As we rolled into October, our second month of remote learning assistance here at R CITY, we were starting to find our groove. We became familiar with the students in our pods, their schedules, their teachers, the subjects, and the technology needed to get through each day.

Our days were busy and full:

redirecting students to stay focused on their teachers and assignments
giving an encouraging word when everything felt difficult
providing each pod with breakfast, lunch, snack and a little time in the gym
ALL WHILE remaining vigilant to maintain our COVID safety procedures.

During our weekly staff meeting, we shared how for much of our day we felt like the stereotype of a “shushing” librarian. We witnessed teachers creatively tackling so many problems, but knew part of our we had a unique opportunity to bring joy to their physical world, since it was such a privilege to be together. We discussed ways to increase joy in our days, we implemented incentive plans, and brainstormed safe ways to enjoy Halloween.

Our usual after school party wouldn’t quite work with all the crowding, and during the school day we have limited time during breaks in remote learning so our staff team brought their creativity and energy to find delightful solutions! Jeffrey, our print shop instructor has a family tradition of creating crazy obstacle courses and brought his talents to the building, constructing a silly, spooky course through our gym to enjoy just 3-4 kids at a time. We filled it with candy, balloons, and spooky music and the kids LOVED getting their chance to enjoy something created just for them. It was exactly what we all needed and a memory our kids still talk about, so much so, we'll likely need to create a Christmas obstacle course through Santa’s workshop soon. ;)

We hope you enjoy our short video below with Halloween photos and a run through the obstacle course.