Distance Learning

Spring 2020 from a Distance

CLOSING OUT THE SCHOOL YEAR AMID A GLOBAL PANDEMIC

by KRISTI GAFFNEY, SMES DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Virtual Band Performance

Let’s stay connected!

• Warrior Talent Show (6 episodes strong!) - faculty, staff and students of all ages participated • Core Values music playlist curated by SMES faculty and staff

• SAGE at-home recipe videos

• Coach Walker’s at-home 10-minute HIIT workouts

• Coach McDaniel’s athome training exercises for each sport as well as general fitness resources for students and adults A s students, faculty and staff eased out for St. Martin’s spring break in early-March, the unexpected happened that would dramatically affect the rest of the school year, and life in general. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was just on the national radar in February, but it became a screaming headline throughout the world just as SMES returned to campus to begin the second part of the spring semester. School was back in session for one week after spring break only to unexpectedly shut down for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. After only one day of planning, teachers and administrators crafted distance learning programs at breakneck speed to bring a St. Martin’s education online. Many families were upended as the city shut down, and parents and teachers were forced to navigate working from home alongside their children. The St. Martin’s community came together in a brand new way, and “connection” was the name of the game. While planet Earth was rapidly shutting down, like everyone in the workforce, teachers juggled their own families from home working to provide a meaningful experience for their students. Many households juggled everything from on-the-move toddlers to hungry teens and barking dogs while still trying to work - and for many, it was a zoo. The unexpected need for at-home learning wasn’t without hiccups. Still, the bright spots and unwavering can-do attitude by so many made the very best of what was an impossible situation. Teachers rose to the challenge of providing creative learning solutions from educational ‘packets’ sent home to Early Childhood students with developmentally appropriate at-home projects to carefully crafted video lessons and live Zoom calls to deliver content or checkins. It wasn’t ideal, but it was filled with love guided by the goal to support a wholehearted education for St. Martin’s students. Were there misses along the way? Yes. Were there unexpected surprises? Yes. Were there successes well beyond expectations? Yes. Distance learning was uncharted territory fraught with both successes and challenges, but underneath it all was heart. We are happy to be back on campus with well-thought-out safety measures in place but are also fully-prepared to implement a variety of plans for closure should the need arise. Hindsight is truly 20/20 in 2020.

Creativity on the fly!

Middle School Band: Each band member recorded their part of “Onward Warriors” and a video was compiled of them playing the piece together- it debuted as part of the virtual Honors Day assembly. All School Art Project: Art teacher Libby Tyler invited the SMES community to learn about the color wheel by collecting items of various colors from around their homes and arranging them on the floor in a color wheel.

2nd Grade Special Visit: After a teary Zoom meeting with so many students missing their classmates and teacher, Mrs. Green decided to drive around and visit each of her students’ houses. She waved at them from her car, but let her dog out so they could hug her dog (since they couldn’t hug her).

Early Childhood TakeHome Packets: Educational take-home packets were created by faculty to supplement EC student learning. Each student received two packets of developmentally appropriate materials specific to their grade-level learning goals. Elementary School Fun Day: A virtual “Fun Day” replaced Field day and was filled with a variety of physical challenges including an obstacle course, basketball tricks, a book walk and more. Teachers filmed demonstration videos of each activity and then students had a week to film themselves doing the activities from home.

1st Grade Reading Fort: In Ms. King’s class, students built reading forts in their homes.

3rd Grade Projects: From “Wacky Wednesdays” on Zoom to Mrs. Hurley’s full-blown book report project - 3rd graders rose to the challenge of distance learning. 8th-grade “Capulet’s Masquerade Ball”: Students made masquerade masks from home and enjoyed a virtual ball to cap-off their unit on Romeo and Juliet in Mrs. Davis’ English class.

Parades: In addition to the 8th-grade celebration parade, Kindergarteners also held a car parade to celebrate their graduation from Early Childhood! Library read alouds: SMES librarians, Mrs. McKerley and others recorded themselves reading stories aloud so students could still enjoy “story time” which is a normal part of their library curriculum. 4th & 5th Grade Speech & Drama Storytime: Students practiced their presentation skills by reading stories aloud to their classmates -- the videos were later shared with all faculty and staff.

Alumni Red&Blue Dinner

FEBRUARY 13, 2020

St. Martin’s welcomed 90 alumni from the classes of 2017, 2018 and 2019 back to campus for an evening of conversation, food and games. Now freshman, sophomores and juniors at a myriad of Atlanta high schools, the visitors enjoyed reconnecting with SMES friends and St. Martin’s faculty and staff. Story swapping, connecting with former teachers and lots of laughter made for a fun evening for everyone.

CLASS OF 2017

CLASS OF 2019

CLASS OF 2018