New Student Experience in Taylor’s Residence

I remember walking to Taylor’s for the first time after a 15-hour trip to get to Concord with heavy suitcases; my friends and I were completely exhausted! The boarding parents were super supportive, helping us lift our suitcases on every curb or mini slope and telling us that we’d arrive in no time. They told us everything we needed to know within 10 minutes of arriving, and we settled into our rooms for the rest of the afternoon. Our classmates were very welcoming too, introducing everyone to us and showing us all the amazing facilities in Taylor’s, as well as the beautiful garden where we had picnics during the weekend, socially distanced. Even though I’ve only been here for a month, I know that Taylor’s is a place that I will grow to love and I can’t wait to see what the following months bring!

Natalie – F4 

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 3^rd 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

Monitor Induction Games

As us returners know, every Concord year starts with finding your room, exciting conversations with new friends, a talk with the teachers and the ‘monitor induction games’ in the evenings.

This year the new monitors led a range of games and activities for the Form 3 and Form 4 students. The monitors happily set up and managed the difficult task of organising the event whilst also welcoming many new and returning students with a smile.

They started off the night with ice-breaker games and ‘Getting-To-Know-Yous’. But afterwards is where the fun and games began. The activities that the monitors designed helped students make new friends and socialise – designed to help them in the future with support through the years ahead. The monitors had a great time too, some even participating with the students in playing the games. Here are some reflections from them:

“The games were very inclusive of everyone and I’m sure many had lots of fun playing the games that we organised. It was a good introduction to the Concord family and I hope everyone will find settling easy. It was an enjoyable experience for the monitors and new students.” – Sophia

“I think that the new students and the monitor team really bonded with each other. Overall it was a successful two nights” – Kishen

“It was a successful day of fun and games! Not only did we get to know the new students, but they got to know each other as well” – Mimi

“The monitor games were fun to organise and fun to participate in. I, along with many others really enjoyed it.” – Jeremy

“Everything was well organised. It was fun working with my monitor team and getting to know new students and making them feel welcome! It was a fantastic experience” – Praew

Sadly, both the days came to an end but were definitely filled with laughter and joy. All of us had loads of fun and met so many new people. Here are some comments from the students who played the games:

“I liked how at the beginning, before the games started, we got to know each other’s names and I really enjoyed musical chairs.” – Ashley (New F4)

“I thought that it was a good idea and thankful for the effort and time all the monitors put in. It was an exciting day to meet new people and reunite with my friends from F3.” – Scarlet (returning F4)

“Playing games with the monitors and other schoolmates was fun. Though the games were a bit silly, I enjoyed it, as I can make a lot of friends while playing.” – William (New F4)

“It was a chance to get to know people, so the games were silly but fun. Good stuff.” – Justin (Returning F4)

“It was really fun and a good few days to meet new people! I really enjoyed it and I’m grateful for the hard work all the monitors put in it.” – Megan (New F4)

Zelenie and Kenneth – F5

Lower School Monitors Welcome New Students

On the 6th and 7th of September, the new Lower School Monitors were tested as a team to lead an exciting range of activities for the induction of new students. Over the two consecutive evenings, the Monitors successfully managed the task of welcoming students into Concord, proven by the fact the Sports Hall filled with echoes of laughter.

We organised sets of games for new F3s and F4s, as well as the returning F4s, acting as an ice-breaker for the students. The activities are arranged to help the new students socialise and make new friends, so they have got lots of support from their peers in their academic course that lies ahead.

Here are some of the comments left by a selection of the Monitors, regarding the games they led:

“Despite the fact that I used my voice so much over the two nights that my throat hurt, I found that I had enjoyed leading the activities as much as the students enjoyed participating in them.” – Hannah

“I think the two evenings were well organised by the Monitor team. All students had fun and familiarised themselves with each other during the events. I was really glad to see those smiling faces starting to appear over the two nights. It was a good chance for me to make new friends too and gain confidence with them socially.” –  Carolyn

“I think the Monitor-led games were a great way to get to know new members of Lower School – It was also an opportunity for our Monitor team to work together. Before the actual event, we put a lot of effort in planning and organising, hoping the students would enjoy themselves and make new friends. When we were carrying out the induction activities, the outcome was much better than we initially expected! Although all of us were tired after hours of ‘shouting’, the happiness overshadowed this completely and I felt so accomplished after hosting these two events by ourselves.” – Anna

Below are some of the reflections of students who participated in the games:

“I enjoyed the ‘balloons one’ on the first day because everyone was involved.” – Melody (New F4)

“It was very fun and people were enthusiastic.” – Aidan (New F3)

“I found it very interesting.” – Osa (Returning F4)

“I liked the ‘pool noodles games’ most, because it required strategy and was fun.” – Myrtle (New F4)

“I particularly enjoyed the game where we had to all stand on a bench in a line with a certain ‘standard’ without falling. It really helped us getting to know each other.” – Sabrina (New F4)

“I liked the idea of playing dodgeball in the Sports Hall and also capture the flag, where we were split into different teams.” – Iris (New F4)

– The Monitor Team

Induction September 2016

Two weeks ago, the Form 5 Monitors joined the Prefects for the first time in preparing and planning for the annual induction games for the new Form 3s and 4s. It was quite an experience for the Monitors and they all learnt something new from the orientation, let’s hear what they had to say:

I have a whole new sympathy for teachers now … –Carlos

 I found the induction activity a very good opportunity for the Lower School students to bond and know each other better –Vincent

 The whistle was my best friend  –Alisar

 The new students kept to themselves at first, but by the end of the activities, everyone was having fun and getting involved –Thomas

 Leading students was a great experience that allowed us to develop our teamwork and communication skills; it reminded me of my f3 experience! Time flies     —Earn

 I had great fun with all the new students and made a lot of new friends. It also feels very good to be older than everyone else —Donna

 Never thought it would be hard to organize this kind of activities before, until we spent two days to try different games and plan the orientation. Miss the time that we could always get somewhere to sit in the dining hall when others had not arrived yet!      –Britina

 The monitor training was a very exciting and enjoyable experience. I met with a lot of senior and junior prefects which we went together to practice the dance and games preparing for the new coming students. It took us only one day, but just in that day I learnt to be a leader and to cooperate with others –Jimmy

 Being the leader was tough, but it was a really good experience for me to meet  new students and help them to settle in Concord –Lavine

 The games sessions with the new Form 3s and 4s was not only a challenge for them to meet new people, but also for us! We all met so many new people, and had a fun experience doing it —Amy

 It was great to meet all the new form 3 and 4s at the beginning of the year, and to be a part of their start at Concord   —Chorley

So you see, that’s what we actually feel when we were doing activities with you! Concord is new to you and you guys are also new to us, but indeed we had a lot of fun together and it’s really nice to be friends with you. Hopefully we did help you to settle in more easily!

Britina Wei F5