Induction for New Students
It has been an unprecedented start to the new term for all Concordians. To welcome the new students and help them adapt to Concord’s environment, Lower School Monitors worked hard together and planned a variety of online activities for three days of induction sessions. Now, let’s see what the students thought about the ‘induction games’!
I am a returning student in F4 and recently took part in the games for a few days. I am a day student and haven’t seen any boarders for a long time – this is why it was really nice seeing them again through a video call and chat to them. In the call, we played many games such as Pictionary and Use Your Words! (online, of course). It was very fun seeing and speaking with other people and some of the games were very funny and got both day students and boarders to interact more. I especially liked the Use Your Words game as it was humour-based and the whole group laughed lots.
The Monitors also went through the events which were on offer and explained how a basic day in Concord operated. They answered our questions about how lunch would work or when we were supposed to register, and really helped (especially the boarders) understand how life at Concord College works. We were introduced to the Heads of Houses and got to know the Monitors and their names – so if we had any questions in future we could contact them.
Overall, it was a really fun evening where we got to know some people in our ‘bubble’ and other years and we got to chat with other students about school life and the year ahead. All our questions were answered positively and effectively which helped us understand what would happen in the first week in particular, so we could be more prepared and excited for the term ahead.
Linda – F4
The introductions… we had Penelope, Ten and Eve all from Pankhurst and they were extremely friendly helpful. We then moved onto the first game which was ‘name the location’ based on pictures, which I ‘absolutely smashed’ as Penelope said. Then we played a ‘Where’s Wally’ type game; we had to spot Mrs Coward, Eve and Ten, which was very imaginative. Afterwards, a Chinese Whispers based-game followed, and this was very fun. Lastly, we moved onto the emoji guessing game which everyone enjoyed.
From my experience, I think all the new Form 3 students got comfortable meeting the crazy Pankhurst House, and it was really chilled and enjoyable. Overall, an amazing night.
Ben – F4
We had our Gandhi Induction Meeting online because of the pandemic. In the beginning, we introduced ourselves one by one. There are people from all around the world at Concord. Then, we played a few games to know more about each other. The most memorable one was the game Use Your Words. Trying to be as humorous as possible, we also enjoyed others’ interesting captions, subtitles, headlines, etc. The meeting only lasted for less than 1 hour but was worthwhile. I am looking forward to participating in the upcoming House events, and meeting more new buddies in Gandhi.
Zoie – F3
On the 3rd September at 19:30, me and other new students who were joining Concord College got a chance to chat with our Monitors (David and Virginia) on Teams. During our session, I had lots of fun as I got to meet new friendly people and because we played games which helped us to get to know each other better and generally have fun. These games included: ‘two truths, one lie’, and Werewolf online. These sessions went on for about three days in small segments; each session I found out something new about people from my group and the amazing Monitors also helped by answering our questions, which made me relaxed and even more happy to start school.
Overall, these meeting were very enjoyable and helped me gain a better understanding of the school as well as providing enough information for me to be comfortable to go to school with confidence.
Sohaib – F3
Concord has always started the year with fun icebreakers to allow students to get to know one another. Usually they would take place in the Sports Halls, however this year, due to Covid-19, we fulfilled this task online. Although this situation made inductions tricky in parts, the Lower School Monitors from all over the world got together online to plan ahead, to make new students feel welcomed.
Gabriele – F5
The Form 5 Monitors split off into groups to prepare the games and resources needed for the inductions. Monitors were then paired up to lead a meeting with new and returning students. Personally, I understand that with meetings, online students would feel shy and keep their cameras and microphones off. That is why my partner and I chose to encourage them by choosing games that require them to turn on their cameras. For instance, we played a game called Charades. To make them feel more comfortable we started first, turning on the camera and acting out an animal without making any noises. We had different rounds of charades and every round it increased in difficulty.
Another game we played was called the ‘Hat Game’ where students had to go around their room finding an object that fits the leader’s request (a red item) and placing it on their head. By now, the students were starting to feel less shy and were willing participants in the game. I was glad that we were able to meet new people and leave them with a good experience despite it being online.
Ashley – F5