Honey in My Lemonade

Setting Up The 1st Grade Classroom

My apologies for not blogging for the past couple few weeks. My time has been spent figuring out and planning how we are going to open school on August 11th. Along with my team at St. Ann, I've actually enjoyed putting this huge unpredictable puzzle together only to dismantle sections of the puzzle and start again. The way I see things, I can either be frustrated and negative by our circumstances or as Stephanie Nichols said, "make lemonade" with the lemons we've been given. My reaction to this situation is to add a little honey in my lemonade.

I know many of you are scared and filled with anxieties. I understand. I really do. I've never put in so much of my life into my work as I have since the middle of March. Life is tough, but it is still great. I have had many conversations with many parents who are super-concerned about the 2020-21 school year. Please remember that I am here to help you. I don't have all the answers, but I do have some. I will do my best to answer your questions. And, if I don't know, I'll tell you that I don't know and do my best to figure out the right answer. Unfortunately, the way things are changing, the right answer now maybe something completely different next week. Crazy stuff.

The most important people in my life besides my family are my students and staff members who are entrusted to my care. The last thing I want is for anything negative to happen to my babies from PK3 up to the most senior members of the St. Ann staff. They are all my babies and my job is to take care of each one of them. That's why we are planning and re-planning every step of re-opening. You can only imagine how many times I've played the re-opening in my head. I think everyone at St. Ann has been doing the same. Every time I think I have most things figured out, someone comes up with a questions and my honest response is: "I haven't even thought about that." Ask Jennifer Burnett. She is usually the one asking me the questions. And, know this week's in-service is all about being ready for August 11th.

Setting Up a Middle School Classroom

As for the first week of school, I'm not concerned about the academic piece of school. I don't care if any school work is done. I'm concerned about the safety piece and making sure we get things right. Drop-off, pick-up, traffic flow in the parking lot, traffic flow in the hallways, which entrances and exits will be used, masks, social distancing, teacher rotation, student rotation, sanitizers, cleaning the classrooms, lunch, lunch clean up, temperature taking, updating Covid-19 policies...

As bad as things are right now, times have been worse before and there will be worse times in the future. Life as we know it is different and difficult but life is still great. This has been one of the best summers of my life, and I'm hoping the same for this fall. I'll be sad when this summer ends. Yet, I'm excited for the new school year.

Here is list of information we all need to share.

Prayer:
Please pray for a safe school year not only for St. Ann Catholic School but for everyone everywhere. We are going to need prayers. Hope our Guardian Angels are on full alert and our prayer warriors out there are praying for us. Few things are as comforting as folks praying for us.

Safety and Good Health:
The single most important thing we can do to keep everyone safe and healthy is for us to be honest. Sounds crazy doesn't it. But, if we are honest, there is a very small chance for transmission of Covid-19 at our school. If your child doesn't feel good, keep him/her at home. If they have been exposed, keep him/her at home. A little sniffle, cough, low-grade fever, upset stomach, body ache, and/or just not feeling good, STAY HOME! In the past, any of these symptoms were often overlooked with a "you'll get over it." That can no longer happen. Now, we are jeopardizing everyone if we are not honest about these symptoms. Schools and day cares that have followed all the rules have had no problems. All it take is one person ignoring the rules and regulations to cause a lot of damage. Whether you think we are overreacting to Covid-19 or not, when it comes to the health of our children, we all need to follow the rules. Be honest!

Online students:
Mrs. Bannister will work with the nine online students in PK and 1st grade. Mrs. Thomas will work with the five online students in 2nd and 3rd grade. Mrs. Wendenon will work with the six online students in 4th and 5th grade. There are only three middle school online students, one in each middle school grade. The five middle school teachers will work with those three students instead of having one designated teacher. The next step is to work out schedules for when those students will be online with the teachers. We will work that out during in-service. These three educators are going to follow the regular classroom lesson plans, work closely with the classroom teachers, and do their best to keep the students as close as possible educationally with the students in class. We know from past experience the online students won’t get everything they normally would if they were in the regular classroom setting. One of our goals is to include/keep connected the online students with the regular classroom. Not sure what that will look like, but we have some ideas.

