Covid-19 Our Virtual Work at Sugar Grove Academy, Oates and Sutton Elementary and SST Sugarland

After the pandemic hit our schools, we adapted our curriculum to address the needs expressed by our students and teachers in a survey carried out a few days after the lock-down. The results of the survey included: self- motivation, self-control, loneliness and isolation from not being able to see their friends and time management.   

Helping students learn how to calm themselves in stressful and challenging situations. This was the first time we reconnected with our students after the lock-down. We polled with them to understand the biggest challenges they were facing and how we could help them cope  

Discussing with students how to handle stress and challenges with flexibility and focusing on what we have the power to change,  We discussed also the importance of acknowledging what we can and cannot control, and being kind to ourselves in situations that are beyond our control.  

  Emphasizing the importance of Releasing what is bottled up through writing.

Building Resilience (the ability to “bounce back” despite challenging circumstances)

• As coping skills for success
• Focusing on our uniqueness and channeling our creativity to make an impact in our community- Dot Impact exercise

Drawing what your eye wants to see 

happening in the future. 

Teaching students how to find tools that will motivate them to push through challenge to achieve their goals. Challenges are inevitable in life. It is important to equip our students with effective tools to motivate oneself to persist with goals and dreams even when faced with stress and challenge. When we understand our limiting beliefs, we can transform them to empowering beliefs to achieve what we want to. 

 For Oates Elementary’s students, the last day of school was a special day. It was the first time after two months and a half of confinement that students could go back to school only to wave at all the teachers who were lining up in front of the school to celebrate them. Students could not leave their parents' cars for safety reasons. The smiles on the students’ faces warmed our hearts as they received Kendamas generously offered by Michael Allen Martin, one of our dynamic team members.