Seated in my living room with coffee in hand, I listened to my daughter’s student-led conference. She reflected on her learning in math, reading, writing, Spanish, the arts, and science using vocabulary words I had never heard her say before. It was impressive. Note to self: she needs to read more.

Then she shared what she is looking forward to: the Spring Musical, Outdoor Ed, racing a solar car, and being with her friends and teachers. Ugh… my heart sank for all our kids. I know these are small disruptions but piled on top of the big disruptions of our public health crisis, it felt like too much.

Our entire community is being shaken. There are no shortages of uncertainties but I am certain that we are going to get through this together. Here is why:

• We are a strong and resilient group. We have been through difficult and uncertain times before and have emerged stronger. I only need to think back to the Garden Harvest El Tioga, the Family Visitor program, our Back to School BBQ, the Veteran’s Day All School Meeting, Winter Festival, Wax Museum, the CTB performance…I could go on. We pull through changes with grace and strength.
• We are filled with goodness. We have the tools to practice kindness, compassion, empathy, tolerance and patience. While family time has increased, personal space has decreased. Focusing on what we love or appreciate about one another and overlooking the annoyances is worth the effort. Click here for a the ACS Social Emotional Vision.
• We are committed to the practice of excellence. As a community, we show up and we give our best. A pandemic did not stop students, parents, and teachers from delivering student-led conferences and it will not stop student learning. After Spring Break, we will deliver a distance learning experience that captures the ACS commitment to academic excellence, relevance and relationships.
• We value our relationships. Social distancing is really HARD but it is the right thing to do to protect the well-being of our community. We make these sacrifices to take care of each other. We will stay connected in new ways. The intentionally tiny image below shows ACS teachers holding onto our tradition of toasting one another before a break via Zoom. You can do this.

Hang in there. Reach out. Ask for help. Please ask for help. We are in this together.

Click here for a list of community resources.

Embrace Spring Break,