Magazine 2020

74 | Edition No. 23 | 2020 the building came to life and often people could be found wandering around the building, just drinking in the joy and enthusiasm spilling out from the magnificent venues. On the Cultural front we were very busy too. The Park - lands College Festival of Music, with the big orchestra and Zolani Mahola as guest artist, as well as the Shake - speare Festival at the FugardTheatre, where our talented learners performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, stand out as unforgettable experiences. And then we got whiff of the possibility of a lockdown. The staff spent three days in intensive professional devel - opment sessions to be prepared for the unknown era we were about to enter. CRUISE CONTROL “The next phase of the 400m is the cruise con- trol phase. This is when the 400m runner continues to maintain the same arm and leg turnover as they did at the start, but the range of motion of the arm form is decreased as the goal here is to conserve arm energy. What this means is the 400m run- ner does not need to pump the arms as aggres- sively and as far because the arms will become very important later in the race.” (trackstarusa.com) Our online teaching and learning programme started on 6 April with some trial and error at the beginning, but in a very short time, our educators and learners had adjusted to what everyone would start calling the “new normal”. We were pleasantly surprised with the resil - ience of our learners and impressed with how effectively even the youngest ones assumed responsibility for their own learning. We all got a glimpse of each other’s houses and at one point one of our educators even had to drive some distance to get reception and teach from her car! Academically the learners were staying up to date, even when lockdown was extended, and this trend would con- tinue throughout the year. What thrilled all lovers of the arts, was the smooth tran - sition to online lessons in Music, Dance and Drama. It was truly remarkable to see how dedicated our artists remained and the quality of work they produced, many of which we could showcase in our weekly blogs. Chal - lenges across the disciplines (like the planking challenge and the squatting challenge) provided much fun and many memorable moments on social media. The sports department became equally creative. As we were not allowed to leave our houses / yards, they came up with brilliant ideas on how to remain fit and in shape, resulting in even more fun videos. Our prefects stepped up to the plate and filmed weekly virtual assemblies to make sure we all stayed in touch. They went on to record and launch on YouTube the first ever Online Matric Variety Show. Tickets were sold and the money raised donated to the Reach for a Dream Foundation. When we heard that schools could be allowed to open, we jumped in straight away to start preparing the school to meet all the safety protocols. We were one of the first schools to be awarded a Covid-19 Compliance Cer - tificate. We called the staff in for training and before we knew it we were at the next phase of the race. BUILDING BACK FORM “When the 400m runner goes through a “building” phase, it feels like re-accelerating, where they incorporate more energy toward their arms again with a progressive increase in range of motion and energy output.” (trackstarusa.com) Our Grade 12s and Grade 7s were the first to return at the start of June and within three weeks we had all grades back on campus. Around 20% of learners continued to learn from home due to personal comorbidities or living with parents with comorbidities. Due to ample space, particularly in the newly opened Innovation Centre, we were one of the only schools able to host all our learners on campus every day. The logistics of having around 500 people on the San - down Campus on a daily basis took some planning; how- ever, with cooperation from everyone we all settled into the new routines quickly. Only staff and learners were allowed on campus to minimise the risk. Everyone enter - ing the campus wears a mask for the entire day and edu- cators monitor arrivals and departures to ensure social distancing. As far as possible learners use the same desk during the day, continually sanitising their workspaces. Sanitiser dispensers are conveniently placed through - out the school and markers on the floor indicate safe distances between learners when lining up. Every staff member and learner’s temperature has been screened and recorded daily. On more than one occasion people commented that our school must be the cleanest and safest place in the country! It was great to have life back in the buildings and to see our learners enjoying the opportunity to socialise under safe conditions. Due to lockdown regulations, we could still not host live events, but that did not stop us from recording and shar - ing numerous events in creative ways.