Mrs. Thomas will still work with the LIFE students and Mrs. Wendenon the SPARKS students.

Lunch:

For the time being, students need to bring their lunch to school. We have worked on some lunch options for the students. That's for another time. Let's get lunch in the classrooms done properly before going there. In the past, parents and grandparents have always been welcomed to join us for lunch. For now, that will not be allowed. Hope we can welcome you back soon.

Lockers:

The 5th-8th graders will use lockers. We will have to set up a rotation system for the students to go to their lockers to make sure to follow the 6 ft social distancing. We are clearing all classrooms of extra desks, tables, and bookshelves in order to provide more space for social distancing. Students having all their books, backpacks, and lunches with them kind of defeats the purpose clearing out the extra furniture. This will be easier for the 5th graders since Mrs. Metaxas already rotates the students when they go to their lockers.

Staff Trying On Their Face Shields

Masks and Face Shields:

Will we require masks/face shields? Yes. This is an important part of the whole plan and recommendations from the CDC, AAP, and local government. I think it is very important for our students to be able to see our teachers, their facial expressions, their mouths when forming words, and be able to hear their voices. It is hard to hear someone when they are speaking while wearing a face mask. We have purchased face shields for all teachers.  There are times our teachers will use face masks and other times the face shield. It depends on the situation, teachers' comfort level, and proximity to students. The band members will use face shields when in band class.

***Suggestion from one of our parents: spend this week having your child(ren) get used to wearing the face mask for more than 10-15 minutes at a time building up the time they keep the face mask on to where they can keep it on for 30-50 minutes at a time. Keeping the face mask on for long periods of time is not easy, but it is a small sacrifice to make for everyone's well-being.

Covid-19 Room:

We are converting part of the faculty workroom to a Covid-19 room. The faculty workroom is next to the school office and has access to a bathroom. We will separate that area with curtains and place beds in that area of the room. We don't want to put the students with Covid-19 symptoms in the school clinic. And, we are going to move the bed out of the clinic and move it to the Covid-19 room. If a student feels bad enough to need a bed, they probably need to be in the Covid-19 room.

Hope some of this information helps. If you have questions, please ask. Everything we are doing is a work in progress.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

2020 St. Ann Fall Fest Blog

This week's guest blogger is Stephanie Wilson Nichols. Stephanie is one of the St. Ann Fall Fest co-chairs. She is a freelance journalist, public relations/marketing consultant and event planner. She is the mother of two St. Ann alumni, Conner Nichols, 2013, and Seth Nichols, 2015 and an incoming seventh grader, Ethan Nichols.

We’ve all heard the proverbial phrase that begins, “When life gives you lemons.” Well, I think it’s safe to say that we have all been given our fair share of lemons over the last several months with this global pandemic. And, the annual St. Ann Fall Fest is certainly not immune.

The Fall Fest Team

So, let’s go back to March when all things as we knew it went awry. The Fall Fest team (Jamie Coggins, Kathy Schiavone and I) had a discussion. “Surely, this won’t affect the Fall Fest,” we said. “It’s seven months away,” we said. Then April rolled around. We stood our stance. We kept planning. Then, it was May. We channeled a song from our scheduled Live on the Field concert headliner Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.” And we kept working. When June arrived, lemons kept falling from the tree. Sponsors weren’t comfortable committing. Many of them were just reopening for business. Ticket sales had slowed as people feared not only the Covid-19 virus, but also whether or not the event would even take place. But we persisted. By July 1^st, Shelby County was talking of going back to Phase I. The forecast was calling for a 100 percent chance of gloom and doom as the number of cases continued to rise. So, the three of us gathered. We put on our masks and put together our best Covid-19 Preparedness Plan and submitted it to the Shelby County Health Department.

