13 minute read
Seen and Heard
BY HUGH MCCORMICK Hugh graduated from UCSC - magna cum laude- with a BA in sociology and a focus on global information and social enterprise studies. If you need to get a hold of him or his chiweenie Groot, check 26th Avenue beach or De La Veaga disc golf course.
What are Kids Most Excited About After the Pandemic?
Advertisement
We polled kids around town about what they most want to do when shelter in place orders are lifted and we got a lot of answers. What do you think they miss most? Read on!
POLLED AT SEACLIFF SKATE PARK
Weslie Rose 10 years old - Fifth grade Soquel Elementary
Caleb Gregory 10 years old – 4th Grade Twin Lakes Elementary
“I’m looking forward to the arcade at the Boardwalk. Me and my dad play games there and I really miss it. I miss seeing my friends – just hanging out and playing with them. Having to wear a mask really bums me out. Andrew 9 years old – 3rd Grade Green Acres Elementary
Gavin Pilgram 10 years old – 4th Grade Fammatre Elementary “When this is over I’m going to go to
Disneyland and possible Lego Land too. We’ve missed out on a whole year. We missed out on so much. I miss play dates with my friends.” Edison Weaver Age 12 – 6th Grade Branciforte Middle School
Linnea Brooks Age 15 – 10th Grade Pacific Collegiate School
Ben Palma Age 15 – 10th Grade New Brighton Middle School
HERE’S WHAT FOURTH GRADERS AT MOUNT MADONNA SCHOOL ARE MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO:
Rebecca The thing I look forward to most after the pandemic is seeing my friends, and being able to do fun things with them. Before the pandemic we went on bike rides together, and had playdates almost every day. My friends were always by my side. I cannot wait to see them again! Timothy After Covid-19 I’m looking forward to not having to wear my mask and having more options of things to do on the weekends. I’m on campus now, and my favorite thing is being able to see my friends. I also like that I don’t have to be on a computer all the time. There is one thing that is kinda annoying on campus, and that is the masks because I get rashes on my chin. River Brinton What I really look forward to after our pandemic is that the citizens of California will be able to have social interaction which is good for our community. Also after the pandemic, scientists will have a greater knowledge of when and what to do when we have another pandemic. I think we learned a lot about what to do in a pandemic and it will help if this happens again. In conclusion, in a way, COVID-19 was a blessing, because we will acquire social interaction and scientific knowledge. WIllow After COVID-19 I am really looking forward to a lot of things. I am mostly looking forward to doing horse shows because they are really fun. Sometimes it can be scary, but most of the time I am just having fun. I like when I am riding in the shows. My favorite horse is named Icee, and I like riding him and winning. That is what I am most excited about doing when Covid-19 is over. Molly After the pandemic, I look forward to seeing my mom the most. Though I would also look forward to seeing my friends again, and just having normal life back. I look forward to no problems with anti-maskers or stuff like that too. I can’t wait to see my friends again! Amelie What I most look forward to when the pandemic is over is being able to see my friends Kyah and Owen again. I also would love to see my family, especially my uncle who we call “Trouble” and my aunt Betty. I am excited to see and hug them again. Myla What I look forward to after Covid is seeing my friends. When the pandemic is over, I will be so happy. Felix After Covid, it will be great because then we can have sleepovers and play sports.
Pierce The thing that I look forward to most after Covid-19 is playing soccer with my friends and doing fun tournaments with them. When the coronavirus hit the US, soccer got shut down. I was very sad and for about a year and a half I couldn’t play at all. There were no games. Soccer is one of my most favorite sports in the world and I am really looking forward to games even if we have to wear masks. I don’t care, I just want to play soccer. Leyla I am most excited for the pandemic to end so I can see my aunts, uncles, grandparents and my cousins again. I miss them so much and want to hug them a lot. One of my favorite memories is when I made a snowman with them in Reno. That was so much fun. We also did a fun snowball fight together. I can’t wait to get back to doing that stuff again. Giavanna What I enjoy most about going to school instead of online learning is that I get to see all of my friends and get to talk to them. Even though we wear masks and have to stay six feet apart, I still enjoy being around them. I know quite a few people who do online classes, and they say that they miss being around other people. That is the reason why I feel so lucky to get to be in person at school. Cadence My favorite thing about being at school is being able to see my friends. I joined Mount Madonna School when Covid19 was not here, and I did not have to wear a mask. Now, I have to wear one and it is very uncomfortable. My cousins are remote, and all my other friends. I am glad I get to go to school in person with my classmates, Pierce, Amelie, Willow, Timothy, Ripley, Rebecca, River, Giavanna, Myla, Leyla, Molly, Bishop, Felix, and my teacher Nick. I enjoy seeing them five days a week. Although we still have to be careful because of Covid, we still have fun and play games together. I can’t wait to see all my friends and family again soon. Bishop I am excited to visit my cousin Ivy when the pandemic is over. It’s been a long time since we saw each other, and I am looking forward to playing together again. Ripley After the pandemic, I look forward to going places again. My favorite place to go is Disneyland. I hope we can go back there soon.
FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADERS AT ORCHARD SCHOOL IN APTOS HAD THIS TO SAY:
Lyla Lou 9 years old - 4th grade During the pandemic, I am lucky to go to Orchard School. We have an outdoor classroom, and I like to play outside. We are so lucky that we are not on a screen! When we are outside, we do not have to wear a mask and there has never been a time like this. I will never forget last year and the rest of this school year. I am glad we are at school. Jordan 11 years old - 5th grade It feels so special to have gotten the opportunity to go to school in person during covid. There are lots of things I enjoy about school but one stands out to me and that is playing soccer with my friends at recess. It feels like life before the pandemic. Sometimes when I play I can even forget about covid. I am having so much fun. The sense of joy when I score a goal or from just getting to run, it is truly magic. For a while I was on zoom and I remember hearing that Orchard was coming back, I was so happy. I had missed everything, but especially playing with my friends. Solomon 10 years old - 4th grade I am very grateful to be going to school right now during the pandemic. I really like being with my friends. We have partner activities which are the best because you get to be with your friends. The class is reading a book right now, it is called “Holes” and it is the best book, it is so awesome. There are yellow spotted lizards in the book. My all time favorite thing about my school is that we have a lot of choice over how we learn and what activities we do. For instance, before the pandemic we chose electives, and now we get to choose if we want to draw, knit or sew. There is also a POOL! Siena 10 years old - 4th grade I’m so grateful to be in school during the pandemic, while a lot of my friends have to stay at home and do zoom. I feel very lucky. It’s been an amazing year so far. We have a pool at our school, and when it’s hot we get to swim. We also do art, play soccer, and best of all learn together. Right now we are learning about explorers. I’m learning about James Cook, an explorer from the seventeen hundreds. It’s been really fun, a lot more fun than learning on a computer. There’s a lot of things we have done that you can’t do on zoom, like bingo math games or making pie for Thanksgiving. We are also allowed to bring our unicycles, it’s so much fun. I hope all the other kids can go to school soon. Julien 10 years old - 4th grade I am grateful for being able to go to school during the pandemic. It is much more fun than learning on a computer. For example, we got to make a map of our school, and we played explorer games which would have been really hard on a computer. Also, when you’re at school you can see your friends in real life instead of in a tiny box on a screen. Riley 10 years old - 4th Grade What I like about school during the pandemic is that we usually use a tent as a classroom, but sometimes we have to go inside when it’s raining. Secondly, I’m very grateful and lucky to even be able to go to school in person, so many people have to use Zoom all day everyday, and Zoom isn’t as fun as in-person school. It takes twice as long for me to do my work on the computer because my teacher isn’t there to help me. At our school sometimes the teachers start playing games with us during recess and we have so much fun that they forget to call the end of recess. Additionally, in general, we are outside a lot more than before we entered the pandemic. Sadie 10 years old - 4th Grade In the pandemic, I am very grateful that I’m able to go to school because all of my neighborhood friends have to sit down looking at a screen for hours! At school I get to be outside and I have all my friends there in person. My favorite things are that we still have electives like knitting and sewing and that we go to school for about six hours and not only two!
Local Photographers Create Living History
BY BRAD KAVA
When two of the top local news photographers looked back on last year, with its traumas, disasters and a community that fought to come together, they realized they were seeing a huge piece of history, something people would be interested in seeing for years to come. So, Kevin Painchaud, of Lookout Santa Cruz and Growing Up in Santa Cruz, and Shmuel Thaler, of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, decided to pack 2020 into a special edition glossy book. The resulting work—“2020 Hindsight: Looking Back on a Tumultuous Year in Santa Cruz County”—is the kind of keepsake most everyone in this county would want to have in their bookcase and look back on through the ages. Sometimes you don’t realize just how important the times you are living in are until you see it bound in a publication that puts it all in context.
This duo didn’t create the book to make a profit. All proceeds from its sales go to the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County’s Fire Relief Fund. Through a partnership with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, a free copy of the book also will be made available to every high school junior in Santa Cruz County, as well as free curriculum for all teachers of U.S. history.
Along with breathtaking photos, the book features essays by locals who look at five forces that drove 2020 in Santa Cruz: pandemic, justice, fire, democracy and community. The writers include columnist Wallace Baine; former county clerk Gail Pellerin; former Mayor Justin Cummings; emergency room doctor Misty Navarro; Digital Nest founder, Jacob Martinez; journalist Rachel Anne Goodman; and developer and philanthropist George Ow, Jr.
The essays give a real insider’s view to the year from the people who were driving forces, or victims.
“No one we asked for help said no,” Thaler recounted. Community Printers donated much of the printing cost; Rowland and Pat Rebele, the Ow Family Properties and the Community Foundation gave funding. Writers donated their time. Teachers created a curriculum you can see by searching Hindsight Santa Cruz curriculum. And in the interest of full disclosure, I proofread the book and was blown away by the writing and honored to be a small part of it.
Part of the beauty of the project is that it will be featured as an educational tool in all of our high schools. What could make history come alive more for students than studying something they were a part of, but may not have realized its context and perspective? This is something they lived through, a living history book, and one they will someday share with their children and grandchildren.
You can buy the book at Bookshop Santa Cruz and on the web at HindSightSantaCruz.com
While it’s great that the money is going to fire victims, this is a book that will be a treasure for everyone who got through one of the toughest years in our history.
