Teaching

Jackie Ament Group Teacher, Department Head

After 5 months of quarantine and teaching on Zoom I was so happy to return to Parkside in September 2020.

Parkside was very different. Classes were in cohorts, masks were worn by all, social distancing was implemented, and weekly nasal swab testing, daily temperature checks, hand washing and sanitizing multiple times a day were all the new normal.

In the classroom, a few students were remote, and others were in person. All the new protocols were hard to get used to, but the oldest students were cheerful, resilient, hardworking, and showed perseverance. They were very happy to be back together, and even the remote students were very much part of the action, although things were a far cry from pre-pandemic Parkside. Their eyes sparkled when they raised their hands with excitement to answer questions, contribute to class discussions or share a funny story. We all wanted to hug one another but we learned that touching elbows was the safer alternative. The kids loved being able to have time outside on the roof play space, the back yard and on the street on West 74th Street when it was closed to traffic. Laughter and cheers were always heard. There was plenty of learning too. When the weather permitted, we went outside for a science experiment - exploding a volcano - and we even shared our book reports outside. We were able to take a laptop and bring our remote students with us.

We built body systems, read books, practiced spelling, solved math equations, wrote expository pieces, and learned about the foundations of America, just to name a few. We were able to be safe, stay healthy, and create relationships and strong bonds throughout the challenging year.

TEACHING

At the end of the school year, which was quite a roller coaster ride, we were all happy that we had created a 5th grade family, although physically distant and through Zoom, we learned from each other, laughed with one another, cheered on one and all!

I am so proud of this graduating class.