There is No Finish Line

Learning About Saints

The original title of this blog post was "Preparing to Go Virtual Again." But, doesn't that title give you a sick feeling? The sad thing is we ARE preparing to go virtual again. We spent so much time since the spring shutdown getting ready for school to reopen that we have not spent but a minute planning for another shutdown. Not planning for a future shutdown as of now has completely changed. We were super-well prepared for the last shutdown, but we plan to be even more for a next possible shutdown. So, if you are wondering what fills our days at St. Ann besides the usual, everyday, procedural-laden, Covid-19 form of education; well, getting ready for a shutdown is what we are doing.

Reading Time

So, why did I change the title of this blog post? In our virtual principals' meeting yesterday, one of the principals talked about how everything we do in education typically has a finish line. With this pandemic, there is no finish line. Not having a finish line causes stress and anxiety with many folks. Nationally, quite a few teachers are experiencing these in big ways, which is leading to an educational exodus that will have negative affects on learning for generations to come.

People can endure just about anything if they know where the finish line is. With what's happening, there is no finish line. The finish line might be this fall. Many have heard it said that this will all end on Election Day. I am not a conspiracy theorist, at least not yet. So, I don't buy that. The finish line might be the fall of 2021. No one knows. And, this is going to increase stress and anxiety levels. Bottom line is there is no finish line. There is no end in sight. How many of you keep forgetting what day it is? Some folks have to remind themselves we are nearing the end of July, I mean August. 

Writing Time

So, we are preparing for what we can prepare for and putting the finish line in God's hands. We are going to put our stress and anxiety in His hands as well. Personally, I'm going to not question so much. I'm not going to cause others more stress and anxiety by questioning everything.

I mentioned in my blog post "Honey in My Lemonade" that this has been one of the best summers of my life. The best summers of my life were the summers my family spent on Santos Beach in Brazil, my native country. My plan is to have one of the best autumns of my life in 2020. Every day will be me enjoying Santos Beach. Instead of seeing the end of this pandemic as the finish line, my finish line is going to be the end of every day when I go naninha (Portuguese for night-night). The race will start again the next morning. 

Peaceful Protest

Here's how we are planning for a possible shutdown. Led by Annmarie Ghio, every teacher is designing a shutdown plan. Yes, they are putting their plans in writing because we want to be ready to distribute the shutdown plans if it happens. Their plans will list all the websites we will be using (FACTS, blogs, IXL, ReadWorks, Be My Disciple, Google Classroom, Seesaw and about ten more) and where to find your child's passwords to log-in to these sites. The plans will even have a daily academic schedule for your child to follow.

We have spent the last few days getting all students and educators registered with Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt's Journeys for English Language Arts (ELA). This is the new ELA curriculum we purchased with online components in case of the dreaded shutdown. The online components of Sadlier Math have already been put into use. This is the updated Math curriculum we purchased for virtual learning. We have added science and social studies to IXL language arts and math. We are currently exploring other programs such as BrainPOP that teachers can utilize to help students.

Learning About Saints

It is bizarre to think that while the school year moves forward in-person for 90% of the students (10% of the students are virtual), we are preparing to go 100% virtual just in case. I am hoping that all the preparation for virtual learning is done for naught. If we are able to go live all year without a shutdown, think we will have to throw a massive end of the school year party for everyone at St. Ann. If that were to happen, then that massive party will be our finish line. Until then, I'm just going to jog and not sprint to the finish line because we are only in week three of thirty-seven.

Will we be prepared if we go 100% virtual again? There is no doubt we will be prepared academically. Mentally will any of us be prepared? Hopefully, we will never have to answer that question.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

An Educator's Take on Remote Teaching

I have asked St. Ann educators if they would be willing to write a blog on what it has been like teaching during this pandemic. Several of our educators took time to write down their thoughts. So, the next several blogs will feature St. Ann educators reflecting on teaching during the pandemic. First up is our 3^rd grade educator, Annmarie Ghio.

Remote learning. Ugh! It’s not for every student. And remote teaching, it's not for every teacher. For me, it was heart-breaking, yet heart-warming.

It was heart-breaking, because I saw students and parents struggle. Home is not a school. We have a different mindset when we’re at home in comfy clothes surrounded by snacks, toys, and television, away from the structure of a classroom and the support of a teacher. I struggled as well, both professionally and personally when my dad died unexpectedly. I was disappointed as I cancelled field trips, projects, and other special events. But a strong faith, hope, surrounding myself with supportive people, and a new routine helped.

For me, I feed off of my students. I love to see my scholars every day, and I gauge how my lessons are going by how my students are reacting. Are they engaged? Are they smiling? Do they look like they’re falling asleep? I adjust immediately. To be a teacher is to be creative and flexible. But during this time, I doubted myself. Remote teaching challenged my capacity for being creative. It drained my energy as I planned and taught like never before. When I am remote teaching, even in Hangouts, it’s hard to get feedback from students. It’s sometimes difficult to see their faces, to assess their body language, or to have a good, honest back-and-forth conversation. And I miss the socialization as much as they do. I miss their high-fives and hugs. I miss their anecdotes and endless curiosity that challenges me to dive deeper into content or broaden my scope on a lesson. Then there’s the end of the year goodbyes. We really didn’t get a proper good-bye, did we?

However, we all know that life gives us challenges. They are inevitable. But how we faced this challenge was crucial, not just for us as educators, but for the expectations and example we set for our St. Ann students and their families. Remote teaching was not optional. It's not what we were trained to do or even what we wanted to do. It’s what we needed to do, and we needed to do it well. So we researched. We learned. We changed. We adjusted. And we learned some more. And adapted again. The cycle still continues as we look toward an uncertain future. I should be preparing for summer camps, but instead I'm measuring my classroom and deciding what stays and what goes as I rethink my teaching styles and strategies for the fall.

Despite the distance, my students and I discovered new ways to stay connected. That’s what family does! Thank goodness for Hangouts, home videos, Doceri, hand-written letters, and PicCollage. I also saw not only teachers do things they never thought they could, but I also saw students and parents discover new talents and strengths. It has been amazing to see our young learners shine in a new light! And our parents stepped up to partner with us. You are all amazing, too, and we will never forget how you helped us. So even though remote teaching had its heart-breaking moments, there were unexpected opportunities over the past 10 weeks that were heart-warming. And the end result of those outweighs the bad. Those memories of seeing our students make new discoveries are what teaching is all about. Those moments are permanent. Remote learning is temporary.

No one knows what the fall will look like, but I am 100% certain that the teachers and administration at St. Ann can and will meet any challenges head-on, prepared to lead our students into another safe, meaningful year of learning filled with faith, service, and love.

Have a safe, healthy, and fantastically fun summer. I love you, and I miss you...all.

Annmarie Ghio

A Previous Blog by a St. Ann Parent, Liz Wehmeyer: https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/why-st-ann-by-liz-wehmeyer.html