Teaching During a Pandemic: Points of Pride

TEACHING DURING A PANDEMICpoints of pride

The 2020-21 school year demanded teachers to be nothing short of courageous. Our Sacred Heart educators put their own fears aside and faced all that the pandemic presented. Masked up and distant, working in rooms that might not have originally been meant for teaching, our teachers delivered creative activities and innovative lessons. We asked our teachers to name what they are most proud of this year. Their responses, not surprisingly, focused on the students. While our teachers showed themselves to be heroic in their ability to be nimble, resilient and supportive, they attributed much of the success in the classroom to their students. Here are some of the comments we received:

THIS YEAR AS A SACRED HEART EDUCATOR I AM MOST PROUD OF...

The unit I created on the biology of the coronavirus. How well our teachers adapted to a new schedule, “ a new technology platform and a a new way of thinking.

Having the middle school students zoom with award winning author Beth Kephart, after they read The Great Upending for summer reading! Providing our students with some normalcy in a world of uncertainties. Students and teachers alike both showed up day in and day out to go about our lives the best we could. How the girls and my colleagues handled the adversity this past year.

My students who came to each class and were willing “ “ Keeping our Goal III work alive through independent “ to learn despite service learning adverse times. projects from each of our students in “ My students and my colleagues. “ the Upper School. The Girls! In an unbelievably difficult school year, the girls made every effort to keep my class a fun and “ energetic place

“to be, learn, and create. The girls for persevering and learning in this “ strange year of masks and not being able to sit together to collaborate or bond. Learning the technology needed for teaching some “ students virtually and others in class each and every day. Adapting to whatever demands each day brought.

I am proud that we kept the Social Justice book club going. I was also proud of the outdoor Open Mic. We’ve never missed a year “ since we started it! Finally, I was really proud of the NHS members for going above and beyond with their tutoring. It was challenging for teachers to find time to meet with students, and the tutors did a great job of helping beyond the school day.