Hi Jerry,
Thanks for replying (again). I really appreciate it
Yeah, you're right. Being the first cohort of QCE and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has been such a struggle for me mentally and physically, but I'm sure that's the same for every other QCE student. But now that we are "slowing down" in terms of what we do, I've definitely noticed how I am constantly drained of energy, even before the pandemic. Which is why I'm planning to look after myself more, rather than crash and burn.
But I think that's a valuable lesson that every QCE student should learn, regardless of how the pandemic has affected their school life. It took me years to realise this but
health is vital to success . As a student, I used to depend solely on caffeine and sugar to keep me awake when all I wanted to do was sleep. Which is why I cannot stress enough that it should be anyone's
top priority to
look after themselves -- both mentally and physically -- as we cannot function on anything but our own energy and motivation. And yes, while being in the class of 2021 will have advantages -- such as hopefully a full, uninterrupted year of Year 12, it may have disadvantages as well. No one can predict what's going to happen tomorrow, in a month or a year, it's up to fate to decide. What Bri MT said about subject and assessment scaling is completely true -- the first cohort of Year 12 (2020) has flexibility because we are "the lab rats" as my English teacher constantly refers to us as. And of course,
it is also important for any QCE student to remember that the more years away from the introduction of QCE (2020), the less flexible it will be in terms of the scaling of assessment.But in terms of not being able to "physically" meet your friends, Jerry, there are many alternatives to "socialising" when isolated. And while I do recognise that it won't be exactly the same as physically seeing your friends, there are actually many benefits of staying in regular contact with your friends via texts, social media or video call apps such as Skype, Zoom, or HouseParty.
These are a few examples of how you can "socialise" while you are isolated, for anyone in particular:
On the HouseParty app, there is an option to play games with your friends as you call each other
You could play Kahoots with your friends (maybe to revise subject content or just for fun)
Or you could download Chrome extensions (I'm pretty sure there's one called Netflix Party) where you can watch movies with your friends at the same time -- or if that doesn't work, you can always FaceTime or Skype your friends.
Anyway, best of luck to you too, to everyone in the nation, people all around the world, people working on the frontlines of medical care, and of course, people working close to home in hospitality -- I wish you all the best for the future.
Kind regards,
Darcy Dillon