Week one was all about systems, ICT issues and the protocols of online lesson delivery.

In week two, emboldened by success, we were still revelling in the novelty of being able to teach while still wearing pyjama bottoms. 

By week five, we were starting to flag…

One thing that quickly became apparent was that the pace of learning in an online world was very different to the ebb and flow of normal routines in a busy school day. 

Moving from one lesson to another without natural breaks and pauses to walk down a corridor, grab a quick chat, or change one set of walls for another was not healthy for students or their teachers.

Time together

We realised we needed to focus specifically on health and wellbeing as well as ensuring that our strong school community thrived. Social distance should not mean social isolation.

Our school already has a strong online presence in terms of the wide range of opportunities students can access through a Global Campus that connects 66 schools across the world. 

One such activity they organised was the Minecraft Challenge, which helped students to develop skills in leadership, communication and resilience as they built and navigated their own online worlds and presented them to a panel of judges. 

Each team of students was given a specific location to research and then build using the Minecraft Education website. They were judged on originality, the techniques they used and the accuracy and authenticity of the design to the real-life environment. 

Students whom I have never known to participate in anything voluntarily before were really fired up by this challenge and, listening to the final judging, I was so proud of what they had managed to achieve on their own while following the brief.

Virtually talented

On a local level, our school also organised its own events in order to ensure that everyone continued to feel connected and part of something bigger than their immediate surroundings.

One was a virtual talent show, organised by our boundlessly enthusiastic performing arts team, which required students to upload videos of themselves singing, dancing, performing monologues, comedic sketches or any other new skill they had developed in confinement. 

There were a huge number of entries and even the staff joined in with our own rendition of Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5.

What was great to see was that the remote format enabled students who might not have been confident enough to take part in real life to flourish, as they were able to enjoy the anonymity of a performance given to camera. 

Siblings also prepared joint entries and the final showreel was such a fantastic showcase of talent - and gave everyone a much-needed morale boost.

Mass sporting events - at home

Another event we organised - and that gave us the opportunity to raise money for issues caused by the pandemic in our local area - was the Co-Fit Challenge.

This united parents, students and staff who pledged to run, walk, cycle or swim a specific distance to create a unique socially distanced physical challenge. 

Meeting on Zoom, we completed a virtual warm-up, followed by our individual socially distanced events (and a virtual beer for the staff!). 

Raising over 4,000 Swiss francs for our chosen charity provided us with a sense of purpose and dispelled some of the apathy we might have been feeling about yet more weeks of isolation.

Obviously, the hope is that now we are back in the physical building, we won’t have to focus quite so much on virtual engagement. 

However, should the worst happen, it’s good to have some tricks up your sleeve.

Can you take any of your normal school events that are already in the calendar online?

Be creative with how you could approach music and sports events and connect with your community virtually instead. 

Find a way to showcase students’ work by creating online galleries or shout-out boards  

Consider setting weekly or monthly challenges outside of subject disciplines to keep students active, away from screens and working collaboratively.

Daily art challenges, recording nature in the form of bird watching or finding things in the local environment, photography challenges and pandemic poetry are just some suggestions for activities to try.

Continue to celebrate key dates in the school year

Look for other ways to keep students connected to staff and each other such as virtual play spaces, book club forums where favourite reads or a specific set text can be discussed, debate clubs, peer mentoring clubs or counselling sessions. 

Perhaps the greatest test of a school community is how well it survives when the normal structures and routines are removed. 

I’m confident our team only got stronger during our lockdown experience - although I’m happy not to repeat it anytime soon!

Emily Hardwicke is assistant head (lower school), MYP coordinator and head of English at an international school in Switzerland