OpiniOn

Opinion THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENT Woodstock, IL • 1987

Six months ago, local schools took different paths to their classrooms amid the uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic.

Under the direction of the Diocese of Rockford, Marian Catholic High School and St. Mary School chose to bring students into their schools for in-school instruction in mid-August.

Woodstock School District 200, on the other hand, developed a hybridlearning plan that allowed parents to choose between in-person lessons at school or remote learning from homes. But before the school year started, the D-200 Board of Education took a more conservative approach, letting COVID-19 metrics, as monitored by the McHenry County Department of Health, determine when it was safe to return to school. And those metrics said not to risk in-school instruction.

Which was a wiser path? That is subject to debate, and has been throughout D-200.

Following all the protocols – masks, social distancing, temperature checks, constant sanitizing – the parochial schools had a mostly positive experience. It was – with a few exceptions – safe enough.

As health officials’ thinking on safety evolved, D-200 welcomed students into classrooms last week for the first time this school year, despite the

INDEPENDENT PHOTO BY KEN FARVER

metrics. Taking all the suggested safety precautions, D-200 decided it was safe enough, especially after hearing repeated concerns about the effects of isolated learning on children’s mental health.

Still, we must note that as D-200 students – those 60 percent who chose to – resumed in-school instruction last week for the first time since March, Marian students had retreated to their homes for remote learning for two weeks after positive tests among school personnel.

Which was the better path? Who knows.

Neither, obviously, was ideal – nothing is these days as we try to navigate life during a pandemic. Students everywhere have suffered – academically, socially, emotionally – to some extent by the disruption.

Some free help in coping with all that will be available to parents during a virtual speaker series starting next week. Anyone, anywhere can participate in the sessions via Zoom.

D-200, as other suburban school districts have done, is taking advantage of programs funded by Cebrin Goodman Center, a Chicago-based foundation offering initiatives related to issues affecting young people.

As you can read in the story on Page 9, the series will offer experts in positive youth development who “can help adults navigate the social and emotional issues that children have been facing.”

Who among our students hasn’t experienced anxiety, stress, and/or emotional upset? Parents, too, for that matter.

As we’re still in the throes of this awful disease, which in McHenry County has sickened 23,000 people and caused 250 deaths, let’s look for any help we can get to deal with it.

Are you in line? (As the man asked the woman)

Are you in line? (As the woman asked the child)

A line is forming, yes, a line across America is forming. Are you next? Are you considered most essential? You will have to wait your turn. Priorities are established, selections are made, but rest assured, the vaccines are coming. But you will just have to wait in line.

Americans are not used to waiting. Our digital achievements reinforce and feed our insatiable desire for more of everything – and everything now! Yet, this virus, this invisible enemy of mankind has created a new reality promoting a closure of society, a closure of human interaction not seen in over 100 years. Those pictures of long ago have become the reality of today. In essence, our expectations, our daily routines have been abruptly curtailed, adjusted, and redefined.

As Americans we have been asked to worship at home; visit our loved ones in nursing homes by phone; convert our homes into children’s classrooms; perform our jobs virtually at home; and hope that we still have a job. Yes, there has been a complete transformation of our lives as we patiently endure and strive to outlast this invisible robber of our freedoms to work, worship, shop, and simply engage with others.

Yet, behind those masked neighbors, friends, and fellow Americans are real people who wake up every day and go about their lives believing in a better tomorrow. So as we embark into a new year, let us remember that our “today” represents the “tomorrow” from a year ago, when we knew not what dark clouds were gathering within our midst. Yet, I believe “today” will be the “yesterday” we Americans speak about in future days when we endured closures, uncertainty, and yes, even tears.

At that future time we will also remember when we took our place and stood in line and waited with patience, fortitude, and hope for the healing of this great country.

n The Woodstock Independent welcomes letters of general interest to the community. n We reserve the right to edit for clarity, content, and length. n Please limit letters to 400 words. Longer submissions may be considered for a guest column. n Letters must be signed and include the writer’s address and a telephone number, which will be used for verification purposes only. It will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be considered for publication. n Email letters to pr@thewoodstock independent.com or mail or drop them off at our office, 671 E. Calhoun St., Woodstock, IL 60098.

