Well, we made it through the longest March Break in history! On Friday March 13th, you all attended the school’s dance-a-thon – glow sticks and snacks and dancing with your friends. And then you headed off home for what we thought would be a week of March Break, followed by a two-week closure of schools to allow for some quarantine time due to Covid-19. And then you never returned. The province-wide closure was extended, multiple times, and optional online learning programs were put into place.
And now, six months later, you’ve finally returned to school! It’s a return to school unlike any we’ve ever seen or anticipated, but I have full faith in your school’s administration, teachers and staff to make the absolute best lemonade out of this massive pile of lemons. There are a lot of unknowns around what this school year looks like (or even how long it will last), but there are clearly important differences already.
Mandatory masks.
Assigned seating and social distancing wherever possible. Directional arrows on
doors and in hallways. Strict cohorts (classes) and no mingling with other
cohorts. Assigned places for cohorts during outdoor time. No parents allowed on
school property or in the school. Gym and library closed. No field trips,
visitors, extra-curriculars, assemblies. It sounds overwhelming and frankly,
scary and sad. But as I saw today when I dropped you all off for your first day,
your teachers will make the best of it. And if this global pandemic has taught
us all anything (including your mother, who REALLY likes to plan ahead) – it’s
that we need to be flexible and take what life throws at us and make the best
of it; and that we are all, children included, MUCH more resilient and
adaptable than we ever thought.
I can’t wait to hear what the day holds and how the year
unfolds. I am so happy that we’ve managed a (hopefully safe-ish) return to in-person
learning, but I am so beyond grateful that I’ve had the last six months here at
home with you (and your father, who only returned to work a couple of weeks
ago). It’s been frustrating and boring and lonely and overwhelming at times,
but it’s also been amazing to spend so much time together as a family – I can’t
think of any people I’d rather be in lockdown with.
Here’s to a weird but wonderful year of Grades 3, 4 and 6. You’ve
got this!
Love,
Mama
