This week, two Vikings’ students share their experiences and reflections.
Marianne G, Year 12
This week, V1 have been thinking about the people in our lives who deserve appreciation and kindness. Examples included parents, siblings, friends and teachers – these are the people who relentlessly support and guide us when we’re stuck. A ‘thank you’ to these people sometimes just isn’t enough to summarise our gratitude to them, especially since a few members of our form have parents who classify as key workers and have been amazing from the moment they started their job. So, we came up with some ways (which still only scratch the surface) to thank the incredible people in our lives:
– cooking dinner for the family
– baking tasty treats
– writing letters and e-cards
– sending an isolation care package with their favourite things inside
We have also been thinking about activities which we would like to complete for ourselves. This time spent at home has given us the opportunity to start on plans we may have made a long time ago but put aside as the weeks ran away from us. Whether it’s beginning books, being more arty or active or simply taking time to relax and reflect on how we’re doing at the moment; there are many things we may have put on the back burner. There are also so many things to experience right now from the comfort of our own homes, including live streams of nature and animal habitats, broadcasts of West-End musicals and theatre, art clubs and tutorials, exercise videos and so much more; one is almost spoilt for choice!
Lastly, we’ve reminisced and shared a couple of photographs from previous holidays, spent basking in the glorious sunshine. Specifically, coastal Californian sunshine (picture on the left) and coastal South-Western French sunshine (picture on the right). It was lovely to look at pictures, frozen moments from a time much less worrying than this. That is one of the best aspects of photography, that good memories can be both mentally and physically stored to remember.
Leilani M, Year 13
Each of the Vikings have had a unique lockdown experience, much like the rest of the world; some have baked sourdough bread, learnt a new skill, worked on an old one or ran for distances I can tell you I personally wouldn’t even attempt! Some have had very abnormal birthdays with best wishes via Google classroom and pictures of cake we wish we could share. More significant birthdays are coming up in the next few weeks and others have celebrated with those at home. Many of us have had more time than ever before and most have had to develop our understanding of the importance of structure and self discipline, but together we have all been acting to achieve shared goals, to be safe, well and to stay home where possible.
The sense of community has always been something that is extremely prevalent at MGGS and I find as Vikings we are our own lovely little sub community. We have definitely all come together and supported one another, from a distance, now more than ever before. We as a society have, to a certain extent, become more empathetic and kind towards one another than I have experienced in my lifetime; we take time to support one another and we thank those that care for us. We would like to hope that over the years that follow this time that we will continue supporting each other much like this, both within the MGGS community and outside, where I feel there has been the greatest change.
As a Year 13 I can only imagine how challenging it must be for Year 12 and Year 10 students at the moment to stay on top of their NEAs and revision, but I know they are all strong and supported so very well by each other and our teachers.
The scrapbook Google Classroom has been a wonderful place to see what everyone, including those outside of the Vikings house, have been doing and making. Supporting each other with our creative outlets, in my opinion, is even more important than ever before.
This week Vikings have been set the task of thanking those who have made a positive impact on our lives. I for one know that I am thankful for a lot of people and have been getting in touch with many of them the past few weeks to express how much I appreciate everything they’ve done for me.
As Vikings we would like our first thank you of the week to be to our teachers and our families for supporting us through this as well as key workers and NHS staff that have been working tirelessly to support us all!
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