COVID-19 can’t keep the kids at Evergreen Elementary School down
George Gershwin and his brother Ira gave the world a gift of the heart-rending musical “Porgy and Bess.” Years ago in Washington, D.C., we got to see it in person with William Warfield, Leona Price and Cab Calloway as the leads. Memorable! Its beautiful rendition of “Summer Time and the Livin’ is Easy!” set a theme appropriate for today.
The multiple, some ingenious, clever learning activities of our Evergreen Elementary kids coping with COVID-19 makes it look like, “Summer Time and the Livin’ is Easy!” Many thanks to Tricia Endsley, Communities In Schools of Peninsula site coordinator at Evergreen Elementary. She collected comments from some of the kids and photos from their parents for us.
Tricia noted, “My secret weapon communicating with our families is, 1) I’m usually at Evergreen on Mondays during lunch (curbside pickups). I’ve been handing out summer learning packets to the kids and that allows me to interact with the families, and, 2) We have an Evergreen PTA Facebook page that I post information on daily. That’s how I got pics and quotes from kids and parents.”
And we are grateful!
Cayden Wherry, 12, going into seventh grade, and Elias Wherry, 7, going into second grade, agree, “Camping has been the best!” They often say they hate COVID-19 because it’s keeping them away from their friends.
Emily Reaney, who is going into the eighth grade, visited family members and “got to help feed an orphaned calf!”
Aedan Underwood, going into third grade, proudly announced, “I’m helping my mom and dad with our honeybees!”
Going into second grade, Kolten Croxen is loving “picking goats for the farm and swimming in the pool at grandma’s.”
Rosie Pantalones, 6 and going into first grade, has been “enjoying beach days!” Her school mate Isabella Sparks, going into second grade, is excited that she has “learned to kayak!” Her classmate Brianna Funes has enjoyed “swimming thru her summer!”
Soon to be fifth grader Cameron Schaefer is “loving summer!” He loves “staying up late and sleeping in late and is loving all the adventures (he’s) finding with our dog Lucky!”
Classmate Kodie Henneman, 10, kicked off his summer “camping and fishing with dad and exploring new places. As long as I have my family, that’s all I need.”
Jacob Avalos, about to be a sixth grader, has been “practicing the saxophone for sixth grade band.” Classmate William Watkins said he has “been doing a lot of reading!”
Allison Taylor, going into fifth grade, has been outside riding her new-to-her quad! She enjoys being outside riding with her family.
Fourth grader Clover Johnson and Alma Johnson, first grade, say they have been “learning new things, like how to tie-dye!” Annie Chisholm, 6 and going into first grade, has “learned to make daisy chains!”
The Harding children, Wyatt, fifth grade, Tucker, third, and Stella, second, have been camping, traveled to Oregon and played outside a lot. They are staying positive by playing with each other and riding their bikes.
Aniya Wunsch, going into second grade, and Aryana Wunsch, going into first grade, enjoy, “going for a hike, getting fresh air.” Aniya said, “The sun makes me happy. I want to be outside all the time!” Aryana stays positive “by being at home — I like to be with people!”
Tricia Endsley commented that her kids “like the rest out there, are sad they won’t be returning to school in the fall for in-person learning. Many families I’ve spoken with are opting to put their kids in other ‘homeschool’ programs. I know that these are unprecedented times, and I know our district is doing its best to meet the needs of our students.”
Her son Colt Endsley who is going into fourth grade said, “Being able to be with my family and playing with my friends is the best!”
Haylee Schaefer, going into first grade, has been “loving summer, but missing my teacher, friends and school!”
As Walter Cronkite would have said, “And that’s the way it is.”