1. Tell us a little about you?
I am Sharon Davis, a Queenslander who hates the heat, teacher for many years in Qld. Stage 3 lockdown is quite enjoyable for me due to my favourite activities being reading while enjoying a glass of wine!! We have lived in Buninyong now for 15 years after arriving from Queensland with an intention to live and work here for 3….it was too good to leave!

2. How many children you have and what year are they in?
Our oldest son completed VCE in 2019 and our younger son, Drew, is in Year 9.

3. What have you done to support your student in setting up their study space?
Drew has the dining room table to use as his study space as both parents are working from home and we called ‘dibs’ on the two office spaces first….however, Drew gets to be in the centre of the home and keep an on everyone so is quite happy there.

4. What routines have stayed the same, what have changed?
Our routines have not really changed as we have both worked from home since Easter….I’ve almost forgotten what the outside world (and my work office) looks like. The biggest change to our routine is local around the block exercise rather than the gym/pool….our block never gets boring though.

5. As a parent do you use PAM, or utilise other ways to get information about what your student is working on?
We read the emails and talk to Drew about what he has to do and how he is going to structure his time. We also have fantastic support from his TA (Catherine) about the overall picture. His teachers have kept us up to date on what is happening with the learning as well.

6. What has been the biggest challenge for you during ISO and how do you plan to deal with it?
The biggest challenge has been simple pleasures: sitting in a coffee shop with friends or not being able to go for a trip to Melbourne…and remembering not to terrify people by standing too close to them. My plan this time is to stay put – not a fan of the mask wearing so I feel the garden might be getting some real attention over the next couple of months.

7. What has been the surprise joy of ISO (maybe extra family time, less running around or something else)?
One great thing has been the saving of money: without coffee shops and trips around, it is surprising how little you spend. It is also been how much more relaxed evenings are, given that we’re not checking the calendar each day to see whose turn it is to rush out of the house. Finally, as a family, we have smashed out a few great TV series together!

8. Finally could Drew offer other students a piece of advice?
Remote learning is easy and hard...but mostly easy - you can work at your own schedule and you don't have to put on a uniform each day. It's a little hard not being in the same room as the teacher but it's okay. You just have to look at your timetable to know what you have for the day and make a plan each morning.

Thanks Sharon and Drew!