Teachers at Corpus Christi Elementary school have refused to let the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on the number of children in classrooms stop them from giving everyone an opportunity to participate in Sports Day this year.
“This year, the school worked together to show support, love, gratitude, and encouragement for their community,” said Grade 1 teacher Katherine Chang.
While Grade 7 students created exercise videos and recorded their own rendition of the song We are the World, younger students were encouraged to “bring joy” to their neighbourhoods and show support of essential service workers, said Chang.
Efforts included decorating homes, designing obstacle courses on sidewalks, and creating symbols of hope, faith, and joy to hide around the neighbourhood.
Meanwhile, Grade 3 teacher Charlotte D’Alessandro said she has found many other ways to stay connected virtually with her students in the last few months.
“‘We are all in this together.’ These were the words in the photo I sent to my students and their families when it was announced that schools would be closed due to the pandemic. I wanted to let them know that, even though we would be apart, we were still connected – as a class, a school, as a family of God.”
She said going to school isn’t only about learning.
“A Catholic school is about the connections, the collective memories, the sharing of experiences and the celebration of our Catholic faith. And this continues to happen, even with remote learning. School never stops.”
During school closures, her class has been meeting online to pray together, share prayer intentions, have lessons, read together, and even participate in show and tell.
“We have had many theme days such as Kindness Mission Day, Treehouse ‘n’ Forts Day, and Pet Parade Day. We crowned Mary in our own unique way, sharing photos of our Mary crafts and drawings in our flower gardens. Our class field trip to the aquarium in May was of course cancelled; so we went on a virtual field trip to the Vancouver Aquarium and Georgia Aquarium instead! Our learning adventures didn’t stop.”
Switching to remote learning was not easy, but teachers “tackled the steep learning curve” of online platforms, resources, accounts, codes, and passwords, she said.
“We had to … We knew the students were waiting. They wanted to see their classmates. They deserved our best efforts. School never stops. My students and I have continued to learn, to laugh, to pray, to celebrate. Together. Nothing can stop us.”
