St Joseph’s teachers and students meeting some new challenges
LIKE all students this is a challenging and uncertain time for the lads at St Joseph’s Secondary School in Drogheda.
But online teaching has become the new norm – and students are busy accessing Google Classroom and lessons via Zoom and other platforms.
Teaching and learning continue and everyone is playing their part.
“We are aware that this is a tough time for everyone and some of our students and staff have been directly affected by Covid19,” says Ms Deirdre O’Doherty, a teacher at the school. “Some of our families face uncertainty about jobs and businesses in the future, we are all missing grandparents and family, we are anxious and worried. We are apart from each other missing the friendship and fun”.
So, to try and help, alongside their Google classrooms, they set up a wellbeing space, somewhere away from academic learning and away from a lot of the very difficult news we hear every day.
“We call it “STAYING WELL AND SUPPORTING EACH OTHER’ and it is very simply a place where we share ideas about staying well and staying positive at this time,” she explains. “We use it to upload ideas and suggestions for students and their families.”
The idea began a few weeks ago, when students in first year took part in a letter writing initiative, where they were linked in with a nursing home in Mahon in Co Cork who had appealed for young people to write letters to the residents there.
“It was a way of reaching out from Drogheda and from our students to these older people,” explains Ms Doherty. “Letter writing has become important again and this was a lovely opportunity for students to reassure the older residents that they are not alone. It also prompted students to write letters to grandparents and older relatives who they cannot visit at the moment”.
PE teachers have been uploading ideas around staying fit and active – for example suggesting students follow Joe Wicks on youtube and also uploading exercises students can do at home - and school guidance counsellors have directed students to HSE and other supports, to show that help is out there at this time.
“We have a well-being recipe booklet uploaded with plenty of healthy fun recipes for all the family, and we celebrated World Earth Day on April 22nd virtually – by simply encouraging our students to appreciate any outdoor space they have at this time. We uploaded images of the earth as she heals during this crisis,” she says. “We have included activities that are family friendly for example a very simple stay safe stay well poster for students to decorate with younger siblings or maybe send to a grandparent. We suggested families might create a time capsule as we live through a very difficult period in our lives”.
Second year student Stuart Kinch says the programme has really helped through this difficult time.
“With every day feeling more mundane than the last, our mental health has become more important than ever. Amidst the continuous barrage of news regarding Covid-19, our wellbeing has been directly affected. Through simple exercises such as baking, art and playing a musical instrument, we can improve are mental state and boost our mood. These exercises also methods of escape, helping to busy our minds, and distracting us from what is currently going on in the world” he explains.
“Many exercises and leisure activities have been suggested by our St. Joseph’s wellbeing course on Google classroom. Some of which include recipes and cookery, stress control courses, study advice and a ‘coping calendar’. This coping calendar which was one of the first posts on the course, and gave advice on how to distract and enjoy yourself in stressful times like these. Recently, in the course they suggested a simple activity that could be done with a sibling or family member, which involved drawing a rainbow. Ideas like these, although very simplistic, can contribute greatly to your mental health and the wellbeing of people around you.”
The school has also used the wellbeing space to mark significant moments that have occurred during this time.
“At the start of April, we marked the anniversary of Lynn Browne’s death with a simple message of support for Lynn’s family who are very close to our school community. We could not be with Lynn’s family physically but having this space allowed us to remember together,” adds Ms Doherty. “We will keep this initiative going through the next few weeks - we have plans to mark World Poetry Day, Edmund Rice Day, a grandparent’s day, and a virtual gratitude wall are among ideas we are exploring for May.
“Staying well has never been so important – encouraging our students to stay safe, stay at home, stay well and stay apart motivates us to keep going at this time. We want to be able to keep them positive, keep them active and most importantly keep them aware of others and how we can still be together even when we are apart”.