Dear DT Students,

It has been a pleasure connecting with so many of you over the phone or via email over the past few weeks.  Granted it is not the same, as we sincerely miss seeing each and every one of you, we will continue to work to support you and your learning in anyway possible.  It is my understanding that the transition to learning from home has had some challenges and has been in some ways overwhelming for many of you, not mentioning the challenges of being alone with much fewer social interactions than usual. This will definitely be a difficult period for all, but here are a few tips to help keep your sanity and succeed for the rest of the term:

Dedicate a Workspace in Your Home

The first step to learning from home is setting up a space somewhere that can be only used for work so that when you are there, you know you are working. You also need to set boundaries by making it clear to other people in your house so that, when they see you there, they know you are working and not to bother you.

Create and Maintain a Routine

As much as possible, try to mimic your routine from before the current situation. Here are a few steps you can take to help set up and maintain a routine:

• Put an alarm on in the morning, get dressed for the day, have breakfast.
• Make yourself a study schedule, with breaks to reward yourself for completing certain tasks.
• Make sure to integrate fixed break times in your routine—why not go for a quick walk to breathe in some fresh air while you’re at it?
• Set daily and weekly goals. At the end of the day or week, celebrate your wins! Make a list of everything you have accomplished.

Exercise

Take advantage of this extra time at home to build a healthy exercising habit. Gyms are currently closed, but there are many online websites that offer daily workouts—and many of them are free.

Maintain Social Contacts

Social connections are extremely important for our psychological well-being. Some of you might be lucky enough to live with other people, but, whether you are or not, I encourage you to pick up the phone and call your loved ones more often than you usually do. Why not integrate one phone call or video chat into your routine per day?

Remember that all your peers are going through the exact same thing as you right now. Why not stay in touch with them through a virtual call?

Adopt a Growth Mindset and Practice Self-Care

Some of you might be anxious or nervous about learning online for the first time. Having a growth mindset in this situation would be to believe you are able to learn and adapt to your new environment—just because you have never done it before does not mean that you can’t do it. Instead of a threat, see this as an amazing opportunity to learn new skills in a safe environment. I have no doubt that these skills will be helpful in your career, too.

For a more extensive list of community support resources, please make reference to the David Thompson School website and don’t hesitate to reach out to your counsellor!

Regards,

Rupy Dhaliwal

rdhaliwal@vsb.bc.ca