“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass,
It’s ab0ut learning to dance in the rain”
Good evening Kloofies,
As I sit here on lockdown, I cannot help but wonder and worry about all of you. Are you stressed, anxious and terrified about what is and could still happen.. are you keeping positive, doing your schoolwork on Google classroom, keeping busy…or are you just over it all! My guess is…probably all of the above. Because that is the nature of the human condition. This lockdown will be a roller coaster ride of epic proportions. It will get you down at times and you will find yourself truly enjoying something you never seemed to find the time for before – perhaps playing guitar, writing songs, poems etc, at other times. You may even reconnect with your sister or brother or – dare I say it – even your mom or dad! What I would like you to do, above all else, is to be kind to yourself. Acknowledge your feelings and allow yourself to just be on a day that you truly feel demotivated to tackle anything at all. You are part of history, a new history that will be taught in classrooms one day. Your children will ask you all about the lockdown and what you did to occupy your time.
Here are some ideas:
• Do the required school work on Google Classroom. It is going to be a nightmare to catch up on all of this work if you don’t.
• Spend some time exercising every day – YouTube is full of free exercise videos. If you are lucky enough to have a pool at home,
swim lengths, challenge your mom or brother to see who can swim the fastest, or play water games. Pick up a skipping rope, walk
the dog around your house (if you are not in an estate like me), put on your favourite music and dance like no-one is watching
etc. Break a sweat EVERY DAY
• While it is tempting to eat junk food, try to maintain a healthy diet, your body and your jeans will thank you
• Get at least 15 minutes of sunshine every day – Vitamin D is essential to keep a strong immune system. A strong immune system is
the best way to survive this virus – even if you do get it, if your immune system is strong, you can and will survive it!
• Sleep no more than 8 hours a day – sleeping too much will drain your energy levels, sleeping too little will affect your immune
system.
• Try to acquire a new skill – ask your brother to teach you to play guitar, do an online course – perhaps learn a new language.
Keeping the brain stimulated is vitally important. There are even free apps on your phone like Peak which have many games to
stimulate and improve your brain function.
• Learn how to meditate… it does wonders for stress levels
• Play board games with the family
• Talk to one another – I mean really talk
• De-clutter your room – tidy up your clothes, donate clothes you don’t wear anymore to the needy, sort out your subject notes
At the end of this lockdown you will:
• Be fitter
• More relaxed
• Have better relationships with your family members
• Be able to play guitar, speak French …
• Be healthier
• Be able to focus better at school and retain more when studying
• Be able to find something quickly in your room and save yourself some valuable time …not bad for a few weeks in lockdown!!!
Mrs Seidler, Miss Gibson and I are available should you really find yourself struggling terribly. I’m attaching our email addresses. You are to send an email and we will reply letting you know when we are able to chat with you telephonically or possibly on Skype.
There is a very wise expression that reads, “this too shall pass”, and it will. The day will come when Mr Ramaphosa says we may resume our daily activities. I for one, cannot wait to see you all at Kloof High School – striving to be your best. God bless, look after yourselves, stay safe.
Love you all
Mrs Shiers
Our Student Support Services can be contacted using the following email addresses:
1. Yolanda Shiers – yshiers@kloofhigh.co.za
2. Amanda Seidller – seidler@kloofhigh.co.za
3. Jounelle Gibson – jounellegibson@gmail.com
