Due to the mitigation measures in place to counteract the dangers of the Covid-19 pandemic, this scholastic year saw large school gatherings, such as assemblies, being discontinued. In order to keep the channels of communication open, Educators and Senior Leadership Teams at St. Nicholas College, Rabat Middle Schools, used Microsoft Teams to reach all students, their parents/guardians, and all the staff.

Two different TEAMS groups were created, one for the Year 7 and one for the Year 8 students.  All teachers and LSEs were also included in these TEAMS.  Online Assemblies were held regularly for the whole school – Mondays and Wednesdays for the Year 7s, and Tuesdays and Thursdays for the Year 8s.

These assemblies were extremely useful to keep a direct link between the SLT and the students.  Such assemblies helped students keep some sort of routine which was like the one they used to have at school.  It also served as a communication tool so that all the initiatives that were already planned for the students before the switch to online teaching could carry on as planned.

The assemblies were always opened by the head of school Ms. Abdilla with a message and a quote of the day.  This was followed by various other items.  One of the initiatives that the school managed to carry out thanks to these special online assemblies was ‘Animal Awareness’ organised by Ms. Camilleri.  The various works prepared by the students were shared online.  These included poems, artwork, and short videos about the students’ pets.  Some of these videos were narrated in the foreign language the students are studying at school.  During another assembly, various teachers and LSEs also participated where they showed their pets to the students.  This was great fun for both the students and the staff.  It was also very educational where the students understood the efforts required to raise and love a pet as a family member.

On a different occasion during assembly time, the Ekoskola committee election was held (organised by Ms. Smith).  Just before schools were forced to close due to Covid-19, the students were able to record a very short video in order to show their willingness to be elected as part of the committee.  A total of 32 students ran for the election.  They promoted themselves so their schoolmates could vote for them.  The videos where shown during the assembly and the students had to vote through an online election platform created using Microsoft Forms.

The morning online assemblies were also used to continue with our pastoral care.  Given that we are going through the lent period, Teams was used to communicate messages for the students to help them reflect and link with these strange times which are causing a lot of suffering.  Still the final message was always one of hope where we are united in a virtual community of support.  These talks were held by Ms. Farrugia.

Click on the links below to watch some of the work carried out during this scholastic year:

Animal Awareness Presentation with Videos

Animal Awareness Writings and Drawings

Animal Awareness Writings and Drawings Part 2