My name is Robert. I’m 11. My family has been going to the afternoon service at Dundonald for 4 years. Before that we lived in Sydney. I’ve got 2 older sisters.
Robert is a part of our 4pm service and is in our ‘Forklifts’ group (9-11s). We’ve asked him to share how life has been during this Coronavirus lockdown.
#5 – 10/05/20 – You can still have fun when you’re 2m apart.
Finally something has changed!! I’ve gone back to school and it’s really good to be with my friends again. It’s very different but it’s still quite fun.
I’m glad to be back at school because I can see people in person. Instead of being in our usual classes, we’re in ‘bubbles’ of 15 kids with one teacher. We do everything with our bubble and bubbles never mix. Most of my friends are in my bubble which is one of the things I’m thankful for. You can still have fun when you’re 2m apart. It’s good to talk with people face to face. And it’s better than online school because you can ask questions and the teacher will answer straight away.
A distanced school day…
Some things are different though. Staying 2m apart is a bit hard (especially going up & down stairs) but we’re getting used to it. Most people use their feet to push doors open but I put my sleeve over my hand and do it that way. We can’t do group work because of having to stay apart. That’s not too bad; sometimes group work is more fun but sometimes it’s harder because people argue. Working on my own is a bit easier. I quite like having a desk to myself but it’s annoying that I’m not allowed to put things in it. Because the desks aren’t in groups, the classroom looks quite old fashioned (like when my mum was at school!).
The teachers are working hard to keep us safe. We have to use hand sanitizer about once an hour (when we arrive, before break, after break, before lunch, after lunch, before we go home and at other times too). There are even buckets of sanitizer to clean the balls when we finish playing outside.
Lunchtime is shorter than it used to be. We eat at our desks (we have to wipe them before & after we eat) and we’re only in the playground for a total of 30 minutes each day. We have to play different games to what we used to play so we don’t get too close. For example we can’t play ‘it’. But we’re allowed to play football as long as we don’t stay close together for more than a few seconds and don’t touch each other.
When we go back to the classroom after break or lunch we have to line up 2m apart like we do when we arrive at school in the morning. There are spots on the playground so we know where to stand.
I only go to school three days a week. On the two days when I’m not at school the teachers give us projects to do. So we don’t get 2 days off but there’s still time to have fun with family & friends. We’ve got work to do but it’s strange not doing SATS practice / results. It’s annoying because I wanted to do them. It felt important.
What are you wanting to say to God at the moment?
Thank you that I can go to school & that some of my friends are in my bubble. Thank you for all the teachers’ hard work. Please help everyone stay safe.
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natasha.small@dundonald.org
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