After the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to change how they delivered classes, the Bendigo Advertiser asked students to share how they were adapting.
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Some students have now returned to face-to-face classes. Bendigo Senior Secondary College year 12 student Greta Schaeche tells us what it has been like being back at school.
Our first week back at school was extremely exciting and exhausting all at once.
Some of the highlights included seeing how excited all our teachers were to have us back (very for most!) and seeing all our friends again after such a long time.
On the first day back, it seemed as though everyone had forgotten what it was like to be with people (after becoming so accustomed to talking with only their dog), but it's been very easy settling in since.
Being back on-site has provided a lot of incentive for teachers also to go back and recover content in practical lessons. It has been really good to reconsolidate the content we covered while at home.
While exams are now set in for only a couple of weeks after what they usually would be, the cutting of content from the study designs means we have that time to briefly relearn some content from online to ensure any gaps are filled. It has been a good, fairly relaxed way to get back into it.
Since the news was released that school could go back, however, many teachers decided to push back formative assessment SACs so that we could do them in class, which means there's now a rush of assessments for many students all within a short time period.
Other disadvantages include the loss of time for productivity from travel (especially students coming from all the way up to Gisborne) and even having to just make an effort in how we present ourselves (rolling out of bed to do classes in your pyjamas was really something else).
All in all though, it's all fingers crossed that we get to remain on-site for the remainder of the year with our learning and that everyone remains safe, healthy and positive.
Catherine McAuley College year 12 student Tania Hutchinson has enjoyed her first week back.
We have come to the end of our first week back in the classroom. It's been great to catch up with our friends - some we have had little or no contact with for over two months.
Returning to classes seemed like it would be dramatically different from what we had experienced earlier in the year, but the transition has actually been quite easy.
It feels as if we never left, except now we must sanitise our hands every time we walk into a room.
It's been so much better now that we can talk face-to-face and interact in classes to help each other with work or discuss things we are unsure about.
We are all still trying to get back into a routine, but it has been a lot easier now that we are able to support each other more closely and engage in the social interaction that we have missed for so long.
Catherine McAuley College year 12 student Charlotte Brook has missed some elements of remote learning.
I commenced school again on Tuesday after seven weeks of remote learning. On the first day at school, we had a delayed start of classes to allow students to catch up with friends after being away for more than two months. Being able to sit together and complete work together was so enjoyable, being face-to-face instead of through the screen.
I thought it would be difficult - the transition back to classroom learning - but there was no difficulty. It felt as if we had never left. Since Tuesday, classes have returned to normal, but a new sense of normal.
When entering a classroom, we are required to put on hand sanitiser which is difficult to complete when I have my arms full of books. My classes now smell of cleaning products due to the amount of disinfecting that is happening.
It has been an adjustment returning to a schedule and waking up earlier - I enjoyed being able to sleep in instead. I didn't like going back to wearing my uniform daily, but we have been allowed to choose any uniform we want - summer, winter, or PE.
We know that our school events will be altered in the future. For instance, on National Reconciliation Day we had a virtual smoking ceremony for college leadership where we had to social distance, as a substitute for the usual college mass.
Would you like to reflect on your remote learning experience? Send your story to addynews@bendigoadvertiser.com.au