Somerset@Home - A Student Perspective

At our Investiture Service in February, we said that never in our lives will we be surrounded by so many people who are dedicated to our success, and in these unprecedented times, this statement couldn’t be more true. To say that we are grateful for everything the school has prepared for us to continue our academics through online learning is an understatement.

While Zooming isn’t particularly the first thing you think of when someone says Senior year, it has been a huge success in its own regard. We can speak for many of our peers when we say that you can still have fun, laugh and learn even in an online environment. Also, if our calculations are correct, we have kept the Senior Learning Centre kitchen spotless, I mean absolutely spotless, for over a month now! What an achievement! I think that deserves a prize, maybe a ping pong table, not sure. But probably a ping pong table.

Senior cohorts around the world have all faced the same challenges but the ways in which we have handled and overcome these are a true testament to the strength and unity of our cohort who we are lucky enough to still have at the push of a button. We particularly want to thank Mrs Crowley and Mrs Cornell for everything they have organised for us throughout these weeks and checking in on how we are all going. If we could get through this, we can get through anything together.

Somerset has always been a busy place, teeming with eager students, loving teachers and so many wonderful people. Whilst the College grounds might seem somewhat eerie at the moment, the bustling and lively atmosphere that is Somerset College is now being experienced a whole lot more virtually. We can’t say we were ever expecting to bump into our siblings this often at lunch time and online schooling is certainly not how we were expecting senior year to pan out, but we truly are glad that we are all able to be in this together (but ironically apart) during these certainly interesting times.

The holidays and school feel like they’ve been overlapping each other for a while now and it’s great having all this extra time… for Netflix and the immense amount of exercise we’ve totally been doing, but we do miss the feeling of being within 1.5m of another human being – although we don’t really remember what it’s like anymore! When they said technology was the future, we’re not sure if this is what they meant, but to be safe and healthy during this situation makes us realise just how fortunate we are.

Still being able to learn effectively and see our classmates and teachers is a reflection of the staff’s dedication to our success, and most importantly, the IT department that managed to get the majority of our entire schooling lives into the virtual universe as quickly as they did. The fact that our teachers, in particular our spectacular Heads of Houses and Year Level Coordinators, are so willing to reach out to us and make sure we’re all travelling (emotionally, not literally!) well, confirms that Somerset is truly a wonderful place to be, because “Somerset” isn’t our beautiful campus, but the kind hearts of those who are proud enough to call it home.