This is going to be a “rah, rah, Woodstock” column.

For more than 35 years, my husband, Jim, and I have taken at least a week this time of year to head south. Our most visited spots were in the Caribbean, but we also checked out New Orleans, Florida, and even Australia. Because of COVID-19, we are staying in Woodstock this winter, and I’m glad we are.

Up until this week, Woodstock and northern Illinois have enjoyed a relatively mild winter. The day after Christmas was a balmy 30 degrees with nary a trace of snow. Our January temperatures have been mild. The National Weather Service reported the average temperature in Rockford last month was 26.6 degrees (5.1 degrees above normal).

Temperatures are taking a dive this week, with most days in single digits and nighttime lows below zero. But that’s OK. It is February, after all.

I’m a snow person, so I’ve delighted in being in town for the 15 to 20 inches of whiteness Woodstock received in January. I love watching snowflakes float from the sky to the ground; and snow covering spruce and cedar trees against a clear blue sky captures my attention and fills me with joy. The shouts of children playing in the snow and sledding are music to my ears. Above all, I feel a call to be out in the snow, shoveling, sledding, and making first tracks and snow angels – not for hours at a time, but at least once a day.

Not surprising, I have been an avid supporter of Woodstock’s winter festival – Groundhog Days. And, I’m not alone. Our town’s multiday gathering has attracted hundreds, often thousands, of people, even on bitterly cold days. The temperatures back in 1996, Groundhog Days’ second year, dropped to about 15 degrees below zero. But that didn’t deter, may even have encouraged, planning for year three.

Again, last week, Jim and I watched “Groundhog Day,” the movie that gave Woodstock reason to celebrate a furry marmot forecasting the arrival of spring. We laughed, saw things we didn’t remember seeing before, and were reminded of the beauty of Woodstock and the Square.

We also watched the new walkingtour video of movie sites. It is featured on Woodstock’s Groundhog Days website, woodstockgroundhog.org. Bob Hudgins, location manager of the movie back in 1992, is the host. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend treating yourself to 30 minutes of fun facts about the filming and Bob’s tribute to our town.

Near the end of the video, Bob says, “The evolution of the town of Woodstock celebrating Groundhog Day, I have to say, is one of the most enduring components of my appreciation for on-location filming.”

He exudes enthusiasm for the movie and for how “it showed Woodstock in a gorgeous light.”

And then, he says our ongoing celebration of the movie and welcoming “Groundhog Day” movie fans “is a kind of magic in a bottle that doesn’t happen very often.”

What Bob says makes me feel really good. How about you?

One more feel-good: the last three lines in the movie could be a slogan for moving to Woodstock. Phil and Rita are standing in the snow in front of the Cherry Street Inn after a pristine snowfall, and Phil says, “It’s so beautiful. Let’s live here. We’ll rent to start.”

Just as Phil lived Feb. 2 over and over again in the movie, we are reminded year after year by people who come to Woodstock for Groundhog Days that we live in a beautiful town among kind and caring people. And that’s not part of a script. It’s who we are.

More information: In last week’s Declarations, I wrote that Pam Moorhouse and Maggie Crane have been on the Groundhog Days Committee for more than 23 years. Their actual tenure is even longer – 25 years. Thank you, Pam and Maggie!

Cheryl Wormley Declarations

Cheryl Wormley is publisher of The Woodstock Independent. Her email address is c.wormley@thewoodstockindependent.com.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (and his mittens) made quite a splash in popular culture during the recent inauguration of President Joe Biden.

So much so that readers of The Independent could not resist giving the meme a special touch of Woodstock.

At the urging of wife Terri, Phil Conklin put a copy of the local newspaper (left) in the stylish mittens of the senator from Vermont. And garden columnist Nancy Shevel invited Sanders into a picture with her and the rest of our staff.

$75 in Woodstock, Bull Valley and Wonder Lake. $77 in McHenry County. $82 for snowbirds and $90 outside McHenry County.

We strive for accuracy. To suggest corrections or clarifications, email news@ thewoodstockindependent.com.

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