Tea, Tech & Tête-à-Tête by Lidia

Invicta Grammar School recently hosted another Tea, Tech & Tête-à-Tête Session for our lovely oldies. We are so grateful to Lidia one of the students for sharing her experience.

Tea, Tech & Tête-à-Tête by Lidia

This year, there have been two ‘Tea and Tech’ sessions so far, in which Community Prefects support older members of the local community from Circle of Friends with using technology, ranging from how to order food online, to figuring out how to like a post on Instagram! These sessions are also a lovely opportunity to share experiences and perspectives with each other, increasing intergenerational integration, leaving us all with meaningful interactions and plenty of smiles, alongside invaluable communication skills.

The very first session began with students being guided on cheque writing by our wonderfully chatty older friends, which I found was a great way to show us how bewildering it can feel to be presented with something you don’t know how to use. This helped the team of students create a collaborative, patient and supportive environment to overcome the frustrations and queries of using technology, especially as we recognise it is advancing at an ever-increasing rate.

It is very fulfilling to recognise the impact you have on the community. By helping someone develop skills we tend to take for granted, like drawing on our Notes App or editing photos, it can make their life much easier and allow them to connect to others via social media, which is especially vital as many member from Circle of Friends live alone.

One session ended with a member playing an uplifting Harry Styles song after learning how to navigate music apps, which I found joyfully heartwarming. I think a simple moment like that sums up the heart of these sessions: bridging the gap between generations to create happy memories, all while refining technology skills.

I look forward to helping and hearing more stories from the truly interesting and engaging members of Circle of Friends again, over some Tea and Tech!

#TeaAndTech #CircleOfFriends #CommunityConnection #SixthForm #InvictaGrammarSchool #StudentLeadership #CommunityPrefects #IntergenerationalLearning #Year12 #Maidstone