MARCH 30, 2020

Like everyone else, Sebastian was no fan of quarantine life. He was deeply affected by the separation from his friends and teachers. From March through June, he saw almost no one outside his family. “Everything felt weird,” said Seb. “That’s just how I would put it, like everything was off. It was a strange experience to be separate from each other. No one felt good about it. But we all had to adapt and carry on.” The House Captains began meeting remotely to address the challenge of keeping the school community connected and spirits high. They soon began a lunchtime Google Meet, inviting all students to talk and hang out. They made use of the House Instagram pages they had created in the fall, offering challenges, games and friendly competitions. As the pandemic continued, Seb and his team talked to RSGC Social Worker Andrea Kaye about the “How Are You, Really?” initiative, an online campaign launched by the Mental Health Coalition. Its purpose is to get past the automatic “I’m fine” response when people check in with each other and be honest about the personal struggles that come with this public health emergency. “Asking ‘How are you, really?’ is different than asking ‘How are you?’” said Julie. “The House Captains interviewed some teachers and each other, and captured two different answers to the two questions. It illustrated that it’s okay to be experiencing some difficult emotions, and it’s okay to talk about it. The students wanted to open the door to conversations about mental health.” Seb, along with co-editor Jacob Buchan, also carried on with his plan to reinvigorate the senior student online publication, now called The Howlander, which had been somewhat dormant. Students had been submitting work to the publication, but it lacked a robust club to offer support and direction. Seb and Jacob had a vision to take the publication to a new and higher level. “He enlisted other Grade 11 students, and they began some conversations about rebranding it with a new name, recruiting younger boys and developing the content,” said faculty advisor Trena Evans. “He and Jacob had to figure it all out as they went. They had no precedent for running a club through virtual meetings rather than normal, face-to-face interactions. But they were determined to make it happen.” Trena describes Seb as a strong communicator, great collaborator, and wonderful coach and role model for the younger boys. Julie agrees, pointing out that as the school year began to wrap up, Seb wanted to keep the weekly Google Meets going. It became “Summer Meets,” a time for students and teachers to get together and stay connected as the pandemic continued to disrupt normal social relations. “ The end of the school year had a surreal feeling to it,” said Seb. “Usually, there’s all this hectic energy around exams and then a big release—boom—that launches the summer. It wasn’t like that at all. We said our goodbyes and just sort of went our separate ways. I wanted Summer Meets to fill the social void a bit.”