This week, Sophie Luo in Year 11 is sharing her life at school in the past two weeks. 

Being a Year 11 student is stressful for everyone but especially for international students whose first languages are not English. Sophie has not only shown great interests in learning, but also engaged in the school community fully and eagerly. 

Sophie, along with Geegie, nominated herself for the International Prefect position. Both girls did a great job on their speeches. It has been rewarding for Pathways staff to see the girls being keen to take on leadership roles and serve the student body. We look forward to seeing them thrive in the coming senior year.

Please enjoy.

The past two weeks were completely different from any other weeks. Due to the lockdown, most of the boarders have gone home with only a few remaining. Without many students, the boarding house became quiet and spacious. 

The international girls all stayed and did the online classes. We followed the “Boarders’ bubble” rules: stay at school and avoid face-to-face contact with anyone outside the school, to ensure the safety of ourselves and others with the greatest positive spirit. 

Lockdown life is tough, but girls continually work hard on the zoom classes. Apart from schoolwork, we also organize activities to enrich the ‘stay at school’ life. For example, we borrow equipment from school to play badminton, which strengthens our body and releases stress at the same time. A bunch of card games also helps entertain each other after school. Most importantly, we tried many different ways to cook in our spare time. Delicious food always keeps us in a good mood and helps us live and study in a better state. 

Lockdown pauses our lives and plans. However, staying in the boarding house not only keeps us safe, but also allows us to socialize with each other instead of doing school alone and being by ourselves all the time. 

Thank you to the boarding house staff for fulfilling our needs (and wishes) as much as possible, caring for our physical health and looking after our psychological conditions all the time. Thank you to Mrs Flanagan for the delicious brownie, Mrs Taylor for the cookies that were gone before I had a chance to have one, Mrs Shumack for the fire pit and Mrs Grant for the chocolates! Thank you to Year 10s for organizing the “Fancy dress dinner” and Year 12s for organizing the “Dance party night” last week. 

Despite the news of the lockdown being extended for two more weeks, I believe that we are prepared to face the coming weeks with a positive attitude. 

Sophie Luo (Year 11)