Friday River Launch (brief)
May 29, 2020
Distance Learning- Week 10
Greetings Rio Norte,
We are nearing the finish line to the craziest school year ever! We are almost there! Thank you to everyone who helped out with textbook returns and all of the other things going on this week. Everything went amazingly well!
It's been a challenging week on many levels. Let's finish the race strong. You've been amazing long distance runners this year, let's finish this race together. We are better together.
Thank you,
Audrey
Greeting parents and helping out at Rio this week!
Jeff-collecting instruments!
Our 8th grade award station
Teacher facebook post by Ally Seago
A teacher somewhere is packing up their classroom right now, mourning the class they never got to see to the end. The class they won’t get to see graduate. The class they won’t get to enjoy the beautiful spring weather with. The class who will no longer be able to sit and feel the suspense of a mystery read aloud. The class who won’t be able to sign yearbooks and make summer plans with friends. The class they never got to say goodbye to. The students they won’t get to hug anymore. The students they weren’t able to explain what was happening. The students they can no longer check in on every day due to technology deficits or little parental support. The students that shy away from face-to-face videoconferencing because they don’t understand why their world has been turned upside down and routines thrown out the window. The students whose only positive interactions and care were inside these four walls. 💔
This hasn’t been easy. Lives have been immeasurably disrupted. Teachers have had to switch gears and create a classroom online and implement lessons in ways they’ve never had to before. Oftentimes spending more hours than they would in a normal workday. Heightened sadness, staggering stress, disenfranchised grief.
Stepping into these classrooms is overwhelming. It’s as if it was frozen in time. Weeks and months gone unchanged. Calendars still set on March, preparing for Spring Break. Projects left unfinished on the counters, crayons and glue sticks half-used, novels bookmarked halfway through, forgotten lunchboxes and coffee mugs; a time capsule.
As difficult as this is for you, know that teachers are grieving. They chose this profession because they love education and they love children. They’re dealing with a lot of adjustment and stress themselves. Packing up a classroom before the year is complete, feels alien. It is sad, it is frustrating, and it is hard.
Tonight, pray for a teacher. ❤️
Rio Norte Junior High School
Valenica, CA 91354
Audrey Asplund, Principal
Website: https://www.rionortejuniorhigh.org/
Phone: 661-295-3700