The verdict came quickly. In a word, No. Well, that isn’t entirely true. It was a yes, if we could limit the entire festival to no more than 499 people and track the identity of every person that attended in case anyone tested positive within 14 days of the festival. Oh, and a whole host of other caveats. So, we are back to the “No.”

So, what did we do? We did what the second part of that proverbial phrase says. We took all those lemons and made a big pitcher of lemonade. Or at least, that’s what we’ve tried to do. Whether or not it will truly be lemonade will depend on all of you. Your support. Your participation. We will do everything we are physically able to ensure its success, but we need cheerleaders, post sharers and we need everyone to get involved. Not for us. For the school and the church. For you. This is the only fundraiser we have, and neither entity can afford the hit.

So, what’s the new plan? We are calling it St. Ann Fall Fest “Masked Edition.” This modified version of the original festival includes six events. They are: $10,000 Cash Raffle; Curbside To-Go Virtual Italian Dinner and Online Auction; Virtual 5K; Golf Tournament; and Bowling Tournament.

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$10,000 Cash Raffle

The $10,000 Cash Raffle will be run just as the past car raffles have with tickets available for sale online at www.stannfallfest.org/home/schedule/raffle/ for five dollars each. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the Parish Office, 6529 Stage Road, Bartlett, Tenn., 38134. St. Ann parishioners and St. Ann School families will also be given tickets to either purchase or sell. As in years past, the school families will compete for cash and prizes. This year, we are adding P.R.E. families to the mix, asking each family to sell or purchase tickets. The drawing will be held Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020 after the 11:30 a.m. Mass – around 12:30 p.m., at the St. Ann Courtyard. Ticket holders do not have to be present to win.

Curbside To-Go Virtual Italian Dinner & Online Auction

Since we may not gather on campus inside the school gymnasium as we have the past two years, we are taking the dinner to the street! Well, sort of. We will be offering a choice of three adult and three children’s meals available for curbside pick-up at Coletta’s Italian Restaurant, 2850 Appling Road, on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020 from 5:30-7 p.m. All dinners must be pre-ordered and pre-paid either online at www.stannfallfest.org/home/schedulue/virtual-italian-dinner/ or at the St. Ann Parish Office. Adult dinners are $20 and children’s dinners are $10. The event will be broadcast live on the St. Ann Fall Fest Facebook page beginning at 6:15 p.m. whereby Rev. Ernie DeBlasio will give the official blessing. The Online Auction items up for bid will be previewed and will be available for online bidding beginning at 5:30 p.m. The auction will close on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020 at 5 p.m. NBC’s The Voice’s Mandi Thomas will be on hand to perform classic Italian and Opera favorites at Coletta’s!

Golf Tournament

The Golf Tournament will be held as previously scheduled on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020 at Quail Ridge Golf Course, 4055 Altruria Road, Bartlett, at 8 a.m. A four-person scramble, the tournament will be held according to the current (10/16/20) Shelby County Health Department Guidelines. Registration is $80 per person and may be done online at www.stannfallfest.org/home/schedule/golf-tournament. Golfers will receive breakfast and a to-go box lunch, along with Tiki Bar snacks and beverages. Contests will be held for Hole-In-One, and other skills, with grand prizes. Teams finishing first through third place will be awarded prizes. Sponsors needed. See sponsorship packages online.

Virtual 5K

A Virtual 5K will be held throughout the day on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020. Where? Wherever you are! Another state? Country? No problem! Sponsored by Lance Jolly, field agent, Knights of Columbus Insurance, this virtual event allows registrants to run/walk wherever they wish at any time throughout the day. Not a walker or runner? No problem. Sign up to be a Spirit Runner and join us “In Spirit!” All registrants who sign up by Oct. 7, 2020 will receive a Virtual 5K “Masked Edition” T-Shirt. Participants are invited to send pictures from their event (email and text number included in race packet) to be published on Fall Fest social media. If participating competitively, please take a picture of your completed time of 3.1 miles and send to the email address provided. Registration is $25 and may be completed at www.stannfallfest.org/home/schedule/virtual-5k-race/.

