract someone from their despair. This situation, whilst keeping us apart has also bought the wider community together through sharing of meals and resources with those who may be struggling and at other times could be overlooked.

I’ve learnt that throughout these dark times there is often a light that glows brightly. That light for me has been witnessing the beauty of peoples’ love, compassion and creativity in keeping social interactions going when it would be so easy to just hide away. It’s been such a long, hard time for everyone to be cooped up in their homes at times for 23 hours a day! Despite all this lockdown has taught me to appreciate the small things, like school, the outdoors and most of all, the laughter, love and friendship that other peoples’ presence brings to my life."

Have a wonderful Christmas and we are all looking forward to seeing what 2021 brings.

Nikki Sheers

VCAL Leader