During the week of 18 – 22 January, Global Teachers Institute hosted the Future Leaders Orientation Week. The orientation is typically a cheerful event with new and returning interns filled excitement and nervous anticipation for what lies ahead. This year, as one would imagine, we did things differently!
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to follow all necessary protocols and work on creating a blended orientation experience to welcome interns into the 2021 academic year. The blended approach saw us hosting interns both virtually and on-site in our 5 regions – Johannesburg, Cape Town, Jane-Furse, Ehlanzeni and our new district in Mpumalanga, Bohlabela.
The Regional Schools Coordinators worked hard to create an interactive process that would allow interns who could not physically attend the orientation to feel engaged throughout each day. We set up Zoom rooms in all 5 education hubs and designed a programme that would make every participant feel involved in every session.