Confusing times at Bjorkdale High

Hi everyone, I have been a little lazy with my school blog this year (big apology to my two readers), but I thought I would take a few minutes to write down some of my thoughts on the current situation and other topics.

A few weeks ago I was a person that couldn’t be convinced that COVID-19 was a big issue. It took a lot of people to help change my mind. Thank you to co-workers, friends and family who all helped to persuade me to start taking this seriously. My initial thoughts were that we live in such a small, remote community that nothing was going to happen here, and that I was young enough that it wouldn’t affect me. I feel foolish, but the reality is that I was being selfish. I was only thinking of myself; I wasn’t thinking of elderly community members, staff and students who may be immune compromised or even my own children. That’s a terrible thing to write, but it is the truth. Once I started to read the news and listen to what the doctors and scientists were saying I started to become really alarmed. So please don’t be stubborn like me, isolate yourself and your family, and take this threat seriously. The decision to close the schools was done as a measure to help stop the spread of the virus, so please do not be arranging sleep-overs, play dates, parties, etc. Stay home and spend some probably much needed time with the family.

Monday, was the strangest, and one of the most difficult days in my education career. I’m still not sure it has entirely set in yet. Most of us spent the day walking around in what seemed like a fog. The reality is that all of us got into this business because we like teaching kids and being around students on a daily basis. The best part of each and every day is interacting with students, laughing and joking with one another and being there as they reach milestones and become life-long learners. So the prospect of doing this job without students in the building definitely shook some of us. The good news is that we have been working with our students about being independent learners, and now they will have the opportunity to use their skills outside of school. I know everyone is anxious to get material so students can work from home, but you will have to be patient. Currently, the School Division and the government are working hard to figure out what learning will look like for the next few months.

To our two Grade twelve students, Hunter Woulfe and Mackenzie Berger, I know this is not how you envisioned your last year at our school ending. It’s unfortunate that we are not able to honour you at this time, but rest assured we will do something when school returns. I just want to thank-you both for your time at our school. Thank you for the laughter, the stories, and joy that brought to our school. You will be missed, but I cannot wait to see what the future holds for both of you. I hope you continue to be life-long learners, and I wish you all the best in the future.

Thank you to the staff of the school. Each and every one of you do an amazing job and the way you have all come together to deal with this evolving situation is inspiring. We are lucky to have such a great staff at our school.

Please take care everyone!