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College snapshots
LiR in lockdown
During the Stage 4 lockdown in Term 3, our Learning in Residence (LiR) boarding program at Glen Waverley stayed open for 30 students who couldn’t easily or safely return home. Students from across western and northern Australia, rural Victoria, rural NSW and overseas worked creatively with staff to maintain positive wellbeing in all sorts of ways: Zoom personal training sessions, gratitude boxes, bike rides, community dinners, talent nights, resumé writing courses, yoga wellbeing sessions and, of course, mask making, all done whilst maintaining physical distancing – and wearing a mask!
Little wonder, then, that Angie, Year 10, who commenced at the Wesley LiR in Term 3, remarked, ‘LiR over lockdown has been a very different experience. It’s had its ups and downs, but thankfully we had access to the ovals and sports facilities, and were able to hang out with friends and peers, creating some form of normality. Even so, not being able to leave campus was rather onerous.’
While staff and parents had concerns for the wellbeing of students, the students proved more than adept at re-calibrating to the ‘new normal’, perhaps assisted by their technological nous and connectedness, and staff were buoyed by the positivity of the young people in their care. As Head of LiR Sean Cox observed, ‘They showed themselves to be extremely resilient and adaptable – they thrived and, aligning with the positive wellbeing we observed, many achieved significantly higher results during their time in remote learning on campus.’