Bowling Tournament

The last of the events, the Bowling Tournament will be held a week later on Oct. 24, 2020 at Billy Hardwick’s All Star Lanes, 1576 S. White Station Road, Memphis, 38117. The tournament will mirror last year’s event with both scratch and handicap divisions with prizes for first place winning teams of each. Teams are comprised of four bowlers and registration is $35 per person and may be done online at www.stannfallfest.org/home/schedule/bowling-tournament/. Door prizes, auction items and entertainment. Sponsors needed. See sponsorship packages online.

So, there you have it! The newly modified plan to ensure funds are raised for both St. Ann Catholic Church and School amidst a global pandemic. It isn’t what we had hoped for, or planned for since October of last year. While we will miss the live music, carnival rides, food trucks, vendors, artists at work, chili cooking, camaraderie and drawing for a car, we will have it all again. In 2021. In fact, we’ve already set the dates. But for this year – we adjust. We make the best of the hand we’ve been dealt.

But now what? Get involved! Sign up! And while you’re at it, let’s all raise a glass of that lemonade and toast to the future success of the St. Ann Fall Fest “Masked Edition!”

Sincerely,

Stephanie Nichols

Finding It Hard to Concentrate

Has anyone else had a hard time concentrating since March 16th? I find it hard to concentrate on anything for more than maybe five to ten minutes. If I stay focused for a full ten minutes, I'm doing a great job. It is the craziest feeling. Actually, it is an uncomfortable feeling. Thank God I've had a series of guest bloggers or there would not have been a blog from me since March 29th. For me, since the middle of March, completing a task has been monumental. Writing this one paragraph has taken me about thirty minutes.

In the thirty minutes since starting this blog, I have stopped writing (blogging) to watch a little bit of Newcastle vs West Ham. I have it on but muted. The noise from the TV doesn't bother me. Listening to announcers state the obvious is annoying. I usually watch sporting events on mute. I have also made a bowl of fruit salad for breakfast. And, I counted the number of books I have on my nightstand I have started reading but have given up on. Someday, I'll finish those books. Just don't know when.

It is the strangest thing, I have started reading those six books but cannot concentrate long enough to even comprehend what I'm reading. Many times, I have to read the same paragraph two or three times just for comprehension purposes. It is frustrating. I love to read. Since March 16th, reading hasn't been much fun.

I do not know why this is happening. Just during this past Christmas break, I read five books. There was no problem with concentrating. And, there was no problem taking a break from work for mental and physical health purposes. We need those breaks. Right now, it is as if our brains aren't turning off. There is no mental health break. Maybe we can turn off our brains for a day trip to the lake. But, that's just one day. A weekend away from work hasn't happened since the middle of March.

I have to think through the situation to try to figure out the sudden changes. Don't think I'm suffering from Alzheimer's or some form of depression. Why has someone who loves to read and is constantly reading all of a sudden lost that desire to read? Why has someone who really enjoys going to work everyday had such a hard time concentrating? Why has someone who looks forward to the next challenge all of a sudden, having difficulty finishing a project before moving on to the next? This can be a little disconcerting. Actually, it is very disconcerting.

The way I see it, we have gone from a normal mode to a firefighter mode. Since March 16th, we have been putting out fires not on a daily basis but on an hourly basis. So many fires have been popping up that we cannot even finish putting out one fire when we have to start fighting another. The more fires you have to fight, the less of you there is to fight those fires. Don't feel as if I'm giving less of myself to fighting the fires. There are just too many fires to fight at one time.

One week the CDC and the health department tell us this is what needs to happen. The next week, the directives change. The next day, the politicians make everything a political battle and forget it is about the people and not political affiliation. In turn, we have no idea what needs to be done. Thank God the Catholic Schools have the task force to help guide us.

