HENDERSONVILLE — Immaculata School got creative in helping students stay connected as a school community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After diocesan schools shifted to online learning in mid-March, the school launched a virtual Morning Assembly, where staff led students in prayer each morning via video conferencing software. It really helped smooth what was a sudden transition, said the school’s principal, Margaret Beale.
“Our school, what makes it so special, is the community,” Beale said. “We were worried about going to distance learning, and how we were going to keep that sense of community for our students.
It’s really been a team effort to come up with ideas.”
One of those ideas was a virtual Spirit Week, she said, and it “was a lot of fun.”
The first day was superhero day, when students dressed up as their favorite superhero or sent a picture of someone who is a superhero in their life. The second day, students dressed up in sports or princess costumes. Day three was “wacky Wednesday.” Day four was professional day, when students dressed up in an outfit representing what they want to do when they grow up.
Each day, they had a drawing for prizes among those who participated, and nearly everyone at the school got involved, Beale said.
Virtual Spirit Week wrapped up with a school spirit drive-through parade in the school’s parking lot. It was good for students, teachers and parents to see each other again, Beale said.
“It was so enjoyable. Lots of smiles, and there were a lot of tears, too,” she said. Many of the students willingly wore their school uniforms for the occasion, she noted.
“I heard from parents that it helped students to feel connected to each other, to see their friends dressed liked them,” she said. “On sports and princess day, two students who were on the same soccer team each took a picture of them in their jerseys and a parent spliced the picture together to make it look like they were high-fiving each other. It was a good way for them to express themselves.”
Prior to the virtual Spirit Week, Beale said, they asked parents to submit pictures of students holding messages for their teachers. Those images were then combined into a teacher appreciation video.
“That’s a positive that came out of all of this,” she said. “There was so much love shown for our teachers. We never would have thought to do a video for Teacher Appreciation Week – that’s something the teachers can have forever.”
— Kimberly Bender, online reporter