Seren House, making the best of online classes
Very quickly Seren House was able to continue the creativity and individual care and attention that has become such an important part of Seren House's reputation.
At the start of lockdown, Seren House Cottage School, now in its second year, found itself in a position where it needed to continue to offer its learners the quality, re-imagined education that guides the school’s philosophy, without too many disruptions or distress.
Zoom offered the most suitable platform to deliver regular lessons and create some semblance of a classroom. Both learners and teachers had to navigate new ways of learning and doing things and it was not long before the school had a full programme of classes up and running.
Very quickly Seren House was able to continue the creativity and individual care and attention that has become such an important part of Seren House’s reputation. While Zoom was unable to offer the same joy found in the classroom, online teaching did offer some unique opportunities and Seren House had a wonderful opportunity to invite marine conservation biologist and international shark expert Dr David Shiffman (@whysharksmatter) and ornithologist, expert birding guide and trainer Malcolm Wilson, into the senior classes.
Shiffman had made a promise on social media platform Twitter that during lockdown, he would join any class that requested a visit. True to his word he joined a mixed class of Seren House learners and discussed the importance of sharks in the environment and the conservation efforts he and many other marine conservationists are putting into the plight of these magnificent animals.
He answered as many questions as possible on sharks and left the learners with a new-found appreciation of the work of marine conservationists.
Following their return to school, the Grade 6 class was still able to benefit from these online experiences, with Malcolm Wilson joining their class to discuss the diverse range of raptors (birds of prey) found in Southern Africa.
With his knowledge on raptors and bird ringing, he too had his young audience engaged in the importance of nature conservation.
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