When it came to "at-home learning" and "online learning," I am proud to say that the Catholic Partnership Schools of Camden, NJ, and most especially Holy Name School did an amazing job. Our secret to success was found in three fortunate events which were caused by a fortuitous storm of Divine intervention. This allowed for an atmosphere in which education was possible.
On the morning of Friday, March 13, 2020, Miss Patricia Quinter, our Principal, called a mid-morning faculty meeting to explain plans for three weeks of at-home learning because of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Teachers would get work ready to send home for the middle of next week. After our teacher huddle broke, but before we got back to our classrooms, Pat said, "Scrap that! Send it home with the boys and girls today." In shock and disbelief, teachers and students scrambled to successfully complete the mission. Pat's decision was a game changer. We never went back to school. Our students were prepared. Confusion and chaos were averted! The First fortunate event!
Stay-at-home learning turned into online learning. The fortuitous storm of Divine intervention delightfully continued to hover over us. As providence would have it, in 2019, Holy Name School received a grant from the Sisters of Saint Joseph Mission Fund to add to our Chromebook collection so that every student would have the use of one. A few dedicated staff members along with Pat, organized, prepared, and packed the Chromebooks in sturdy cardboard boxes. Everyone got a Chromebook for at home use. Thank you, Sisters! The Second fortunate event!
What would online learning look like, and how do you do it? No problem for Holy Name! More good news! Dave Khun, our computer teacher, had already been teaching grades 3-8 Google Classroom which was the program that the Partnership chose to use for online learning. The delightful cloud of the fortuitous storm of Divine intervention continued to pour down upon us. As the students continued their schoolwork, we, the teachers, with our varying levels of experience, undertook our own Google Classroom crash courses, and when in a pinch, called Dave (who got a lot of phone calls for several weeks). The students knew how to navigate. Nice work, Dave! The Third fortunate event!
Most impressive to me — some of my 5th graders, the "Faithful 12", who at 10 and 11 years old, got up on their own and logged in at 9:30 AM and again at 12:30 PM. Their parents are present and caring, but these kids have an independence that you don't often see. It was also a blessing to have the most wonderful and cooperative class ever. They didn't always get their assignments or projects done, and they were not always bright-eyed and bushy-tailed every morning, nor was everyone dressed for the occasion. Welcome to the new and unprecedented world of crisis online learning! Schedules and parameters are more solid for this school year's online academics.
What about the other students you may ask? Unfortunately, without the structure of the classroom, one little beauty, who was well known for her perseverance and effort, fell completely apart in every way. After three friendly, but futile visits to her house/sidewalk for encouragement, Miss Lourdes from Guadalupe Services took over efforts to get her back on track.
One set of twins were in the middle of a move. One afternoon I said, "C, could you sit a little more still?" Movement on the computer and disruption of audio was obvious and becoming distracting. He and his mom said at the same time, "Sister, we're in the car!" They were traveling back and forth from apartment to their new house, and their best internet was in the car. I asked him to mute and gave him permission not to show his face on the screen in case we all would get carsick!
Uncharacteristically, another set of twins must not have gotten the memo that school was on the computer and their presence was required. After several weeks of my failed attempts, the Partnership came to the rescue by communicating with their mostly Spanish-speaking mom. In other happy news, we did have two days when everyone was present and accounted for, and HipHop, our convent cat, had perfect attendance until she inexplicably blew off the entire last week of school.
Our experience was not without shenanigans as two unassuming girls, who were more tech-savvy than their teacher, gained control of the format and positioning of students on the screen by logging in two hours early as their teacher was left wondering, "What is going on?" and "Why doesn't it work when I click this?" After further investigation, it is possible that the conspiracy may be more widespread than once believed.
The Partnership gave out breakfasts and lunches to parents of students in a drive by manner at St. Anthony's on Mondays and Wednesdays. Wednesday was a day to look forward to. The families would be given enough food until the next food give away, including milk. It felt wonderful to be part of that operation. Also wonderful was just getting in the car with a purpose, meeting new colleagues, and seeing and talking with people, six feet away of course. Our hearts felt so much closer as we joyfully worked together. We looked forward to that blessed day of the week like a Friday during a school week.
Win-win!
How can I begin to thank you, God, for the perfect storm of Divine intervention? You know we're going to do it again, right? Somehow, even with some experience under our belts, it seems a little more complicated this time. Our teachers at the Catholic Partnership Schools and most especially Holy Name School are willing to do whatever is necessary. We look forward to your fortuitous storm packed with your creative power of Divine intervention to blow over the horizon and hover over 700 North 5th St. I can’t wait to see what will be accomplished this time around. School starts in 7 days! Just saying.
