It has been two weeks today since the school year ended. I find myself reflecting on the school year and the distance learning portion of the year. All of my students did a terrific job of adapting to learning from home. I am a big believer in developing strong relationships with students at the best of times. I acknowledged the importance of developing relationships in a reflective post earlier this year. I think it is even more important in distance learning. Students need to maintain contact and relationships with their teachers and their classmates. All relationships matter during this uncertain time. It was such a gift to spend more time with students and talk to them individually. I have loved seeing all the pets and siblings the students have talked about throughout the year.
The School Day 
I was lucky to see all my students throughout the day. Our school, the OJCS, offered a full day trilingual program online. I taught both my classes virtually in the morning. My students learn French and Hebrew and English. Half of the day consisted of live online lessons for each language. The afternoon schedule allowed for more self-directed learning with Art, Gym, and Genius Hour. I had the opportunity to work in smaller groups and one on one with students during the afternoon. I helped students with reading, practice multiplication tables, and work on math problems step by step. The opportunity to meet with students and talk to them individually was valuable.
It takes a Village 
Good relationships with parents also play a vital role in the teacher and student connection. I have always worked hard to maintain good partnerships with parents. This pandemic brought the parent-teacher relationship to a new level. Parent-teacher conferences took place in the evenings during the first week of distance learning. My grade-level team and I met the parents in Google Hangouts and spoke about the children. We saw parents in the dining room, living room, and the bedroom. Looking back now, I realize how crucial to meet at that point to maintain and strengthen the partnerships we had established earlier in the year. The conferences were relaxed and so meaningful.
Parents became trusted and respected partners in this journey. They gave us valuable feedback on the distance learning schedules during Phase 1 and Phase 2 of our program. They were patient with us as we learned to make Google Meets and have learning materials ready to print on Sundays.
During the first few weeks, I received some emails from parents letting me know their child was having a tough day or needed extra help with an assignment. I took the time for a virtual visit to talk about rough days, and made the time to offer additional help in the afternoons. Time was also set aside for afterschool meetings to discuss challenges students were facing with distance learning. I was able to personalize, enrich, and modify programs for my students. One parent told me that her son shared that he felt the teachers cared about him and encouraged him, which made him want to do better, which in turn made him love school.
Parents became trusted and respected partners in this journey. They gave us valuable feedback on the distance learning schedules during Phase 1 and Phase 2 of our program. They were patient with us as we learned to make Google Meets and have learning materials ready to print on Sundays. I am so thankful for the open communication, collaboration, and support that we received from our parents.
Classroom Community
My teaching partner and I worked hard to create a supportive and engaging classroom community this year. We took extra care when our classrooms became virtual. The students learned how to reach out through google hangouts to ask questions or let us know if they were having any difficulties. Google hangouts turned out to be the perfect way for my quieter students to contact me. I think they reached out to me more in distance learning than they ever did in class.
Students were able to message me directly and let me know they didn’t understand part of a lesson. They didn’t have to ask a question in front of their classmates. I had the opportunity to get to know my quieter students on a whole new level. There were times when a few students stayed behind at recess so they could talk about their parents (doctors) working and dealing with COVID-19. I needed to stop and listen to them. Strong relationships mattered so much. Students know if teachers care about them, and it makes all the difference. It means a lot when teachers take the time to listen to them and help.
I made sure that there were also opportunities for students to work with a partner or small group in google hangouts and continue to maintain friendships with all of their classmates. Math Olympics, math escape rooms, and small group projects had students working together and having fun. Laughter and excitement filled computer screens. Classes came together for speeches, celebrating special holidays, and taking part in weekly live-streamed Kabbalat Shabbat from our school Facebook page.
I was amazed by the kindness and care the students showed each other. I think many of them realized what a unique and challenging experience this was. We had many honest and open conversations about distance learning and how to handle the challenges. My students encouraged each other, helped each other and listened to each other. Some of my spirited students in the physical classroom were more focused during virtual school and showed great leadership with their classmates.
Creating a school-wide community
The school did a terrific job of going forward with all of our scheduled school-wide events online. We had the pleasure of welcoming grandparents from all over the world for virtual Grandparents’ Day. We spent a beautiful morning with them. Our Maccabiah games( Sports Day) went on as planned: our teams loved completing their goose chase missions. Each team consisted of students from across the grades. They spent time learning a song and special cheers.
A virtual talent show was held one night for the 4th and 5th-grade students and boy what a night it was. The students showcased hidden talents, and some families got in on the action and performed together. It was so neat to see so many smiling faces in the little boxes on my computer screen and see the positive comments in the chat in the Google Meet. One student told me that she would only perform if I did, so I did. I signed up and performed a song with three of my colleagues. It was a perfectly imperfect talent show, technical glitches, and all!
We came together for the public speaking finals, and end of the year assembly as well. These moments of being together helped make our school and class community grow stronger. I can honestly tell you that the students, my teaching partner, and I were not ready for the school year to end. We all lingered in our Google Meet after the final bell rang on the last day of school. We just weren’t ready to say goodbye to each other yet.