The way most of us work, we have short-term and long-term goals. Those long-term goals are usually part of a five-year plan. For now, the five-year plans have pretty much been set ablaze by the short-term goals. The longest short-term goal we are working on is getting ready for August 11th. That's the day we are scheduled to begin the 2020-21 school year.

We are working on a day-to-day basis. Work is tough. The situations we are facing are tough. Families are struggling. Children need to have a normal and healthy routine. Right now, a healthy routine is different for everybody. Some parents are scared to death about schools starting up. Some parents cannot wait for schools to get started. We all have tough decisions to make with super-mixed information coming our way. We hear this. We read that. This person advises this. That person advises that. Everyone's an expert yet no one knows anything.

The way I look at it, times have been tougher. Situations have been more severe. I'm going to keep putting out fires the best I can. I'm going to make the best decisions I can to educate my students while doing my best to keep them and the St. Ann staff as safe as possible. My job is to provide students and families with a Catholic Education. Along with a team of experts (Diocesan Transition Task Force), fellow Catholic School administrators, incredible staff members at St. Ann, and lots of prayer, we are working on the short-term goal of the first day of school. We are getting closer to seeing what that will look like. Yet, on the constant changing stream of information, the picture is still very blurry. It will become clear. We just have to remain patient and continue working hard to achieve the best possible outcome for everyone involved.

For now, I'm not going to worry too much about my inability to concentrate on reading a paragraph from a book I'm wanting to read. But, I will be more compassionate when one of my students has a hard time concentrating on a paragraph they are supposed to read. If anything, I have learned something through all of this.

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

The Holy Spirit Showed Up and Showed Out

Anthony Maranise

This is the fourth and final in a series of blogs where I 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, this is the final St. Ann educator reflection. Last but not least is our eighth grade Religion educator, Anthony Maranise.

Most of my learners at St. Ann (and some of my faculty-friends) know that I am learning not only along with and from them regularly, but also as I simultaneously work towards my doctorate as I teach. I mention this simply because much of my doctoral coursework is online already. When the coronavirus outbreak began, as so many of you now know well, teachers across the world were ‘forced’ online to instruct their learners remotely. As a rather extroverted person, I derive much of my passion for teaching from the genuine joy of being able to directly and meaningfully interact with my learners – whether that is through in-person instruction or even mere casual pleasantries as we pass one another in the hallways. Though the precautionary impacts of the pandemic deprived me, temporarily, of that joy, it did not, could not, and will not stifle my passion for education nor the good zeal I have for the learners entrusted to my care. What the pandemic did do for me, as an educator, is – somewhat ironically – teach me two lessons which I would like to briefly share with you.

St. John Baptist de La Salle

Lesson 1: Insofar as I had adjusted to online learning myself for my own studies, I quickly learned that there exists a vast chasm of difference between learning online and teaching online. The latter (that is, teaching online) is far more difficult, even though the content I am responsible for disseminating may be elementary to me. It is not and never is about us as educators when we are teaching; it is solely about and for the benefit of our learners. Moreover, I am a religious educator so it is not only integral to my mission, but part of my responsibility not just to academically form my learners, but to also – in the words of the Patron Saint of Educators, St. John Baptiste de La Salle – “touch hearts which [I] cannot possibly do without the help of the Holy Spirit.” That said, I had to quickly take content I would have presented a certain way in classes in-person and format it, as meaningfully as possible for online engagement, in a way that would compel my learners to demonstrate concept mastery to that rigorous level they have come to expect from me (and I from them), but also in a way that would “touch [their] hearts”. The Holy Spirit “showed up and showed out”, as the phrase resounds, in their submitted works because many of their responses, comments, questions, and engagements made clear that their hearts had been touched, but in the process, they touched my own – adding even greater passion to my already aflame love for educating at St. Ann.

