My Learning Continues
Thank you to all the students and families who have reached out to provide me with context around the building of the new block and the original conception of the DP lounge. It is very helpful for me to have this additional information and to better understand the upset that I have unintentionally caused. As a result of the feedback, I have decided to push the pause button on the reimagination of the space until after the March break when we will have the accordion divider in place. In the interim, I will meet with the DP students and other stakeholders to further explore their needs and to imagine together how we can optimise the use of the building to serve the entire community. I have asked Melisa Judd and Sakina Steede to remain in the office space next to the work area of the lounge in order to continue to be available to the DP students on a drop-in basis. As I have previously communicated, making support readily available and normalising the act of seeking help are critical to student well-being and success. On the occasions when one of the breakout rooms is needed for individual tutor sessions for a Somersfield student, we will ensure that these meetings take place when DP’s have scheduled classes and will only invite students from M4 and up into the space. I have asked Kate Ross to be responsible for the scheduling of the tutor sessions across the school as she has the best overview of the DP workflow and a good understanding of room availability across the campus through her support of school timetabling. Otherwise, the space will be exclusive to the DP students for the foreseeable future. I hope this pause will allow everyone to take a deep breath, step back and refocus on current priorities.
A beautiful story and a reminder of our privilege
I had the privilege this week of attending an online celebration of the first high school graduation class of Amala. Amala is an educational NGO founded by two UWC friends - Polly Akhurst and Mia Eskelund Pedersen - who recognised in their work on a refugee scholarship programme with UWC International, that for every scholarship available at UWC colleges, there were hundreds of deserving candidates for whom there was no opportunity. In 2016, they quit their jobs at UWC with an idea - that they needed to take ‘school’ to where the refugees were. Their goal was to provide education for out-of-school refugees and displaced youth between the ages of 16 and 25 who would otherwise not have access to high quality learning. In 2017, they launched Sky School (since renamed Amala, inspired by the Arabic word for hope) with a compelling mission - to use the power of education to transform the lives of refugees, their communities and the world (https://www.amalaeducation.org/). In collaboration with a number of UWC schools and colleges, they brought together teams of educators and students to engage in curriculum hackathons and develop the changemaker courses that would form the basis of their programmes and diploma. I am proud to have been an early advisor to the project and to have hosted a number of these events. The core courses that have been developed are:
- Social entrepreneurship
- Ethical leadership
- Peace-building in your community
- Living peacefully
- Artistic expression
- Maths for change
- Scientific informed action
- Storytelling
- Changing societies
- Creating sustainable economies
As well as completing the 10 courses, all students must participate in pathways advising which includes a wide range of support from goal-setting, c.v. and application writing to helping them launch their entrepreneurial projects. They also undertake a personal interest project. Polly and Mia’s aspiration through these courses and the pathways and project work is to build agency, to develop competencies, to be contextually inclusive, to strengthen communities and to support the facilitators who work with the students on their journeys.
They have made incredible strides since the launch of the concept and now serve refugee communities in Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Trinidad and Tobago, Malaysia, Greece and Jordan.
The reason that I wanted to share the Amala story with you is not only to celebrate the work of incredible people who launched an exceptional NGO in response to a real world need but also as a reminder to us all of the privileges we enjoy by living, working and learning in Bermuda. Quality education is a cornerstone of the UN sustainable development goals and one which is tragically denied to far too many of the world’s youth, particularly those who are displaced through no fault of their own. We should never lose sight of our good fortune and in return, make the most of the exceptional opportunities a Somersfield education affords.
Uniform Policy modifications
We have now received nearly 500 responses to the uniform survey. Thank you for the feedback. Our conclusion is that there is no need to modify the uniform policy for the Children’s House and Lower Primary nor for the Diploma Programme. We will be tweaking the policy for Upper Primary and MYP, however. The key changes are that blazers and ties will no longer be required and that a sweater may be worn as an alternative as needed during cooler weather. Students will also be free to wear polo shirts throughout the year should they wish versus button down shirts. Support for these modifications was overwhelming in the responses we received. Please keep an eye out for a communication containing further details from Charlie Judd later today.
Antigen Testing and the Student 7-Day Pass
I know that we are all feeling Covid fatigue and the related sensitive noses from antigen testing. I would ask that we remain vigilant in conducting the twice weekly tests in order to maintain the Ministries of Health and Education confidence that we are managing our Covid risk well. As a matter of fact, I received an email this afternoon from the Ministry of Health to inform me that they will be updating their policy with immediate effect to allow 5 - 11 year olds to obtain a “Student 7-Day Pass”. This will allow students who attend a school with a LFT (Lateral Flow Test) testing procedure in place to enter restaurants for indoor dining and to attend youth sporting and recreational activities that require a SafeKey. The conditions that must be met by the school to be permitted to issue a pass are that there is a verification process in place (which we have through the code reported with each test), and that there is mandatory reporting by parents of each test result. The Student 7-Day pass can only be issued to students between the ages of 5 to 11 for whom a negative result has been submitted. For parents of students in Lower Primary who would like to join the testing programme, please contact Rio Morton at rmorton@somersfield.bm for further details. Rio Morton is also your contact should you wish a Student 7-Day pass to be issued on behalf of your student.
Past Friday Thoughts
Susan Simons has set up a page on our website as a repository of Friday Thoughts (https://www.mysomersfield.com/friday-thoughts). I know this weekly communication is a bit of a monologue at this point and I hope that face to face conversations will be possible in the near future. In the meantime, I hope these weekly missives are helping you to understand some of my thinking.
Happy American Thanksgiving weekend to those who celebrate. We all have much to be thankful for.
Best wishes,
Peter
