The View From Here – Thank You Teachers

My youngest daughter graduated grade 8 last night. At home.  Sitting on the couch.  In shorts and a hoodie.  Watching from the living room tv.

How unusual.

I admit, I expected it to be a let down.  I wondered how they could possibly create the atmosphere of a graduation ceremony in an online video. But they did it. And they did it so well.

To the teachers and staff of Sir John Moore school in Corunna – I applaud you, I appreciate you, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.   What you did for our graduates last night went above and beyond expectations.

I wondered how you would create that same magic.  But you did it.

From the very beginning – we were crying in our house.

A video montage of the school year started the ceremony – which included news coverage of the teachers strike.

We thought that would be the biggest disruption to the school year.

We were worried about our kids missing a few days of school.  Then Covid-19 hit.  Clips were shown of the Minister of Education and Premier Ford announcing the cancellation of the school year.

Teachers spoke to our kids through the screen, from their backyards, and living rooms – and my daughter cried as she saw those familiar faces again.  Faces she never thought she would miss.  Faces that have inspired her, encouraged her, and reached out to her in this pandemic.

Pictures of kids from their years in elementary school were thrown in.  A reminder of just how much our kids have changed and grown over the years.

It was an emotional virtual ceremony.  I watched my daughter as she watched the screen.  Through tear filled eyes.  A mix of emotions seeing all those people she hasn’t seen in so long.  Missing those friends.  Missing those teachers.

I want to say thank you to everyone for the words spoken to the grads – reminding them of their strength, resiliency,  their ability to overcome hard times, remind them of their ability to adapt. So good.  Such an encouragement.

And that wasn’t even all of it.

Today – teachers made the rounds to visit their students with a celebratory graduation package that included a grad cap, a school spirit hoodie with their names on the back, their diploma and some other little goodies tucked inside.  What an incredible thing to do to help our kids feel celebrated, and give them a chance to see their teacher one more time, and to find a way to say goodbye.

Thank you Mrs. Core – and all the grade 8 teachers and staff at Sir John Moore for all that you did for our kids – through the school year – and especially through this pandemic. You have made such a positive impact on my daughter.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan