There are many stories out there about people and what they have done since the closure of schools and businesses. I wanted to share mine. I'm not only a high school teacher, but I'm a wife, mom, and daughter. This entry does not cover everything but I hope it paints a picture.
March 2020
School just ended for the week and the division made the decision upon leaving school to have a teacher work day to put "Learning in Place" packets together in preparation for school closure. Needless to say that never occurred. The Governor of Virginia instructed the closure of schools.
When the order hit the news and social media, I had students contacting me left and right asking if school was out for the year. At that moment, I informed the students to just wait. As I received information about the mad scramble to move to "distance learning," I sent messages through email and texted students through the REMIND app. Cannot say enough how I love the REMIND app.
It took about two weeks for my classes to transition to online. Thank goodness I was already actively using Google Classroom in my courses. Some students did not have access from home and the division expected that and distributed "Learning in Place" packets at the same sites for meal distribution.
To top off the month, my mother was scheduled for hip replacement surgery the Wednesday after schools were ordered to close. I was semi-happy about the schools being closed because I did not have to put in a leave form to be with mom for her surgery. Originally I planned to stay with her at the hospital until she went home, but the hospital was making a number of changes as they received more information about the virus. She came home the following day and had a Physical Therapist come out for a couple of weeks.
March went out like a Lion.
April 2020
My husband, Mike, works for Amazon and stayed home for a couple of weeks until we all established a new routine. The kids were upset because they could not go anywhere. Usually we would take them to the park or the library to interact with kids their age. My 4 yr old, Katie, could not understand that everything was closed. Beth, my oldest, would try to explain to her that a lot of people are sick and the government wants to keep from other people getting sick. Katie would ask when Mike or I left the house, "Is the Dammedic still out there?" We eventually got a daily schedule in place.
During "school time" Beth would do her school work while my husband or I would be assist her. I would be online during the "instructional day" and that left Katie with no school work to do. I took the offer provided by Beth's school and signed up for ABC Mouse. Not only did Beth use the program to reinforce what she learned but Katie would use it to do her "school work" while everyone else was online.
During my "instructional day", I logged on to answer emails, post video lessons for World History I and AP US Government, attend the multitude of meetings on Zoom and check students' work. It became a little mundane. If it was a sunny day, I would go outside to record my lesson to post on Google Classroom. I miss the face to face interaction with students and teachers. It was nice to observe Spring Break. I forced myself to disconnect from work. During that week, I only answered one email from a parent because they seemed worried.
After break, the school asked teachers to volunteer time during the week to come up and assist in the issuing of iPads to students. I donned up in my mask and gloves and went to the school to volunteer. It was a blessing to see the high school students with their parents/guardians come and retrieve those devices. The week after the distribution my students started posting assignments that were due. So happy for that! The school division changed the grading policy for the 4th quarter, and I wanted to make sure my students would pass.
Also this month I started working on a new venture to bring in some extra money. When the schools closed I lost some of the extra pay I received from doing bus duty and tutoring. I became an Independent Sales Representative for Avon. This led to additional computer time with the training modules and interacting with customers. My kids would help out approving posts and product for customers.
May 2020
In the beginning of May the local news paper published an article with the headline "Norfolk students won't be graded for work done from home during pandemic." All of a sudden I did not have as many students check in online or submit work. A student sent me a message asking if the news article she saw on Instagram was true. I told her the school division just changed how the 4th quarter would count work.
For Teachers' Appreciation Week, the administrators from the school drove over 230 miles to surprise teachers. They came to my house to deliver a good bag and a yard sign. This was a pleasant surprise.
Tired of always sending emails, I took the time to write notes to over 1/2 my students who I haven't heard from or haven't heard from recently. The mailman must have loved me filling the outgoing mailbox with those notes. In these notes I would update them on everything going on with the school. I told them I missed talking and interacting with them. Finally I would ask if they would drop me a line and tell me how they are doing. Since sending these out, I have heard from so of my students.
The past nine weeks or so seems like a blur upon reflection. The beginning was a little rough. I felt like a deer in headlights not knowing how long we would be out of school and how to keep up with everything. My family has been wonderful! We found a routine and stuck with it.
There are still three weeks left of school for myself and Beth and then we will be on Summer Break. Truthfully, I'm already looking forward to the fall.
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