Mums; our unsung heroes of Covid-19

We all know that mothers are the unsung heroes of Covid-19; they are much more likely to have adopted additional caring and cleaning responsibilities over the pandemic, constitute the majority of nurses and teachers on the frontline and often undertake the most emotional labour in a household, particularly through these difficult times. So, we want to take a moment to celebrate mums! We spoke to a series of mothers with children at InterHigh and want to shout about what it is really like to be a mother whose child studies with us.

Juli

Firstly, meet Juli Kamari-Stanimrovic! Juli lives in Singapore with her son who started studying at Interhigh before the pandemic began. Juli reflects on InterHigh’s ability to bring her and her son closer together:

“[InterHigh has] absolutely brought us closer together – I am able to assist him in time management with his studies and personal revision on the subjects in school and outside of school. I feel like he is much more independent with wanting to resolve issues on his own, most of the time. Being in Grade 8, I believe that there is always room for improvement in his time management, but he is more than happy to work together with me toward his goal in achieving higher learning in his area of interest.”

Pauline

Pauline Montgomery is our next supermum. She reflects on how her family coped with the unprecedented challenges brought on by the pandemic and how her daughter’s education at InterHigh faired:

“InterHigh has provided continuity in my daughter’s education. School routine has remained the same as it was prior to the pandemic, in turn giving structure to my daughter’s learning experience. Online schooling has provided children with the educational structure they are familiar with and has been one constant, they have needed, during such unchartered territories.”

Adele

Adele Leake discusses the changes that she has noticed in her child, who has dyslexia, since starting at InterHigh:

“The quiet concentration my daughter shows now is truly amazing. More importantly she now really wants to do well, whereas in her old school she was drifting along. I can now see her approach to learning and that helped me understand how she learns. [This is] particularly important as she has dyslexia and a general approach doesn’t always work for her.”

Emma

Emma Quinn’s daughter has studied at InterHigh for two years and is currently in Year 11. Her family has had a particularly challenging time over the pandemic as they sadly lost a loved one just before the pandemic swept the world. She reflects on how InterHigh gave her family the space they needed to grieve and support each other during difficult times.

“We felt that [our daughter] was very supported in her education, and fortunate in not experiencing the stop and start experience that many school children have had this year. At first, we all felt elements of stress and worry about the abnormal situation, in common with everyone else, but as time went by, we just began to make the most of our free time as a family to chat, play board games, browse the Internet, read and watch good television.”

Mums and all parents play a pivotal role in their child’s education, and we have seen so many go above and beyond to support their children both before and during Covid-19. Combined with teachers, they have a responsibility to inspire, motivate and encourage students to realise and fulfil their potential and we have seen first-hand the amazing work that goes on behind the scenes. InterHigh is always keen hear from our parents about their experiences and we want to say thank you for being a part of our community!

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of studying with us and how our online school works, come to one of our virtual open events.