Wednesday, 23 December 2020
www.TheObserver.com
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 33
COMING UP THIS WEEK
BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
Merry Christmas! The Observer’s office will be closed Christmas Eve & Day. We’ll reopen Monday, Dec. 28.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL Thank you for your continued support over the year. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading the stories and that you also continue to support our local businesses this year and years to come.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. -Matthew 1:21
At LMS, it’s the Same Storm, Different Boat By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
F
or teachers and school guidance counselors, the 2020-2021 academic year has been like no other. In some cases, they’ve never met their students in-person -ever. Most instruction has been remote. And, it’s hard to tell when things might even get close to looking normal again. But the combat that notion -- and with the holidays here -- one guidance counselor at the new Lyndhurst Middle School has taken unique
steps so that all of the school’s students know their teachers care for them -- and miss being able to see them face to face. Maureen Colombo, in consultation with some of her colleagues and administrators, came up with a theme, “Same Storm, Different Boat -- Coping With Middle Schoolers During a Pandemic.” “There are a lot of sayings all over right now that we are in this together. But the reality is that even though we are all in the same storm, we are not in the same boat,” Colombo said. “Some of us have experienced real hardships since March, whereas others may have enjoyed the break from activity
and the down time at home. Although we are not in the same boat, we can and will get through this storm together.” To put this concept into action, Colombo and others have spent the last few weeks going to the homes of each and every student at the school for a visit. They wear masks, of course, and keep their distance. But it’s become a chance for parents and students alike to see their counselors, teachers and school administrators in person, likely for the first time since schools shut down for the COVID-19 See LMS, Page 3