Masks and mummy arms, oh my! Here’s how first-graders cope with covid
It’s pajama day at Discovery Elementary School, and the first-graders pouring off the yellow school buses are all in their jammies — and, of course, in their face masks.
Coping with coronavirus has become a practiced skill for the Kindergartners and first-graders in Peninsula schools — so far, the only pupils, besides a handful of special-ed students, getting in-person instruction in actual classrooms.
On a recent chilly, overcast morning, Discovery Principal Delonna Halliday walked The Gateway through the check-in process and talked about the precautions the district has instituted to mitigate risk.
Without much fuss, the Discovery kids lined up in the gym of the Gig Harbor school — properly distanced by using their outstretched “mummy arms” — to get their temperatures checked and hand in their “attestation forms.” That’s paperwork from home that certifies they are symptom-free.
If a child does not have an attestation form, they are pulled to the side. Parents will then be contacted to verify their child is symptom free.
If a child receives a high temperature reading, they are also pulled to the side. In the tour with The Gateway, one child did show a slightly high temperature. He was instructed to shed a few layers of winter clothing to see if the reading would go down. It did, and he was then allowed to enter the school.
The efficacy of contactless temperature checks is considered to be low. The FDA has said screenings may miss up to half of infections. McClatchy News reported they can easily miss symptomatic or asymptomatic people.
Assuming the worst
Halliday says she is aware of the uncertainty of these measures, which is why there remains an emphasis on other rules from distancing to mask wearing.
“The assumption is everybody is walking around with it,” Halliday said on the tour.
Following the initial screening, students walk into the school where they split off into their various rooms where the furniture has been spaced six feet apart.
One of them is the kindergarten classroom of Kelli Willson, who is in her sixth year of teaching at Discovery.
“I was looking so forward to being in-person,” Willson said. “This is where the magic happens. Being in relationship with them, seeing them face to face, and interacting with them, even from six feet apart, I just longed for that.”
Wilson said it has taken “a little bit of adjusting” to get kids to wear masks all the time.
“There are times where we have a snack and they have to take their mask off to eat,” Willson said. “I have to be super aware all the time but you get used to that too. It’s just one more thing in the multitasking world that teachers live in.”
Five cases in district
So far, there have been no big outbreaks at any Peninsula schools, although the district decided this week to delay the return of second-graders as a precaution. According to the district, Peninsula High School has five cases; Purdy Elementary, Gig Harbor and Kopachuck had one each.
Asked about concerns of an outbreak at Discovery, Willson said that isn’t where her mind goes.
“I don’t go to worry that quickly; I think about it,” Willson said. “Yes, I think about it and therefore I plan for it.”
Those plans include a drive-through where parents can pick up materials and curriculum, though Willson said she doesn’t think the school will go back.
Just down the hall was first-grade teacher Ashley Trinh, who had previously spoken to The Gateway in March, when she talked about her class virtually celebrating her birthday, which made her “burst into tears.”
In her 15th year of teaching, Trinh says she sees the value of in-person experience but expressed concerns over the “third wave,” which saw cases in Gig Harbor spike to 420 with six reported deaths.
Bringing it home
“I feel happy that my students are learning at school,” Trinh said. “Of course I worry about the huge numbers, the rising case numbers. I worry about my own family at home. What am I bringing home to them? I have two small children.”
These children are Annabelle, 11, who is in the 4th grade and Theo, who is a second-grader. The two are still learning remotely while Trinh teaches in-person.
“I worry about my own safety and their safety by my being here,” Trinh said. “Why is it that you can’t go to a restaurant and sit with more than five people? Why can’t you be in a group of more than five people to have over to your house? I can have 14 here that eat with their masks off.”
Trinh said there are some good precautions being taken but wished more could be done.
“I have enough PPE. I feel like my school is doing a good job keeping things clean,” Trinh said. “I certainly think that there is more that could be done but I know those things are very expensive. It’d be great if we could have a small HEPA filter in the classroom,” using the acronym for a high-efficiency particulate air filter.
According to the school district, in the event that a child begins displaying symptoms, the school has five quarantine rooms where they will be taken to minimize interaction with other students. They say there has been no in-school transmission at this time.
Related story: Peninsula Schools delay return of 2nd-graders as coronavirus surge continues
Reach Chase Hutchison at chasehutchinson@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 7:30 PM.
