In a reflection on the Ascension published in Word & Worship, Rev David Poultney referred to the 10 days between Ascension and Pentecost as a time of anticipation, waiting, preparing for what will be. He drew a comparison between that period and our response to Covid.

”In recent times we have been called upon to wait, to put much of life on hold. We did so in order to defeat Covid-19, to flatten the curve and then to eliminate it from this country. We barely left our homes for a month or more, venturing out a little for exercise and to meet our most basic needs. Plans were put on hold. Weddings postponed, sports leagues suspended, holiday plans came crashing down, study plans were put on hold …” We invited students from Wesley College to comment on their experiences during lockdown and how their lives were impacted by the sense of waiting and facing the unknown.

Kaitlyn Rachel Sikulu, Year 9

I am Tongan and I was born and raised in Mangere, New Zealand.

In 2019, when Covid started and spread throughout the world, our country never thought it was that serious until the Prime Minister announced ‘lockdown’ in 2020. When we heard the news, the posts and shared stories about Auckland hitting Level 4 lockdown, that’s when we felt like the world was changing and was never going back to normal.

The roads were busy as everyone rushed to get all their essential things before the shops closed. There were queues outside supermarkets, as they limited the number of people in the store. Essential things in the supermarket were slowly running out. Families couldn’t even get a pack of toilet paper, or water. Schools were shutting, making it hard for those who had NCEA exams as well as the Intermediate students who were studying to prepare for their upcoming college full mark levels.

The experience was really new and staying home almost every day wasn’t really my thing. I loved being outside, training with my friends, jamming rippa tag with my cousins. Once the lockdown started, we couldn’t greet our family members as usual because Covid-19 was highly contagious. Living in bubbles and not seeing your ‘everyday family’ was hard.

Lockdown was kind of sad for those who lost jobs, losing loved ones and also fighting Covid themselves. Things changed around school policy, if teachers didn’t get vaccinated, they would lose their jobs. Children couldn’t return to school for the same reason. Doing classes and school work at home was hard. We had to be on time for Zoom classes. I needed to put my all into it, because our lockdown studies reflected where we were for our college next year.

The highlight of lockdown last year was being with my family all day, every day. Playing cards, going out and kicking the ball. At night we all changed into our PJs and baked muffins, cupcakes and cakes. It was a Battle of the Baking I fought with my family. Lockdown taught me so much. Always use your time wisely because you never know what will happen, and how the future might look.

Kalisi-Pakiamala Fisiiahi, Year 12

For me, and I’m sure for many going through adolescence, lockdown was a roller-coaster. There were definitely times where I did not want to get up in the morning and times where I felt proactive. I could not have survived by myself. I’ve learnt to value the time with my family, and oddly the time I have with my friends, who live in far different places than I do.

As a student attending boarding school, I am always engaging, I have routines and the constant of being surrounded by friends 24/7. Lockdown forced me to adapt. Some of my friends and I were fortunate to own devices that could help us connect with each other. We were more focused on keeping in contact than completing individual online tasks. We made 24/7 hour online meet calls. The link of the call would be sent to our friend group chats, and we would all join, coming and going. Some would sleep, do fitness, read, clean and do many different things during the call. Sometimes we wouldn’t even say anything to each other. Other times, you could hear our parents nagging us to stop talking. It felt like we never really left our boarding school.

Despite distance apart, we were always just a ‘click’ away. It helped us understand that we weren’t alone under the pressure. There were people who did not have the technology and devices that we did, and were most likely struggling with connection to school, teachers, family and friends. I could only imagine the frustration, loneliness and lack of motivation for them. It was a humbling experience and I’ve learnt to value what I have, which is time and connection.

Past lockdowns (2020-early 2021) I would often waste time by myself scrolling on tiktok and doing other unnecessary tasks. However, I valued keeping close connection with people through shared experiences. I learnt how to crochet, knit, play the guitar, do crunches, get up early for ‘Mum and Me’ walks, and most importantly, learn more about Jesus. Connection helped me to manage the state of being content no matter the circumstances.

Pauliasi Bauleka, Year 13

Covid-19 lockdown restrictions have caused a lot of disruptions within our lives. Time has flown by so fast since 2020. I remember the day I got off the plane at Auckland International airport to begin my senior school journey at Wesley College. I remember the feelings I felt, the thoughts going through my head that day as if it were yesterday. As a 15-year-old Fijian boy, I was excited to experience this vibrant society I had heard so much about. Alas, God had other plans. As the saying goes, “Where there is a will, there is a way”.

