Special Section

CORONAVIRUS UPENDS SCHOOL YEAR

Well, this has certainly been a School year like no other!” said Acting Head of School Mary Virginia Fisher. And with 45 years at St. Johns to compare against, that’s saying something.

While School Administration watched the progression of the virus in February, they never dreamed of the extent of the impact that COVID-19 would have. From French Congrès to the Spring Break Costa Rica ecology and Singers Germany trips, the coronavirus canceled Spartans’ plans and upended schedules even before Florida Governor DeSantis closed all K-12 schools on the afternoon of Friday, March 13th. After Spring Break and an extra week off, all School activities moved online and students, faculty, and parents quickly became well acquainted with the video conferencing app, Zoom. Spartans Zoomed into classes, club meetings, and choral practices. They took tests, completed art projects, and presented plays. English courses re-enacted Shakespeare in photos, submitted with captions and quotes from the plays. The physical education staff even became adept at creating exercise videos, encouraging Spartans to be active in their living rooms if nowhere else. “The Class of 2020 missed out on so much. From Prom and spring sports Senior Nights to taking their first grader to the zoo, many quintessential St. Johns experiences were lost to the coronavirus, so it was very important to all of us that they be able to have their traditional graduation. Even if a month late, we made it happen for them!”

“Our experience with Spartan Distance Learning was a resounding success,” said Fisher, “if rather sudden. I was so impressed with how the students, faculty, and parents all adapted so quickly to a new bell schedule, new technology, even new policies on homework and grading. A very sincere ‘kudos!’ to all!”

As of this writing, Florida continues to emerge from its nearly twelve weeks of slumber. Campus reopened at the beginning of June, and club sports and facilities rentals resumed at that time. Summer Camp reopened at the end of the month, offering a robust slate of targeted Adventure Camps, which

Left: Faculty and coaches held up signs for their much-missed students for this Spartan Distance Learning social media post. Right: Library Assistant Mrs. Jacobs helped younger Spartans through the shutdown by continuing to read books to them—both on Zoom and by video on the School’s Vimeo page.

enabled the School to socially distance the campers, keep tight contact groups, and minimize campus exposure.

As the state continued to move through reopening phases and the Thrasher-Horne Center reopened for events, St. Johns was thrilled to be able host its 65th traditional commencement ceremony for the Class of 2020 on Friday, June 26, 2020. (See page 22 for that story.)

“The Class of 2020 missed out on so much,” said Fisher. “From Prom and spring sports Senior Nights to taking their first grader to the zoo, many quintessential St. Johns experiences were lost to the coronavirus, so it was very important to all of us that they be able to have their traditional graduation. Even if a month late, we made it happen for them!”

Plans are on track for an on-time, on-campus reopening on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, though it’s possible that we haven’t seen the last of the effects of the coronavirus, says Fisher. “While the experience has been very educational for all of the faculty and administration, and we expect we learned many useful skills we may be able to put into action during hurricane season, we are optimistic that we won’t experience another extended closure such as earlier this year.”

VIDEO CLASSES FACILITATE GUEST SPEAKERS Students, faculty seize opportunities to learn more, gain expert insights

While the coronavirus pandemic St. Johns and in AP Biology specifically Goodman asks students, What would presented many challenges and was instrumental in his academic jouryou do? disappointments to St. Johns’ students, ney and his career. “We do not learn well from history,” faculty, parents, and community, one One such guest speaker joined St. said Rabbi Goodman, and the hope positive that distance learning brought Johns history classes in commemorais that by remembering and teaching was the ability to easily bring in outside tion of Holocaust Remembrance Day, succeeding generations about [the speakers to talk with classes. Many of on April 21, 2020. Holocaust RememHolocaust], we can work to avoid the our speakers were quarantined at home brance Day is an annual commemomistakes that Nazi Germany made 50 themselves and welcomed the opporration of the approximately 6 million years ago. “Even today there are too tunity! St. Johns’ faculty took good adJews and others who perished under many people in our world who suffer vantage of this during Spartan Distance Nazi Germany. To find out more about at the hands of cruel dictators,” he Learning, inviting a variety of guest the Holocaust and the lessons we must continued. speakers to join classes at various grade learn from it today, History Department So today is about two things, he said, levels in all three divisions. Mrs. CadChair Mr. Josh Stern invited Rabbi Roblearning the story of the Holocaust ley-Mach invited a Broadway actress to ert Goodman of Congregation Ahavath during 1933-1945 and vowing never to speak to theatre classes, and Dr. Saumil Chesed to meet with Middle and Upper let it happen again. Oza ’95 dropped in on the AP Biology School history classes. “Let us promise that we will fight igclass to discuss COVID-19 and his new “History is about putting ourselves in norance, prejudice, racism, and hatred campaign #Masks4Jax, which works to the shoes, the footsteps, of those who in all forms, for our sake and for the change the perspective many people walked before us,” said Stern, before sake of future generations.” — Rabbi have about wearing a face mask and to Rabbi Goodman walked the students Goodman get masks into the hands of Jacksonville through a guided imagery in which The Zoom meeting was interspersed residents. (Learn more at masks4jax. our existing government is suddenly with musical selections from the com.) Madison Duff ’13 also visited AP overthrown by a dictatorship. FreeMiddle School Chorus and students Biology to talk about his work with the dom of speech, assembly, and religion and visiting faculty members had the Florida Department of Environmental are all banned and no criticism of the opportunity to ask questions of Rabbi Protection and how his education at current government is tolerated. Rabbi Goodman.