Lesson 2: An additional precautionary action during the pandemic (apart from the temporary physical distancing from our schools) was that of a sort of ‘freeze’ to public worship, liturgical, and/or sacramental offerings. I know that I am but one among many of the faithful for whom this was difficult, but I found some comfort in the wisdom of a book written by a friend of mine (and to many). In Living the Sacraments, Fr. David Knight writes, “In a sense, everything in life becomes a prayer. Everything becomes an experience of oneness with Christ because we are united with Him – in desire and in fact – in everything we do” (p. 37). There it was! Though our sacramental and worship lives – along with nearly every other conceivable aspect – had been disrupted to some extent by this pandemic, it would be in and through my passion for teaching and engagement (even though digital) with my learners (all of whom truly and vibrantly bear and outwardly reflect “the image and likeness of God” [Gen. 1:27] as we all do) that I would remain spiritually-grounded! The renowned Christian apologist and English literary phenom, C.S. Lewis, adds further support to Fr. Knight’s wise counsel, noting, “There are no ‘ordinary’ people. You have never spoken to a mere mortal… Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses” (The Weight of Glory). We took the precautions that we did out of loving concern for these persons – our neighbors – who are holy bearers of God’s own image and likeness. But, even though we were made physically distant from them – particularly for us educators, from our learners and faculty-friends – so many of us found greater union with God not through being apart from them, but in the being apart, by coming to realize how important these persons are to us; indeed, how much they teach, form, and add value to our own lives – often even more so than we do to theirs.

With prayers for us all, and in hope of health & wholeness,

Anthony

More St. Ann Blogs:
Kristina Miller https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/06/currahee.html

Melanie Wall https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/we-never-did-it-that-way-before.html

Annmarie Ghio https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/an-educators-take-on-remote-teaching.html

Liz Wehmeyer https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/an-educators-take-on-remote-teaching.html

Kris Crews https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/re-opening-catholic-schools-this-fall.html

Joseph Gulino https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/just-keep-doing-what-you-are-doing_9.html

Laura Battle https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/04/dr-laura-battle-this-weeks-guest-blogger.html

Anthony Maranise https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/04/holy-week-and-easter-during-time-of.html

Christy Matlock https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/04/from-st-ann-to-new-jersey-nurses-story.html

Currahee!

This is the third in a series of blogs where 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. Next up is our fourth grade educator, Kristina Miller.

Currahee Mountain

Currahee!

How I handled remote learning was like that of a soldier. I was raised in a military family and I am a big WWII buff. I am especially fond of the story of the Band of Bothers which was made into an HBO series. In the series it shows how a group of paratroopers bonded in basic training by having to run up and down the Currahee Mountain in Georgia before heading to the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.

Though I was not facing a war, I was facing a battle with Covid. A battle with isolation, a battle with a toilet paper shortage, and a battle in un-charted territory. First and for most, I was in a battle to protect my students and their families from undo stress, while still doing my utmost to provide them with a meaningful education. I also wanted to tend to their emotional needs as well.

Mrs. Miller & WW2 veteran on
the 75th anniversary on D-Day
in Normandy, France

Every day, I planned with my students’ families in mind. Can this work be done while mom is at work? Can this work be done with several kids at home? Is dad needing to use the computer as he works from home? Will the kids enjoy the day’s lesson? Am I too hard, too easy?

Finding balance during an unbalanced time was my greatest challenge. My nose to the grindstone, I didn’t look up until the mission was accomplished. And before you knew it, it was the last day of school and my class met on hangouts for a tear-filled farewell. After that, I gave in and cried the built-up tears of frustration, relief, and sadness. The sadness was that I couldn’t properly say goodbye to the children that I have had the honor of teaching for the past two years. I prayed that I have served them and their families well.

On Hangouts
with Students

I want to thank my parents for their support, for being great co-teachers, and cheerleaders! I couldn’t have done it without them- the foundation of successful remote learning relies heavily on the partnership of parents and the teacher.

