International Department News:

It has been great to welcome our international students back to school again.  In order for us to know how they were coping with the last lockdown, we conducted a survey.  Looking at their responses, most of them handled it quite well even though the lockdown took place so suddenly.  We would like to share some of the survey results.

Do you think you coped well with your daily life during the lockdown?

I did a good job … 39%

I was happy overall … 48%

I didn’t cope well … 4%

I wasn’t happy overall … 9%

Did you enjoy online learning?   Why?

Yes … 52%

Reason – “There is more time to self-study at home.” “I got enough time for revision.” “I have enough time to finish my homework.”  “It’s more relaxing and students were able to manage their own time in lockdown.”  “It is more free, if I finish my homework in advance, I have more leisure time to do other things.”

No … 35%

Reason – “I can learn better at school.”  “It was hard to understand the knowledge by studying online, especially the language part.” I couldn’t solve the problem face to face with the teacher” “I couldn’t concentrate on schoolwork.” “I like discussing some questions with my friends face to face. “ “It was hard to understand.”

Yes and No … 13%

Reason – “Online learning in some subjects was really good. I think it was a really good time because I could study subjects that require a lot of time. However, there were classes that were hard to understand only through online meetings. These classes gave me a lot of difficulty in working.” “I think online learning is good but boring.” “I think it is better to study at school, which is more convenient for me to communicate with teachers.”

What were your most difficult time and problems for you during the lockdown?

• Boredom
• Not being able to meet my friends
• Couldn’t solve problems face to face with the teacher
• I couldn’t go to my favourite restaurant. That made me unhappy.
• I couldn’t concentrate on schoolwork and couldn’t be myself because I didn’t live in my own house.
• I was afraid I would not be able to finish the 13 Textile Technology garment making project because the clothes and sewing machine were at school at that time.
• Studying
• Nothing
• Making lunch for myself (I am bad at cooking)
• It was a little hard because there was a class that was hard to understand just by learning online, and it was frustrating because I stayed at home every day, and I was uncomfortable because I couldn’t meet my friends.

What made you feel happy during the lockdown?

• It was good to wake up a little later than when I go to school, and I could have my own time after finishing all the class assignments.
• Taking class in a more relaxing way.
• Chatting with friends
• Nothing
• Eating dinner
• Nice weather
• Talking to my friends and playing games
• As I live with my own family, staying home made me happy.
• Having enough time to sleep
• Playing computer games with my friends and watching interesting moives

Here are the full survey responses from one of our Year 13 students.

Do you think you coped well with your daily life during the lockdown? 

I was happy overall

Do you enjoy online learning, why?

I quite enjoyed online learning because I had more free time, and didn’t have to be too stressed about time.

How many times did you contact your parents each week?

I don’t know exactly how many times, but I contacted my mum almost every day. I didn’t contact my dad though.

What are the specific challenges you had during the lockdown?

Not to stay home too much. I should have done some more exercises.

Do you need to go outdoor sometimes during the lockdown?

Yes, I went to the supermarket to get groceries, and my host mum’s mother’s place. Also I went outdoors to go for a walk.

How many times did you go out roughly each week?

Almost every day to go for a walk.

What did you do when you were out and not home?

I walked in Western Springs Park with my host mum.

How did you spend time as a routine at homestay from the morning to the night?

I firstly tidied up the lounge, and did yoga-like exercises in the morning, and had lemon water after that, then had a shower, then I was schooling, and went for a walk, cooked dinner, had a movie night, went to sleep.

Is there anything that you spent a lot of time on every day during the lockdown?

I spent a lot of time just stroking our cats.

What made you feel happy during the lockdown?

Our fabulous cats and my raspberry financier.

What were your most difficult time and problems for you during the lockdown?

It took a while till I started to feel like studying.

What do you think the most important for you to keep things going on well during the lockdown?

I guess it’s OK not to do study for a short time if you don’t feel like it because if you push yourself too much, it just can be too much. AND you will start feeling to study at some point, and once you come to this point, you can actually enjoy studying. So having breaks really helps me keep things going well.

Is there anything that you realized that you should have done or should have spent more time on during the lockdown?

Not really, but maybe I should have done baking more often, it’s really nice to have cakes on the bench.

If there is any tip or something interesting or funny to share, please share it here.

Distraction from studying

 

The student said. “I’ve got the permission from my cat to post the photos of him..”