“When can we play altogether on the playground?” “I miss school assemblies!” “How come there are so many guidelines for COVID-19?” “I don’t want to have to do remote learning again!” These are just a few of the questions and concerns voiced by the students and staff at Barker School. It is easy to focus on the things we no longer have or can do during this pandemic. However, staff and students were quick to shift their mindset and look at some of the positive gains since the start of the pandemic. We have come together as a school community and have overcome obstacles and experienced several successes.
As a school community, we discussed the challenges, stretches and successes. We are very proud of our successes and have created our “Top Ten Take-Aways,” as quoted by students and staff at Barker School.
#10 – Safety/Cleanliness – “Everything is always being cleaned!” “Sanitizing your hands is so fast and easy and you don’t have to make so many trips up and down the stairs to wash your hands!” “We are safe at school with masks and hand sanitizing.” With the improved hygiene routines and continuous cleaning, there has been a noticeable difference in the number of students and staff away sick. Thank you to parents for picking up their sick child quickly and for keeping their children home when they are sick.
Many students realize and share that they feel safe. They know the school is keeping them safe even though some of the guidelines are difficult, such as staying 6 feet apart and wearing masks. However, on a positive note, many students comment that “…no one is in your personal bubble anymore.” The main entrance to the school now has a video camera system operated by the main office. Many visitors now drop off lunches, forms, etc. and less interruptions are seen and heard in the school.
#9 – Recess wins – “There are no line-ups to use the slides and equipment!” “We all get a turn in the different playground zones.” With the staggering of recesses and placing students in cohorts, students appreciate the fact that there are fewer students vying for the same equipment.
#8 – Appreciation – “I have received a lot of positive feedback. Parents and families have shown an even greater appreciation of what we as a staff do for their children.” Parents had a glimpse into the classroom through remote lessons and videos. Our students, staff and parents have a greater appreciation for the constant planning, cleaning and resourcefulness of our school community.
#7 – Be flexible – Changes to the classrooms, changes to the timetables, changes to the teaching assignments… the changes were never ending. However, the students and staff continued to embrace the sometimes-weekly changes and took on the attitude of being flexible will help get us through these challenges. As difficult as they were, everyone continued to push forward and continued to be flexible. “Change is hard but we did it!”
#6 – Resiliency of staff and students – “Kids are resilient and will learn even in difficult situations.” Going through the many changes, students and staff continued to amaze each other with their level of resiliency. We proved to ourselves that together, we can meet the challenges.
#5 – Be patient/give grace – From being patient with ourselves and each other, to lining up for recess, patience is important and goes a long way! We also need to give ourselves, our students and our families grace during this difficult time.
#4 Generous spirit – “Our generous spirit didn’t diminish!” We continued to give back to our community and spread kindness. The activities may have looked different; however, students and staff enjoyed and embraced the changes. We were able to provide for the food bank, held a cereal domino challenge and made cards for the personal care home, to name a few.
#3 Growth in technology - From virtual meetings and parent-teacher conferences to communication through SeeSaw (our digital platform), our staff and students have grown in their abilities in technology. The importance and the need for technology became very evident for remote learning to be possible and to keep the lines of communication open, especially with the ever-changing guidelines. To quote a staff member, “I never thought I would become a YouTube star. I learned much about recording and editing videos.”
#2 Continued celebrations – “We have school assemblies, but they look really different!” We continue to think “outside of the box” to continue to provide opportunities for our school community to come together. Assemblies are now held virtually using Teams. “We are like movie stars when Mrs. MacMillan walks around with her iPad and we see everyone on our Smart Boards, like our Halloween Parade!” We are not able to have parents in our building so we send the events to them virtually, for example, our Welcome Back introductions, Remembrance Day Service and soon to be Winter Showcase.
#1 Appreciation of family and friends – Every class commented on the importance of appreciating your family and friends and how it has grown. We continue to spread kindness within our school and community. We are excited to be doing the 12 Days of Kindness as a school activity and are looking forward to the many acts we will see and hear. These past few months have been trying and some days are more difficult than others. Appreciating our family and friends have helped to work through this trying time.
We have learned and continue to learn to overcome obstacles and things out of our control. The ten take-aways have helped guide us through the past year and a half and provided us with a more positive outlook on what could have been all negatives. “Not all from COVID-19 was bad. We grew, learned and adapted - making us better prepared for what comes next!” There have been many challenges, but we have seen growth in other areas and have had positive gains throughout our school, our student body and our staff. “Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day!”