Year 9 Pastoral Guardian
I would like to start by congratulating all Year 9 students who have enthusiastically and eagerly embraced the Learning from Home experience. I am very happy to hear positive comments from teachers regarding their interactions with Year 9 students within their lessons. It has also been pleasing to hear from year 9 students regarding their thoughts of Learning from Home.
This week, I asked a few Year 9 students - Abbey Nevill, Jasmine Maxwell, Chrisstie Vlahogenis, Amber Janas, Grace Riley, Lucy Feltrin, Sofia Poy - to share their experience of Learning from Home over the last four weeks. Below are their responses:
What do you believe has been the positive of the Learning from Home experience for you?
I believe that a positive of Learning from Home is that I have learnt how to be more independent. I can't always rely on teachers or my peers to constantly help me out and, while learning at home, I have had to face multiple challenges by myself and work out an efficient way to overcome them.
Abbey
A positive for me is that I am able to work at my own pace and a lot of the time I finish my work early so I have time to do homework in other subjects.
Jasmine
Learning from Home has certainly been an interesting experience. All the work the teachers have put into the online learning has made it a positive experience for me. The work has been set for the week's entirety, which I think is better because you don’t need to rush as much to get it done by the next lesson.
Chrisstie
I have many positive experiences from Learning from Home. My favourite experiences are that I develop my skills for my research as I can do it during my extra time. I believe that it makes me a more independent learner as I have less assistance and can focus more on my work.
Amber
I think that the most positive part of having to learn from home is that you develop new ways of learning and ways to deal with problems. I have learnt so many new tips and tricks to writing great essays, assignments, and articles.
Grace
Home learning has had its challenges; however, many positives have come out of it - one of which being able to go at my own pace. Sometimes at school teachers go too fast or slow. At home we are able to work at our own pace. I feel that this helps me to better understand what I am doing. Home learning has presented many new experiences that were unexpected but fun. We have found out that there are lots of different ways to learn.
Lucy
A positive of the Learning From Home experience has been being able to have more free time that I can spend with my family or working on my own personal goals. Even though I miss my co-curricular activities, I do enjoy having more time to do other things, such as extra studying, cooking, or just having a fun time with my family. Another positive is being able to do work in my own way. Some people prefer to study with complete silence, whereas others prefer some music while they complete work. Learning From Home now allows us to be able to complete work in whatever way works best for each of us and separates us from distractions that would normally occur in the classroom.
Sofia
How do you think you have grown personally?
I believe that I have grown to be a much more responsible and organised student. I have had to make sure I am always present during my class from the beginning to the end and that I attend all lessons, whether they are live or not. I have also had to improve on my organisation skills and plan out my work for the week ahead to ensure I submit all required work on time.
Abbey
I think I have become more independent and focused in my learning because if I have a question I will tend to ask girls around me and then ask the teacher, but now I am able to problem solve to find the answer. I also believe I am more focused because I don’t have the distractions I would normally have in class.
Jasmine
With the online learning I have grown as a person. I am now more independent with my learning and only doing as much as I can in the lessons provided. By the end of the first week I was a bit worried that I haven’t finished the week's work but now I have worked through all of the work at my pace and caught up. I believe I am finding it easier because I have used my time wisely to make sure I don’t have a lot of homework.
Chrisstie
I believe that I have grown personally from this experience as it has made me more focused on learning as I have no distractions from class. Lastly, it has challenged me to persist working through my problems in class and finish my work, rather then ask a friend or teacher.
Amber
I believe that I have grown personally by becoming more mature with my learning. I have become more organised and have been keeping constant reminders of when everything is due.
Grace
I believe Learning from Home has let me improve as a student. I have learnt to be more independent with my work, relied on others less, and become more confident in my abilities. Home learning has let me prove to myself that I much more capable than I used to think I was.
Lucy
Learning From Home has helped me grow personally, by helping me develop various skills, such as organisation and responsibility, by taking charge of my learning experience at home. It is my responsibility to stick to the weekly plans provided for classes and to stay on track with my learning. I have learnt to be more independent, making sure that everything I do is beneficial for me and my education. I have had to take my learning experience into my own hands, making sure that I understand what the teacher has set and asking questions where necessary. Finally, it is up to me to submit all work on time and to be reliable when completing tasks or working in a group project. Learning from Home has helped me grow personally, developing and growing skills such as responsibility, independence, and reliability, that can help me in my daily life and well into the future.
Sofia
After almost four weeks Learning from Home, I would recommend that all Year 9 students reflect on their time at home this term and also answer the questions above. Although it has been a positive experience for most, we do need to be aware that this has had different effect on everyone. Please be kind to yourself and others, and allow yourself time to adapt to the many changes and challenges during this unpredictable time.
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