Invicta Vlogs
Lockdown Learning
I hope you are all staying safe and doing well!
My name is Ellen Angel and my role is ‘Aspirational Prefect’. Within that, I aim to help students maintain both good physical and mental health through the everyday stresses of academia.
This year, I am keen to focus on topics that are not usually covered in school. An example of this being, the effects of social media on self-worth. My overall goal during my time as a Senior Prefect, will be to increase personal and academic confidence, so that everyone feels able to pursue their aspirations for the future. I will be working closely with Lauren McManus, our Well-being Prefect, to ensure that whilst striving for these goals, there are no unnecessary stresses or pressures put on you.
With the upcoming diagnostic assessments for some year groups, now is an appropriate time to begin practicing healthy habits. Whilst these assessments are important, your own mental health should not suffer as a result of it. Even if your year group does not have assessments coming up, it is equally important to be able to switch off from ‘school mode’ from time to time.
Certain aspects of the current COVID – 19 situation are making it harder for us to be able to get a break from work. It is often hard to establish a difference between work and relaxing as now both are happening in your home and for most, in the same room! Along with that, missing peer support, missing social interactions along with the additional stresses about the virus can take a real toll on our mental health. Despite this, there are some easy habits to get into to keep a good balance between work and school. Here are some techniques which have worked for me:
1. Have fun things to look forward to – whether it is seeing your friends at the weekend or sitting down with your family to watch Netflix at the end of the day. Having things to look forward to will help you stay on track in the day, so more is done in less time!
2. Try to stick to some form of routine – to ensure that schoolwork/revision isn’t eating into important downtime; try to stick to the normal school timetable and add in some extra activities for after school to help you relax. For me, this includes when I am going to meet friends, go for a walk or even just paint my nails – this makes sure that those things never get neglected.
3. Keep connected – you are spending a lot of time with the people in your household! Be sure to also be talking to other members of your family and your friends; this could be over Facetime or Zoom or, you could organise a small socially distanced meet up. It is also important to check up on those friends who have not been as active online – some people find it much harder to reach out when they are struggling.
4. Be realistic – how much time did you spend on work pre-lockdown? If you were happy with the progress you were making and getting good grades before, there is no need to be over working now; the phrase ‘little and often’ comes to mind regarding this and it can lead to great results! It is natural to feel stressed during this time, so be generous with breaks and spend plenty of time with family.
If you take anything away from this blog, it should be your ‘downtime’ is just as important as your time spent working. Remember that if you are at all struggling with your schoolwork or any other issues your teachers and prefects are just an email away if you need any help or general advice!
Stay positive and enjoy the lovely June weather.
Ellen Angel
Senior Prefect
