I hope that the mid-term break gave families some time together and students the chance to recharge their batteries. It was a great time of reflection for me as well as an opportunity for me to spend time with some groups of students for leadership training, ambassador training and some additional work with a core group that are working on a project with me so thank you to those students that spent some of their break in school with me for those days (you were brilliant company!)

I also reflected on the false sense of normality that has begun to develop. We must remember that we are operating during a global crisis and that this is not normal. We cannot work in the same way as we have and we have to consider this in regard to the expectations that we place on ourselves. I spoke to many students this week about their anxieties about work and their modes of working. I reminded them that they are "making it work" and that they have to give themselves credit for this rather than worrying about what they cannot do.

I have also spoken to teachers and middle leaders about this. Teachers are doing an immense job of mitigating the situation that we are in. We thrive on collaboration at GIS and this cannot happen in the same way that it has in the past. Our students are at their best when they are shoulder to shoulder working through a task; this isn't possible and we cannot stress ourselves about something that is out of our control. Our students can collaborate but not as they have known it in the past.

Our days are challenging and we have to give "down time" to students so that they can chat, interact and laugh with their friends. The distance that has to be honored between us all can lead us to feeling disconnected and can be challenging, so we have to allow more time for us to connect on a personal level and we have to nurture this every week. These things are important so we cannot stress about what we can no longer do but we can enjoy the things that we are permitted to do.