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In Face Of Pandemic, Flexibility And Faith Helped St. Joseph School Prevail
The past year at St. Joseph School has been a year of changes, adjustments, and a unique opportunity for students to deepen their Catholic faith in the face of the challenges that the COVID pandemic placed before them.
“Overall, it has been all about flexibility and open-mindedness,” says Amy Makruski, Principal. “In hindsight, each day, each week seemed like an adventure. Everything was new, and equally old if that makes sense.”
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But through it all, the teachers, staff, students, and parents did manage to make sense of everything they confronted, and are looking forward to more normalcy next year.
One of the greatest challenges for the faculty and students was not being able to attend Mass as often as usual, nor being able to be personally part of our community as usual.
“These things sometimes made it feel like the ‘practicing’ of our faith in our daily lives was lacking,” Mrs. Makruski says. “But this opportunity also gave us a chance to more deeply explore the personal faith of the students. For part of the year when none of our classes were attending Mass, we would use our Friday mornings to deeply look at different topics about our faith, such as Catholic morals, special feast days, praying the Rosary, peace, and more.”
As the school year has drawn to a close, the strongest feeling Mrs. Makruski has experienced is that of pride and appreciation for how well everyone worked together to make this school year a great one.
“I am proud that we have been in-person five days per week all year with no unscheduled days off, except to obtain the COVID vaccine for the staff,” she says. “I am proud of our teachers and staff who had to completely flip their ideas of teaching and learning and what their job entailed. I am proud that each person took a chance to come back and open this school when things seemed scary and unsure and at times impossible. I am proud of our students for rolling with the changes and making this as easy as it could be when it came time to put new procedures into practice. I am proud of our parents for being open and honest with me and being great communicators. I am proud that they answered the question, ‘Any health changes for your child?’ each morning, all year long! I appreciate their trust in all of us. We could not have been successful without all working together.”
With COVID restrictions in place, every part of the school day had to be addressed, from how everyone entered the school in the morning, and the direction walked in the hallways. Teachers had to rethink how they instructed students both in class and at home during what was called “synchronous learning.” Group projects, “specials” classes, and even recess all had to be re-thought.
With the year behind them, the faculty and staff are looking forward to some large and small plans.
“On the small side, we are looking forward to getting back to normal regarding school offerings, such as afterschool homework labs and clubs, normal group work, more service opportunities, 100 percent of our students attending school in person, and attending Mass as a school once again,” Mrs. Makruski says. “I am sure there will be some ‘COVID Keepers’ that will stick around through next school year and become a normal part of our practice here at SJS, as well.”
The big plans call for work to begin during the summer to renovate a classroom to become the SJS Design Studio. The room will house high-tech equipment such as a poster printer, laser engraver, vinyl cutter, and more.
“This will help our students build their STEM skills and create designs and prototypes to bring their ideas to life,” Mrs. Makruski says. “The Design Studio is planned to be fully completed by Catholic Schools Week 2022.”
St. Joseph Parish School students stay socially distanced within their own desk carrels during this past school year.
Everyone entering the school had to use one entrance, and then were greeted with a hand-sanitizing station and wellness check. Hallways were also designated for directional travel.
