Monitor Games 2022
The Lower School Monitor Games
On 8th – 9th September in Sports Hall 2, the LS monitor team organized a diverse set of exciting games for the new F3s and F4s! All the monitors, despite their fatigue, were delighted to welcome the new LS students into Concord’s wonderful community. Although some games proved to be more popular than others, the overall planning and execution of the event was a huge success, and the vast majority of students provided positive feedback post-event. Mrs Coward, the Head of Lower School, even commented that it was ‘the best year of monitor games we‘ve ever had’ in her 8 years as Head of Lower School!
On Thursday, there were a total of 13 stations; 1-2 monitors would host a group game, and 13 groups of students took turns going from one station to another. One of the most unforgettable games was Noodles And Plates: this involved four players, each with a polyfoam noodle in one hand and a plate in the other. They were to compete against one another until three players dropped their plates, in which case the remaining player would win. It was arguably the most intense game among all others and attracted the attention of many students, despite it’s simplicity. Though some students were exhausted and uninterested in the game, they were content watching their peers playing. Nevertheless, it offered a unique twist to the other ‘more typical’ monitor games, and most students had lots of fun that evening.
On Friday, the event began with another cycle of 10 group games followed by two big games: Dodgeball and Capture The Flag. Dodgeball was quite chaotic, with students throwing balls everywhere in the Sports Hall. Reid Cao (F5), the cameraman, complained how difficult it was to traverse the court in order to take photos from differing angles. Finally, the event ended with the clapping ceremony, which has been an annual tradition in the history of monitor games. It involved a setup that allowed each participant to high-five all other participants; the ceremony went on for about 20 minutes. Despite several students complaining about the tedious nature of the ceremony, this was a significant improvement from the torturous 40 minutes last year.
Hanks F5.
October Half Term
There are many activities run by the school for boarders during half term, which are perhaps difficult for Day students to attend – particularly during a pandemic, leaving them with 9 days to do something they like.
We undertook a Lower School survey just before half term asking students what they will most likely be doing during the holiday, and most of them replied with the stereotypical answers of sleep or relax. But after weeks of tiring and busy schedules during the start of the academic year, students certainly deserve a half term where they can take a mental and physical break, which is what half term might be about for many people. For others, half term might be an opportunity for a short trip, domestic or international, to leave school behind, or for some, it might be a chance to take part in the action-packed activities programme here on campus, or time to catch up on prep/revision, readying themselves for the rest of the term to come.
Remember, it’s all about balance.
Parshva – F4
Saturday Activities – A New Student Perspective
I am new student at Concord College and I really like this school, especially Saturday activities. They were created to replace the opportunity of leaving the campus, due to the ongoing pandemic. Wide range of choice always ensures that I will find something I’ll like. Examples of these activities are: colour run, bingo, cinema and capture the flag. While participating in these activities thus far, I met a lot of new people and I relieved stress after Saturday morning tests, so I look forward to participating in more Saturday activities in the future.
Bell House is a very comfortable boarding residence. It has a small yard where some wooden tables are placed, which connects different bell-blocks (I am living in B-block). My neighbours (also students in B-block) are very nice and kind, as are the ‘house parents’. The kitchen is large, and it has a big TV which can be connected to the PlayStation or Nintendo, to keep us occupied outside of our studies.
Leonid – F5
A new experience at Concord
From the moment I arrived, I felt different than I had anticipated. Everything wasn’t what I expected. The first two weeks were hard… I had to make friends and catch up with studies.
The weather is much cooler than Israel, but the people here – a lot of people from other nations in one place – make it feel like home and make me feel much better. I slowly ‘got my name out there’… I made friends, I started getting used to the buildings and the classes, and the atmosphere here is great – both socially and the weather isn’t bad!
Saturday tests are difficult, but I’m trying my best! Who knows? Maybe in the future I will be one of the smartest in my set and will move sets and prove myself.
The Monitors and House Captains explained ‘House Events’ to me. I really hope I can help ‘carry my team’ – even when the House Captain is not here. Concord is much more wonderful – and indeed special – than I thought it would be, and I know I will have lots of fun here and learn to succeed!
Noam – F5
Hi, I’m Daria and I’m a new student at Concord college. This is my first year at a boarding school in a foreign country, and until now, my experience here has been delightful.
It has been a month since I arrived on campus, which quickly ran by and felt more like a week. To be honest, at first, I was extremely nervous to move countries and systems. It was a complete change of lifestyle. Back at home, I went to the same school for twelve years, and never changed my habits… which is why it was time to make some adjustments.
The trip was long and stressful because of the pandemic. Nevertheless, the college handled everything calmly and professionally, by taking all the precautionary and supportive measures needed.
On my first day, I was lucky to meet all the girls in my house, who were my neighbours and became my friends. The quarantine period was strange but pretty fun too. Even though we had to predominantly stay in our rooms for two weeks, we had small activities online to communicate with friends and online lessons to keep us busy. The staff and teachers are very pleasant and nice. The students are also very welcoming; I learned that by getting lost a couple of times on campus, and people really helped me to find my classes every time.
Currently, we’re back to in-class lessons, wearing masks, disinfecting tables, hands, and doing everything to minimise the risk of the virus being spread. My experience until now has been fascinating, and I’m looking forward to my future at Concord.
Daria – F5
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