The School Must Go On I
n March 2020, BHS switched to online learning, virtually overnight, when the Island experienced its first spike in COVID-19 cases. For the Secondary department, the move to virtual learning was not a difficult transition, as students and teachers were familiar with using Google Classrooms. For Primary teachers, the pivot to an entirely new way of teaching required staff to learn new technology and educational platforms very quickly. It also required a tremendous amount of support from Primary parents, who needed to be hands-on to assist their daughters with their daily tasks.
When looking back at the past year,
there is no denying the challenges that everyone in the BHS community has faced. In the beginning of the pandemic, the uncertainty about what was happening, and how long it would last, was unsettling for all. For the teaching staff, lesson preparation took longer for virtual lessons, and teaching online
Still Got Spirit: Staff and students throughout the School embraced the first ever full school Spirit Day with enthusiasm! House colours were seen all over campus bringing a much-needed boost of fun and school spirit.
presented new hurdles - how to keep students engaged when they were online all day, or how to keep six-year-olds focused when not in the room with them!
Primary teachers were unable to employ many of the hands-on learning techniques which are used so extensively in the classroom setting. Parents faced their own challenges of assisting with school work, managing technology requirements and in many cases, working from home themselves. It was a team effort all around.
For students, the main challenge was the isolation from their peers and missing out on the group discussions, collaboration on projects, and peer feedback which makes up so much of learning at BHS. As time went on, students also missed out on many of the events and rituals of their school experience, moments with friends, sports competitions, graduation events, end-of- term celebrations - so much was lost in the last year which has been difficult for students and staff.
Walking Safely: In the absence of a traditonal Graduation Ceremony family and friends gathered for a “Drive-In Ceremony” to mark this important rite of passage. Check the back page to see the Class of 2020!
For the I/GSCE and IB exam candidates, they had the added challenge of having their final exams cancelled, which they had worked so hard for over a two-year period. Head of School, Linda Parker, notes, “they persevered through an impossibly stressful situation, and our students displayed grit and resilience during this challenging time.” Ultimately, a combination of course-
Torchbearer Spring 2021 29
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