Making the best of a tough situation
Iknow I'm not the only one who feels like we're living in an alternate universe right now. The coronavirus has stirred fear and hypervigilance in all of us. It also gives rise to creativity, thoughtfulness and generosity. As more counties and states order an early end to the school year, we are left with large amounts of unstructured time to be with ourselves and our families.
For some of us, this can be a time to rest and get to those long overdue chores we've left piling up. For others, it can lead to feeling overwhelmed and anxious with new challenges presenting themselves, like how we’ll earn a living, care for our families, look out for our neighbors.
As a long-time teacher and coach, I’m particularly aware of the e ect this is having on our students. For students whose identities naturally include their friends and life beyond their families, being at home for an extended period of time can be especially challenging.
When school campuses across Virginia closed on Friday, March 13, due to the coronavirus pandemic, WCDS was fully prepared and started distance-learning almost immediately. Teachers began teaching their classes during their normally scheduled times, and students, who had left school with their textbooks, art supplies, instruments and computers loaned to them by the school as needed, were prepared for the new learning platform.
But some of the tangible things that make a school a school have de nitely gotten lost: playtime, athletics, extracurricular activities. Our music and art teachers continue to go above and beyond to reach out to their students and get them excited.
“It was funny to see one of my 3rd grade students quickly nish up with my lesson to rush o to a Zoom music meeting with recorder in hand,” says Molly Fairhurst, WCDS PE teacher.
Additionally, WCDS has taken on a few exciting new avenues as ways to connect. One great success story has been distance-sports! Middle school and varsity volleyball and lacrosse pre-conditioning are happening multiple times a week via teleconferencing with long-time volleyball coach Suzanne Zylonis and new Head of School Patrick Finn leading the workouts.
And our adjunct faculty continue to o er their expertise to our students through live, interactive webinars. Topics include the e ects COVID-19 will have on the upcoming presidential election and census, an understanding of viruses, economics and resource scarcity — all being shared with our students and faculty.
And since we’ve all been asked to stay at home by Governor Northam, and some people have extra time on their hands, we have opened our virtual doors to the larger WCDS community to invite students outside our school community to join in on the distance-sports conditioning, and for all ages to join in on these special seminars o ered by our distinguished adjunct faculty.
Even in crisis we seek creativity. When faced with uncertainty, our community is the best currency we have, and just because we aren't together physically doesn’t mean we aren’t connected.