November 12, 2020 Vol. 21, No. 26
In This Issue FOUR SEASONS
or adapts boo t c u r t k Ins b a out viru h c a e t o t s
Four Seasons, by Kevin Box, in real life is located in front of the Center for Transformative Learning on the UCO campus, but this week is hidden somewhere in our paper. Email contest@edmondpaper.com with the correct location to be entered in the weekly drawing. For more information, see page 4.
PHOTOS BY ERIECH TAPIKA
Rikki Waters, a fifth-grade teacher at Northern Hills, shows off the digital book she created titled ‘No Covid.”
Santa Fe heads into playoff with 7-game win streak See Page 12
FRIDAY, November 13 AM Showers High 67° Low 55°
SATURDAY, November 14 Isolated Thunderstorms High 71° Low 49°
SUNDAY, November 15 Sunny High 65° Low 40°
Changing times often come with different ways of teaching elementary students about safe health practices. For Northern Hills Elementary teacher Rikki Waters, she took up her drawing skills to achieve this. Waters adapted the popular children’s book “No David” and “David Goes to School,” by author David Shannon, and created “No Covid,” a Northern Hills Elementary Edition. “I tailored it to our school,” Waters said. “Making it personal helps the students understand it more.” Each drawing in the book was done by Waters on her iPad. She completed all the drawings and story within two days before the school year began. “I saw famous books that could be made into parodies and thought the ‘No David’ book would be a really fun one for the kids,” Waters said. Whether it is what to do when a child has a fever or tips on handwashing, Waters made sure the book was simple to understand. Waters spent hours researching proper procedures from the Center for Disease Control on COVID-19 and made sure the book covered all of the topics of staying safe. “This is such a creative way to communicate to our families about the healthchallenges we are facing this school year,” said Michele Milner, the principal of Northern Hills Elementary. This is the first time they have created a book parody at the school
and Milner hopes this is not the last time. “That was our first but hopefully it will not be our last,” Milner said. “Our kiddos have been doing great this year.” In total, the book is eight pages
Throughout Edmond Public Schools, other teachers and administrators have been coming up with creative ways to keep elementary students engaged even while they must remain socially distanced.
Breck Brady, a fifth grader at Northern Hills Elementary, reads ‘No Covid.’ and all digital. By having it digital, Waters said the students did not have to share copies of books and could easily access it on their iPads or Chromebooks, limiting any potential spread of the coronavirus. Breck Brady, a student of Waters, said he enjoyed reading the book and liked that it was based on a book he had read before.
“Keeping students in cohorts when playing on playgrounds allows students the ability to exercise while keeping the possibility of spreading COVID-19 down,” said Cara Jernigan, the executive director of elementary education. Jernigan said one challenge has been teaching young students about continued on Page 3