Middle School Class Coherence Construction during Lockdown

Middle School Class Coherence Construction during Lockdown

During the lockdown period, we have never stopped working hard to enhance the cohesion of our classes. Here are five measures that we have used to do so: the ClassIn platform, morning class sessions, parent support, tutor support, and Student Captain support.

Classin Platform

On ClassIn, PE teachers assigned various activities for students to do, which helped to keep them healthy and strong. You may have also learned that we have integrated subjects like Chinese and Music. For Grade 6 English, we launched a writing project entitled, “Green Living” and encouraged them to transform it into a video. This was a cross-disciplinary project allowing students to understand the importance of protecting the Earth. Grade 7 students used the “50 words weekly” program to build a stronger foundation and an expanded vocabulary.

Morning Class Session

Morning sessions have provided a platform for students to demonstrate their different skills and share information and knowledge. At times students also used these sessions to solve academic problems together. These activities served to show their passion and longing for the future.

Parents Support

Parents support arrived in the form of “Parent Salons”, special meetings which helped to improve school-family communication and provide support for class cohesion.

The Grade 8 team, for instance, invited more than twenty parents to join their Friday “Parent Salon”, a wonderful time that included a wide range of topics covering time management, study strategies during lockdowns and school planning.

Tutor Support

Tutors have contributed a lot during the challenging lockdown period. Tutors have made time and effort to guide students mentally and psychologically according to students’ own strengths, acting as a bridge between online learning and the reality of daily life.

Student Captains Support

Student Captains have played their part as well. They have participated in class construction activities, for example such as those that have occurred during regular class sessions: captains have discussed highlights and positive news as well as problems in the class that have emerged during the lockdowns. They have also played a leading role in promoting self-discipline and encouraging their peers to follow suit.

Online teaching has been going on for two months already. Here are some suggestions from Grade 8 teachers for the last few weeks of this semester:

1. Explore your interests and stay motivated.

2.Reading information in a fragmented manner may be common practice, but it is more beneficial for students to engage with classic books, movies, and series.

3.Draw wisdom and optimism from the spirit of Sisyphus. Stay positive and always believe in the future.

Online learning cannot and will never stop our longing for knowledge and exploration of the world. Moreover, we have witnessed the school and our families, teachers, parents, and students all working closely to make our classes better.

We all look to the future for hope, and we firmly believe that things will improve soon.