Earlier this week, sophomore Reese sent an email to Mr. Handmaker that we thought included a message for the entire Keystone community. With her permission, we are reprinting it here.
Hello Mr. Handmaker!
I'm sure you are flooded with emails right now but I hope this one makes its way to you. I hope you had a good spring break (hopefully it wasn't too stressful) and that you have been able to at least enjoy a little time at home with your family, maybe even having some time to read a couple of good books :)
I just wanted to reach out to say a brief thank you to you and all of the wonderful Keystone department heads and teachers and everyone who's been working so hard to adapt everything to online curriculum--I'm sure it has been nothing but a laborious task, both during school hours and beyond, but my classmates and I appreciate all of the thought that has been put into not only adapting the courses, but all of the time, effort, and stress that has probably come with it, along with the inevitable personal stress of the situation itself.
Everyone really misses Keystone but we sincerely appreciate all of the efforts that have been done to remind us of the community-oriented and loving environment that we are so lucky to have, even while not physically "at school." Not being on campus and not being able to see my friends and teachers has been saddening, of course, but not despairing because at some point we will all come back and things will return to normal, even if it is all in due time. But I thought it would be a shame not to reach out and say thank you because it's not just the classwork, but the people who really make Keystone what it is. I miss school a lot, but as Shakespeare put it, "all's well that ends well." I hope we'll be able to return to campus before the semester ends, but of course, this must run its course as it was meant to, so whatever happens, will happen.
In summary, I just really wanted to express some gratitude--it takes a lot to be able to reconfigure everything, but we're Cobras, and so far, we're doing it! I can earnestly say I don't think I've ever felt such a range of emotions between absolute longing for my second home, to absolute pride for the people in my environment, all of the hurdles that have been overcome in such innovative ways, and the spirit that still thrives to foster such a loving environment, even while not physically together. Many schools haven't been making the same efforts of such lengths to really go the distance and connect with the community and students in such a consistent way, so I am very thankful that we have that, and that it's a well-noted emblem of our environment.
There is a real strength within Keystone, both in our passion for learning and our passion for each other; I think right now, especially, its ubiquitous presence is felt throughout the Cobra community
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and I am very fortunate for that.
So thank you for everything, for all the hard work to preserve the curriculum to even the nuances of daily reminders and wholesome updates. So even from afar, I'm proud that the Keystone spirit lives on. I hope your family stays safe and healthy, and that soon enough all this chaos will find its end. I hope to see everyone on April 6th! But if longer that's okay, too :) Thank you for all the hard work that's been done, it hasn't gone unnoticed by the students, so I thought it was far more than well deserved to vocalize it, so thank you Mr. Handmaker, and thank you to everyone else who has made this all possible. We hope to see you all soon!
