Saying Goodbye

This week we begin saying "goodbye" to our students in different and strange ways.  Today starts our school's locker clean out.  The procedures put in place to keep everyone safe seem so foreign and odd.  Students and parents had to sign up for an appointment to come in the building.  The directions sent out to parents were an entire page long:

Directions for Students● Each student will have 10 minutes to clean out the locker.● Students enter their hallway using the exterior entrance closest to their wing (NOT the front doors). Parents can drive around the back of school if needed (Teams 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 8-2, 8-3).● Students waiting to enter should use social distancing. Look for dots on the ground and make sure to plan for inclement weather.● Students have 10 minutes to clean lockers - no more than 2 students in each hallway at a time. Please be prepared and respectful of time.● Students need to bring a bag with them to put all contents of the locker. Multiple trips in and out of the wing will not be allowed so come prepared for one time in and out.● Students need to wear a mask while they are inside the building.● School items removed from lockers (like library books) can be placed on a cart at the front of the wing.● Students are not to leave their hallway unless directed by or approved by a staff member.Other items in building● Students' instruments will be placed at the front of the wing.● Yearbooks: Students who already purchased yearbooks will be given one during locker cleanout. For those wishing to purchase yearbooks, a staff member will be available to assist you.● PE lockers, Art projects, & other items left outside of the wing: Please notify the wing monitor for assistance.● Medication in the nurse's office will be handed out at a later date.

Next week on what should be our last day of school, we will have a "reverse car parade" at the school to wave goodbye to our students. Like many schools across the country, on the last day of school all teachers and staff stand outside and wave goodbye to the bus and students leaving for the year.  Our principals wanted to recreate that day, so they put together a parade for the parents to bring the students up to say goodbye.  Our school has almost 1000 students so to ease the traffic, they have divided the alphabet up and given times for each group to drive through.  I am excited and sad to have to say goodbye in this way. I NEED to see my students, but I want to give the hugs, sign the yearbooks, and share the memories of this year with them. 

My team has decided to do something fun next Wednesday.  We created a short trivia competition using Kahoot.  We are inviting all 102 students to join us and play a game. I hope that I get to see many of their faces and be able to give virtual hugs to all of them.  Last week, when I was packing my classroom, I was sad that I would not get to give students back their first day of school picture with my goodbye on the back. I found a way around it though! I still have their photos saved to my drive, so I am going to email them with their picture and a short note attached.  I know it doesn't completely replicate the handwritten note, but I think it is a close second. 

There are so many things in the air about next school year, and I am very nervous.  A TON of my teacher friends do not think we will be going back next school year to a brick-and-mortar school. I am not sure I want to be a teacher anymore if I can't interact with my students in a face-to-face classroom.  The reason I do the work and spend the hours away from my personal life is for my students and the difference I can make in their lives.  It was so hard to connect with my students during eLearning, and I had developed strong, lasting relationships with almost all of them.  My brain is a mess of thoughts, and I am scared that this is going to be normal teaching for some time, and I am not sure that I want it. BUT what kind of teacher would I be if I just gave up on my students now?  That isn't right.  Just because it is hard, I can't stop.  If that was the case, I would have quit after my first year. 😂

I know this blog is a stream of disconnected thoughts and feelings, and I could go back and edit it, but this is my brain every day. These are the thoughts and ramblings of a teacher during a pandemic, and I can guarantee I am not the only one feeling this way.

The End of the Year with eLearning

WHEWWWW... This week has been an emotional roller coaster. It is teacher appreciation week. I received many sweet notes from my students that made my day along with a nice sign and cupcake delivered from my school.

BUT, I also had to pack up my classroom, all by myself. My building is scheduled to have construction this summer.  Basically, the entire campus will be shut down because they are putting in new electrical and HVAC, replacing the circle drive and some sections of the roof, plus removing asbestos in parts of the building. This meant that we had to have our classroom packed up so that everything could be moved out while the construction was happening. With schools closed, we were asked to come in and pack our classrooms this week, so construction could start early in hopes that it would be finished early, and we could get back in our classrooms earlier. On the first day of school, I take a picture of each student and it stays up in my classroom the rest of the year. I take the down pictures, and write a note to each student and then give them back on the last day. It is always so fun to see their reaction to what they looked like on the first day of school. It really hit me while packing up that I am not going to get to say "goodbye" to my students or have any closure to this school year.

Our last day of school is May 21st. This means we have 2 weeks left of eLearning/school.  Teachers and students are definitely feeling that early May drop off this year more than in past years. Work completion is dropping, and students are not joining our Google Meets anymore.  I am struggling with my own motivation as we end week 7 of eLearning.  I am thankful for the next 2 weeks, my students are doing a collaborative project with our math teacher.  It is a fun project that we always do at the end of the year from teacher creator, Secondary Sara.  The students create a "bucket list" of items they want to accomplish and then choose 1 to research and present to the class.  This year the students also have a budget and other math skills to complete while they are researching. Most students are very engaged in the project and enjoy completing it.  I hope that will translate to the online environment as well.