It is through strong leadership, hard work, great support and a great love for each other that makes St. Ann a great school. While other schools gave up and shut down, we like the Band of Brothers, circled our troops and stormed the beaches of Covid, and we conquered remote learning with God’s help.

With deepest appreciation and love to all at St. Ann,

Kristina Miller

More Blogs on St. Ann:

Melanie Wall https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/we-never-did-it-that-way-before.html

Annmarie Ghio https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/an-educators-take-on-remote-teaching.html

Liz Wehmeyer https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/an-educators-take-on-remote-teaching.html

Kris Crews https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/re-opening-catholic-schools-this-fall.html

Joseph Gulino https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/just-keep-doing-what-you-are-doing_9.html

Laura Battle https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/04/dr-laura-battle-this-weeks-guest-blogger.html

Anthony Maranise https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/04/holy-week-and-easter-during-time-of.html

Christy Matlock https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/04/from-st-ann-to-new-jersey-nurses-story.html

We Never Did It That Way Before

This is the second in a series of blogs where 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. Next up is our first grade educator, Melanie Wall.

This is my first year teaching at St. Ann. While I could take this opportunity to let everyone know about the incredibly warm welcome I received and how helpful and patient all the staff and families have been, I think I'd like to share about what I’ve witnessed at St. Ann over the past two months.

Let me give you a little background first. Many people don’t know that I come from a rather diverse employment background. One job I held while working on my undergraduate degree at the University of Memphis (Memphis State, at the time) was at my father's small medical practice. I was in charge of filing insurance claims. During my time there, the big shift was made from keeping medical records and insurance claims on paper to submitting all electronically. When it was announced that we'd no longer be using the more “traditional“ ways of record keeping, I was shocked at the reaction from some of his staff, especially those who had been with him the longest. They weren't happy at all, and were quick to grumble and argue about the changes taking place. My father patiently listened to their grievances but kept moving forward. I'll never forget walking into the office break room one day during this transition and seeing a sign he had posted. It read “ . . . the last words of a dying organization are ‘We never did it that way before.’” The office eventually successfully transitioned, but the grumbling remained for quite some time.

Christmas Party

Fast forward to Friday, March 13^th this year. Mr. Aur called an emergency faculty meeting to deal with the school closing due to COVID -19. As I walked into the library that day, I was nervous. What was the atmosphere going to be like? Would I see the same resistance to change that I’d seen in the past? While I knew the situations were very different, I felt in many ways that this change would be more frightening.

What I saw was amazing. In spite of the uncertainty of the situation, there was an incredible positive attitude. I heard about ideas based on how we were going to make distance learning work instead of complaints and negativity. The teachers immediately began sharing and offered to help each other as we entered this new realm of education.

Since that day in the library, there have been incredible virtual meetings and professional development sessions. Has it been perfect? No. While there have been a few tears of frustration and sadness, the teachers and administrators have continued to work together. Distance learning has been and is a work in progress and I, especially, have struggled. But the focus from the beginning of this journey has remained on solutions. I have not seen or heard any issues of “we've never done it that way before;” instead, the prevailing attitude has been “Let's do this!” That's one of the many reasons why I’m so proud and thrilled to call St. Ann home.

"I can hardly wait to see the precious St. Ann students and their families when school opens. I hope you all have a wonderful summer!

With much love,

Melanie Wall

More Blogs on St. Ann:

Annmarie Ghio https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/an-educators-take-on-remote-teaching.html

Liz Wehmeyer https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/an-educators-take-on-remote-teaching.html

Kris Crews https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/re-opening-catholic-schools-this-fall.html

Joseph Gulino https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/05/just-keep-doing-what-you-are-doing_9.html

Laura Battle https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/04/dr-laura-battle-this-weeks-guest-blogger.html

Anthony Maranise https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/04/holy-week-and-easter-during-time-of.html

Christy Matlock https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/04/from-st-ann-to-new-jersey-nurses-story.html

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