A few weeks into what seemed like the best start to a new adventure, Covid hit, and we went into lockdown. It was a struggle, balancing school work, mental health, and constantly being around family; not that it's a bad thing. The support I received from family and friends was empowering, and I saw the same with my peers when we were navigating the first year of NCEA. I was blessed to have my grandad come over before lockdown and be with me during my first two years here. Although we were with family, he was my strength and ‘stay’ through it all. A God-fearing man who reminded me that the Big Boss above does not give us anything we can’t handle. He was never wrong about anything my entire life; so why doubt him now.

I am grateful for these three years, and I don’t see it as a struggle anymore but a blessing. I saw relationships strengthen amid uncertainty, dreams bloom amidst doubt, and youth persevere with courage. Although the past three years have been daunting to confront, I take joy in the struggle because the time has instilled so much in this generation. I see a future where today’s youth are more resilient than ever and are ready to tackle each battle head-on. My prayer as a student, a leader, a son, and a brother is that kindness, sincerity, and love will always remain at the centre of whatever we do. As we say here at Wesley, “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.”

Sio Lo Tam, Year 13

Reflecting on lockdown and the changes Covid-19 brought into our lives, I’ve realised that it strengthened my relationship with God in a way I hadn’t thought of. The limited number of class times during lockdown, compared to a normal day at school, gave me so much time for myself.

During this time I began listening to passages of the bible on YouTube. I felt more connected than I had ever been. These podcasts, recordings and bible readings prompted me to take into consideration and rebuild my relationship with God, and to be aware of my health and wellbeing both physically and mentally.

It became a ritual for me every morning to listen to the wisdom from the bible and this became a big motivation throughout the day. My performance during lockdown regarding classes and schoolwork was good to start with as this was something we as students were not accustomed to from the lockdown of the previous year. However, as lockdown dragged into the month of October it took a huge toll on my preparation for end-of-year exams.

This was a time where I felt I was tested as I was under a lot of pressure and constant stress, I had been listening to passages from the Bible but forgotten to pray. Praying was what got me through those times I talked to God about what was on my mind, which I found helped with my preparation for exams. I have come to realise, that in times when we are pushed to the extreme, we can find shelter in praying to God. This helped improve my performance in the exams and my outlook on life.

Reon Bidmead, Year 13
I never thought I would get the privilege of spending my senior years of school at home. The Covid-19 pandemic has been beneficial but also caused me to develop some lousy habits.

I was in Year 10 when the first pandemic hit. I was in an accelerant class doing NCEA level 1. Several weeks into the year, we had to spend four to five weeks at home, completing schoolwork in isolation. The experience was conflicting.

I had an extremely successful time completing schoolwork; being able to work in my own time frame, have something to eat, go for a walk, do some chores and come back to it with a fresh mind was a blessing. As a result I had the most successful year during the pandemic gaining 100 percent Excellence marks in all submitted work. However, getting back into a school routine was difficult. The habits picked up while in isolation meant that when we got back to school, I struggled to keep motivated. I lost the motivation to succeed to the level I was at before.

With last year’s lockdown and half the school year spent at home, flipping between these routines really disengaged me from school life. There was a constant voice in my head, saying ‘get out of school, get a job and don’t waste your time with the environment you're in’. This voice has been constantly demanding this of me, but I have stayed in school to finish my final year. I have found that the pandemic has changed the career avenue I was once striving for. I’ve had to keep my mind open welcoming these possible changes in a career.

Finau Samson-Makoni, Year 10

Lockdown wasn’t a favourite time for me. It was fine at the start. I enjoyed being at home, doing my work in my own time, spending time with my family and sleeping in. After a few weeks I wanted to go back to school and enjoy time with my friends. I wanted to go back to playing sports again instead of training for nothing to happen on Saturday.

Lockdown really sucked after being stuck in the house for one month. It really tested my mental strength. To help everyone in my family, we would go out to a park for dinner and eat while the kids would run and play around the playground. Normally on Friday or Saturday we would go on a big mountain walk or run up One Tree Hill.

I didn’t like doing online classwork because it was hard to understand and finding a quiet room in a Pacific household with a dog was tough going. I didn’t like asking questions of the teacher so I would ask my classmates for help.

I was always getting up to have noodles and I gained 10 kilograms. I learnt that it’s not always fun to stay home or to stay in one spot for a long time and that it takes a lot of mental strength to do anything.

Photo shows (Left to right) Pau Bauleka (Senior Prefect), Reon Bidmead (Prefect), Kaitlyn Rachel Sikulu, Finau Samson- Makoni, Sio Lo Tam (Prefect)